Food Safety Certification MN Archives

May 24, 2021May 13, 2021

Certified Food Protection Manager And Awesome Summer Ideas For Mollusks

We’ve all heard the advice: Only eat oysters in months ending in “r.” When the temperature of the waters of the Pacific Northwest, Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico rise, so does the risk of spreading a foodborne illness from a pathogen known as vibriosis. Vibriosis poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea and other stomach ailments in most cases. Many times the illness is labeled as minor, if you call spending extra time in the restroom minor, but certain people may be more susceptible to vibriosis and the effects of consuming contaminated oysters, mussels and clams could be deadly. Does this mean that certified food protection managers should pull all mollusks off of their menus as the weather turns warmer?

Certified Food Protection Manager And Summer Ideas For Mollusks — Image credit: pxhere.com

Can Certified Food Protection Managers Serve Oysters in the Summer?

The most common vehicle for vibriosis poisoning is oysters, but mussels and clams can also be culprits, although rarely. Why is that?

Quite simply, mussels and clams are almost always cooked while oysters are commonly served raw on the half shell or in oyster shots. The method of preparation is no coincidence. The pathogen that causes a vibrio infection can be killed by heat, meaning that cooking shellfish completely greatly reduces the risk of exposure.

While we don’t recommend serving raw or undercooked oysters in warmer months, that doesn’t mean this sought after shellfish must vacate menus completely. Oysters can be grilled, sautéed or cooked on the half shell. If you have a clientele that will demand oysters all year long, a talented certified food manager can devise ways to keep molluscan shellfish on the menu without serving them raw.

If you serve mollusks any time of the year, make sure you discuss the water conditions with your suppliers every time you order. Some shellfish farms may experience shortages due to incredibly hot water conditions, pollution or other contaminates in the water. Also keep a close eye on the FDA’s recalls, advisories and outbreaks list.

Finally, certified food protection managers should check the source label that should come with every shipment of molluscan shellfish. If this tag or label is missing, you must not accept delivery. Keep this tag or label for at least 90 days after they were sold or served.

Note: Shellfish cooked before shipment are exempt.

Do you keep mollusks on your menu all year long?

April 19, 2021April 19, 2021

Important Food Safety Training for Off-Site Catering

The food and beverage industry has suffered greatly over the past year, but the catering industry has taken a substantial hit due to the limits on social gatherings. Now that the StaySafe MN guidance is beginning to allow more participants at social events, the demand for catering services is beginning to increase. With the pressure to maintain COVID-19 prevention protocols and adhere to food safety training in order to keep guests safe at catered events, it may be useful to take a look at the safe way to cater an off-site event.

Food Safety Training for Remote Catering Events

Coronavirus occupancy rules cause the biggest confusion for caterers providing services away from their kitchen. The proprietor of the venue should be accountable for capacity limits, but your catering staff must also be included in the numbers in order to remain in compliance. At the time of writing, there are two capacity standards; indoor and outdoor. Up to 50 attendees can occupy an outdoor event, while indoor events are limited to 15. This means that you may be required to limit the staff on hand in order for the venue to meet these numbers. When planning a catering event, make sure that you consult current StaySafeMN guidelines and coordinate with the venue to ensure you can adequately schedule your staff.

Besides COVID protocols, caterers must follow proper catering food safety guidelines. Many of these guidelines line up with what you’ve learned during food safety training. All food at catered events must:

Be cooked to proper temperatures
Be held according to time and temperature control rules
Come from appropriate sources
Be held and transported in a manner that prevents cross contamination

Time and temperature control go a long way to preventing a foodborne illness outbreak, so make sure that you check your equipment to make sure it is capable of keeping hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Also, take the time to check the internal temperature of all cooked foods to verify they’ve been cooked properly.

There may be times when an off-site catering client suggests they will supply the food product for the event as a cost-saving measure. Unfortunately, you may not be able to verify whether or not they are purchasing ingredients from an approved source. We suggest working with catering clients to purchase all ingredients from your normal suppliers.

Do you have a catering business that’s finally starting to see more clients? Have you taken time to refresh your staff food safety training for off-site catering?

April 5, 2021March 5, 2021

Suggestions Food Safety Managers Can Use To Make Takeouts Greener

Takeout and delivery services have become very popular over the course of the past year, and with this increased demand, comes an increase in the amount of takeout-related materials on hand in every restaurant. With so many elements involved in takeout orders, food safety managers should take a few steps to reduce the amount of waste involved when packing takeouts and delivery orders.

Waste Reduction Hints for Food Safety ManagersTo Improve Takeouts and Delivery

When you consider all the elements that go into to-go orders, there is a great potential for waste. Clamshell containers, individually packaged utensils, sauce packets and lids all have the potential to be wasted. Many customers prefer to use their own silverware at home, may have no need for the tiny packet of ketchup or simply toss excess containers in the trash. Sending these items with every takeout order eats into your food safety manager’s bottom line, creates waste and may have a negative impact on the environment.

In order to reduce waste, you may wish to ask customers who place a takeout order if they require silverware, sauces or other optional items. You may find that more of your customers are concerned about waste than you think.

Takeout and delivery don’t just create more waste, many to-go containers, utensils and sauce packets are cmposed of plastics that are harmful to the environment. Here are a few things food safety managers should consider when planning takeout service:

Stock biodegradable containers
Use small recyclable containers rather than prepackaged sauces
Consider compostable straws and utensils over plastic
Utilize reusable bags

Current innovations in recyclable and biodegradable restaurant supplies have made it possible to reduce your environmental impact without sacrificing the quality of your service. While paper-based takeout containers may not last forever, they’ll retain their integrity long enough for guests to enjoy their meals. The same goes for paper straws and biodegradable utensils. By making a few small changes food safety managers can go a long way in reducing waste and being environmentally focused with your delivery and takeout supplies.

Have you looked into how you can be more environmentally conscious with the way you provide delivery services?

January 18, 2021January 25, 2021

How To Focus On Food Safety Management Training During COVID-19 Restriction

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

COVID-19 has dominated the news since the beginning of 2020, and many food businesses have struggled to find a way to keep their businesses open and continue serving their guests. While much of the food industry has focused on the balance between keeping their guests safe from the coronavirus and making a profit, it’s important not to let food safety management training take a back seat. Relaxing food safety management during these times can result in overlooking risks that could result in foodborne illness.

Keeping Food Safety Management Training a Priority

We understand that it takes a lot of effort to abide by StaySafeMN guidance for restaurants, and it should be a priority, but that can’t be an excuse to relax on other food safety management procedures.

Food safety managers are responsible for making sure staff understand and follow proper food handling procedures and times of reduced service are a great opportunity to monitor and provide a little extra on-the-job training. Since you’re taking the time to make sure employees understand mask rules, social distancing in dining areas and enforcing COVID-19 reservation-only regulations, you should also incorporate food safety training as well.

It’s quite easy to monitor and guide your staff on a few key issues as you go about monitoring coronavirus prevention protocols. Here’s a brief list of items that can be observed at the same time as StaySafeMN procedures:

Proper sanitation
Handwashing between tasks
Employee health
Hair coverings

Some of these things may look like items your staff should already understand, but during the course of your day, it’s easy to make sure. Food safety managers can enforce and provide training for sanitation procedures since it’s necessary for both coronavirus prevention and food safety. Handwashing can also be reviewed as it can be brought up easily given current circumstances.

When it comes to employee health, sick is sick regardless of whether it’s COVID or not. Daily employee health screenings implant the idea that fever, cough, runny nose, nausea and other symptoms disqualify a food worker from taking their shift. Train your employees to take their temperature before work if not done on-site, be aware of symptoms and call out sick if necessary.

Now that masks are required, kitchen workers must wear two important pieces of protection: a head covering and a mask. When training employees on how to properly wear a mask, you can also teach them the importance of wearing a proper head covering when working with food.