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Food Safety Training Tips

Excellent Food Safety Training Tips You Need To Know About Clean Refrigeration

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You count on your refrigeration units to keep food cold, but neglecting food safety training for maintenance can result in much worse scenarios than malfunctioning equipment. Besides the hazards of food possibly being stored in the danger zone due to a poorly looked after walk-in; dirt, mold, mildew and other contaminants can come in contact with your product even if your cold storage is kept at the proper temperature. Let’s take a close look at some often overlooked aspects of refrigerator maintenance that can lead to foodborne illness risks and we will provide some food safety training tips to make your job easier.

Excellent Food Safety Training Tips You Need To Know About Clean Refrigeration
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Refrigeration Maintenance Tips for Food Safety Training

Most food businesses should already have a cleaning plan in place for the interior racks, walls and floors of their refrigeration units, but there are several aspects of refrigerators that are forgotten, especially in walk-in units. Every so often it’s important to clean and maintain refrigeration:

  • Door seals
  • Condensers
  • Drain lines

Cleaning the seals or gaskets of every refrigerator in your establishment will help keep warm air from outside forcing your equipment to work harder. Rubber seals can also be a breeding ground for mold, especially if your doors are not sealing properly. The condensation from the temperature difference inside and outside of your fridge could accelerate mold and mildew growth which could end up in your food. When you perform your regular interior cleaning, make sure to wipe down and sanitize your door seals and inspect for any damage which could be allowing warm air inside.

Condenser coils tend to collect dust and moisture creating an environment for contaminant growth that could fall into food product. Your food safety training should include a review of cleaning these coils at least once a month to prevent buildup. These coils can sometimes be behind a service panel or on the back of the compressor.

Drain lines are notorious for mold buildup due to the near-constant drip of condensation. Due to the complexity of cleaning these lines, we recommended you seek out a professional technician to service and clean your larger refrigerators once a year.

Have you taken the time recently to check on the cleanliness of your refrigerators? Do you have any additional food safety training tips for others?

Food Safety and the Sizable Dangers of Raw Dairy Products

Food Safety and the Sizable Dangers of Raw Dairy Products

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Over the past few years, states such as Iowa, Georgia, Missouri and others have begun crafting legislation to expand the commercial sale of raw milk and raw dairy products. While Minnesota currently only allows the sale of unpasteurized milk to customers who bring their own containers directly to farmers, it’s worth discussing the food safety hazards of using raw dairy products in food preparation should our state consider expanding the availability of raw milk as several other states have done based on consumer demand.

Food Safety and the Sizable Dangers of Raw Dairy Products
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Raw Dairy Products and Food Safety

To be absolutely clear, any milk served in restaurants or used in meal preparation must be pasteurized and obtained from a trusted source. Raw dairy products straight from the farmer do not meet these food safety criteria. The health department does not allow for a variance on raw milk even with a critical control point plan.

Proponents of raw dairy claim that the probiotics and other naturally occurring antimicrobial elements allow for the safe consumption of fresh, raw milk. While raw milk may contain these compounds, it also brings high-risk hazards that cause food safety management issues. Raw milk can contain:

  • Bacteria
  • Salmonella
  • E.coli
  • Listeria

This is just a partial list of pathogens that have been found in unpasteurized milk. Outbreaks from raw milk have caused intestinal illness, miscarriages and even death.

Once processed into cheese, yogurt or other raw dairy product, the danger of foodborne illness is still a threat, so the best course is to avoid unpasteurized milk products altogether.

Have you ever considered the hazards of raw dairy products?

How To Guide For CFPMs Dealing With Foodborne Illness Complaints

How To Guide For CFPMs Dealing With Foodborne Illness Complaints

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Certified food protection managers (CFPMs) go to great lengths to keep the food they serve safe, but from time to time a customer may experience symptoms of a foodborne illness after eating in your establishment. While you don’t expect to hear a customer complain about being sick from consuming your product, you should still be prepared in the event they contact you to complain of symptoms. CFPMs with a plan to deal with foodborne illnesses can help deescalate a situation with an upset customer and can go a long way towards resolving a food safety issue you may be unaware of.

How To Guide For CFPMs Dealing With Foodborne Illness Complaints
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Certified Food Protection Manager Tips for Resolving Food Poisoning Complaints

There’s a right way and a wrong way for certified food managers to take phone calls concerning a possible food poisoning case. You should never start by assuming that the guest may have been sickened at home or at another restaurant. Taking the strategy that they may be at fault will instantly put them on the defensive. It’s also important not to be apathetic towards the situation, but rather act in a professional manner. When a guest complains of foodborne illness, the certified food protection manager should:

  • Be sympathetic
  • Gather as many details on their dining experience as possible
  • Assess the time frame between their patronage and symptoms
  • Offer to look into the situation
  • Promise to follow up with them if requested

CFPMs being concerned for your guests will show that you care about the safety of your food. We’re not talking about admitting fault without investigating, we’re simply talking about being sympathetic to the situation.

Details will be important, and they’ll also show that you’re taking the situation seriously. Make sure you find out when they dined in your establishment, what they ordered and how long afterward they experienced symptoms. It might also be a good idea to ask if anyone else in their party ordered the same menu items and if they experienced any symptoms. The timing and symptoms will be an important detail to note as it could pinpoint the type of pathogen that may have affected them.

After taking down this information, take the time to assess the possibility that this illness could have come from your restaurant. As a certified food protection manager, you should review food handling procedures for the product in question. If you find questionable practices or a gap in food safety training, you should address them as soon as possible.

Finally, certified food protection managers should follow up with your guest if they request it. If they’ve seen a doctor for symptoms and the diagnosis is a foodborne illness, address whether it is plausible the source was your facility. If you receive multiple complaints, you need to work with your local health department to resolve the issue.

As a CFPM how do you deal with foodborne illness reports?

Revealing Risks In Guest Restrooms For Food Protection Managers

Revealing Risks In Guest Restrooms For Food Protection Managers

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We usually focus on areas of food safety in staff areas of food businesses, but there are health risks that can occur in spaces specifically set aside for guests. Guest restrooms hold the potential to spread illness if not properly cleaned and sanitized. While we’d never suggest that you serve guests in your restrooms, it’s important food protection managers to realize that there are health risks that can arise from the condition of your facilities.

Revealing Risks In Guest Restrooms For Food Protection Managers
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Public Restrooms Sanitization Tips for Food Protection Managers

The cleanliness of your guest restroom greatly influences your guests’ perception of the cleanliness of your entire restaurant. You could have an immaculate kitchen, but if a patron enters an unsanitary restroom, they’ll question whether or not your entire establishment is sanitary. We strongly suggest that you make every effort to keep your public restrooms in the same state as your staff facilities. Every restroom should:

  • Be stocked with plenty of soap and paper towels
  • Be devoid of standing water on counters and floors
  • Have hot water readily available
  • Be regularly inspected for cleanliness
  • Have frequently touched surfaces sanitized often
  • Have a hand washing poster on display

At bare minimum, your guest facilities must be stocked with hot water, soap dispensers and plenty of paper towels. However, food protection managers should consider installing hand-free soap dispensers and hand dryers in their guest facilities. Over the course of your business day, numerous guests will touch soap dispenser pumps with bare hands leaving bacteria and other contaminates on the pump. These will transfer to the hands of other guests. If your guests do not thoroughly wash their hands, these pathogens might remain and cause a health risk when they return to their tables to eat.

Standing water not only makes your restrooms look unsanitary, bacteria can form on countertops that can cause a risk. Your food protection manager should assign staff members to regularly inspect restrooms to ensure this is not the case. During these inspections, they should also check soap and paper towel supply and sanitize door handles. Restroom door handles are constantly touched by unwashed hands and pose the greatest risk for contamination.

Finally, display a poster as a friendly reminder that handwashing is important. This will offer a simple suggestion to guests to wash their hands before returning to their table.

Do you have outlined procedures for keeping guest restrooms clean and sanitary?