E. coli Archives

October 6, 2025November 16, 2025

Fall Food Safety: Beyond the Pumpkin Spice

fall food safety for all ingredients. — From washing to temperature, use this guide for fall food safety to stay ahead!

As a Minnesota food professional, you know autumn brings a welcome change to our menus, featuring hearty squashes, crisp apples, and rich pumpkins. But let’s be honest, autumn’s culinary delights extend far beyond pumpkin spice lattes! While these ingredients are crowd-pleasers, they also introduce unique food safety challenges. Ensuring proper seasonal food safety from the moment ingredients arrive to the final dish is critical for protecting your customers and your reputation.

Proper Handling Starts at the Door

The first step in ensuring fall menu safety is to manage your seasonal produce deliveries with a critical eye. Fresh ingredients, such as pumpkins and squash, often arrive with soil and other debris from the field, which can carry harmful bacteria like Listeria and E. coli. A rushed receiving process that fails to catch these issues can introduce dangerous contaminants directly into your kitchen’s clean environment.

Inspect every delivery: Your Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) training emphasizes that the flow of food begins at the point of receiving. You must thoroughly inspect seasonal produce for signs of spoilage, mold, or physical damage. A bruised apple or soft-skinned squash can harbor bacteria that will spread quickly, and you have the right and responsibility to reject any products that don’t meet your standards.
Prioritize storage: Root vegetables and hard squashes have different storage needs than delicate greens. They thrive in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area, away from direct sunlight. It’s equally important to store them away from ready-to-eat foods to prevent cross-contamination. Storing raw squash below uncovered salads, for example, could allow field contaminants to fall onto food that will receive no further cooking.
Implement first-in, first-out (FIFO): It’s a basic but crucial rule that prevents waste and mitigates risk. Your team should properly date and rotate stock so they use older seasonal ingredients before new deliveries arrive. This simple process minimizes the risk of spoilage and mold growth, which can produce harmful mycotoxins even after cooking.

The Science of Washing and Preparation

Once inside, the beautiful harvest produce requires careful handling. The CFPM course covers the science of microbial growth, teaching us that a simple rinse is one of the most effective ways of removing physical and biological contaminants. Many people mistakenly believe that produce with a thick rind, such as butternut squash, which they plan to peel, doesn’t need washing. In reality, skipping this step allows a knife to transfer pathogens from the skin of a squash to the cutting board and interior flesh.

Wash Before You Cut: Always wash produce thoroughly under running water before peeling or cutting it. This crucial step prevents surface contaminants from being transferred by the knife to the edible portions of the food. It’s a simple action that breaks a primary chain of contamination.
Scrub Firm Surfaces: For firm-skinned produce like butternut squash or pumpkins, use a clean and sanitized vegetable brush to scrub the surface. This physical action dislodges stubborn, caked-on dirt and significantly reduces the microbial load, a key concept in preventing foodborne illness.
Sanitize Your Surfaces: After prepping raw produce, always follow the two-step process of cleaning and then sanitizing the cutting boards, knives, and prep areas. Cleaning removes food debris, but only a proper sanitizer will reduce pathogens to a safe level. This practice, stressed heavily in certification training, is essential to prevent cross-contamination.

Ready to renew? Check out our upcoming courses or sign up for online recertification today!

Mastering Hot Soups and Beverages

Nothing says autumn like a steaming bowl of butternut squash soup or a cup of hot apple cider. However, these popular items are often TCS foods (Time/Temperature Control for Safety foods) and require strict temperature management to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria. Understanding the “why” behind these rules is a cornerstone of effective management.

Maintain the Hot Zone: The “danger zone” for food is between 41°F and 135°F, the ideal range where bacteria can double in as little as 20 minutes. Training teaches you to keep hot TCS foods at 135°F or higher. Use calibrated food thermometers and monitor your holding equipment frequently, as a malfunctioning steam table can pose a serious food safety risk.
Reheat Correctly: Bring a batch of soup to 165°F and maintain it at this temperature for 15 seconds within a two-hour period when reheating it for hot holding. Simply warming it up is not sufficient and creates a hazardous situation.
Cool Foods Rapidly: One of the biggest risks in a professional kitchen is improper cooling. Cool leftover soup or cider from 135°F to 70°F within two hours, and then from 70°F to 41°F or lower in the next four hours. Use approved methods, such as ice baths, ice paddles, or dividing hot liquids into shallow metal pans, to facilitate rapid cooling.
Document Your Process: A key part of a food safety management system is documentation. Keep temperature logs for both your hot-held items and your cooling procedures. This not only ensures that you are consistently practicing safe seasonal food handling practices but also provides critical evidence of your diligence during a health inspection.

Protect Your Customers and Your Business

Vigilant handling of fall ingredients is a non-negotiable part of your professional responsibility. Applying these principles shows a commitment to excellence and public health. Ensure you and your team are fully prepared to handle seasonal challenges by maintaining your food safety credentials.

Sign up for the next available Certified Food Protection Manager course near you.

March 23, 2025January 25, 2026

Foodborne Illness Cases Are Spiking: What MN Managers Need to Know

In the pa

deli meat foodborne illness — Are you updated on all recalls?

The Bottom Line

Recent data show a 25% increase in foodborne illness cases across the U.S., driven largely by high-profile outbreaks involving Listeria and Salmonella. For Minnesota food managers, this surge underscores a critical reality: trust in the supply chain is not enough. Rigorous internal protocols, specifically temperature control and supplier verification, are your kitchen’s only true defense against contaminated product.

The Surge: Recent Outbreaks You Can't Ignore

In the past year, we have witnessed a troubling rise in large-scale recalls. These aren’t just minor isolated incidents; they are systemic failures affecting millions of pounds of product.

Three Major Cases Every Manager Should Know:

Boar’s Head (Listeria): After a liverwurst sample tested positive for Listeria, authorities triggered a massive recall of over 7 million pounds of deli meats and poultry. This outbreak led to hospitalizations across multiple states, underscoring that even “ready-to-eat” foods pose a significant risk.
Lyons ReadyCare (Listeria): Frozen supplemental shakes served in healthcare settings were linked to 12 deaths and 38 infections. This tragedy emphasizes the vulnerability of high-risk populations (like nursing home residents) to foodborne pathogens.
Raw Farm LLC (Salmonella): An ongoing outbreak linked to raw milk products has sickened at least 165 individuals since 2023. This case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers inherent in unpasteurized dairy.

By the Numbers: Why Risk Is Rising

The statistics are alarming. In 2024 alone, reported foodborne illnesses jumped by 25% compared to the previous year.

man in hospital — Prevent foodborne illnesses by keeping a close eye on recalls!

Illnesses: 1,392 reported cases.
Hospitalizations: More than doubled (rising from 230 to 487).
Deaths: Increased from 8 to 19.

Why is this happening?

Experts point to a mix of infrastructural issues, regulatory gaps, and staffing shortages in inspection agencies. In short, the safety net is strained, meaning the last check often falls on you, the kitchen manager.

Manager Takeaway: The "Jeff Factor"

In my years of teaching, I have seen recalls come and go, but the numbers we are seeing now are different. When the supply chain falters, your kitchen protocols must be airtight.

Here is what you need to do tomorrow:

The FDA and USDA list recalls on their websites.

Check Your Recalls: Don’t wait for a letter. actively check the FDA/USDA recall lists weekly.
Verify Suppliers: If you are sourcing specialty products (like raw milk or local meats), ensure they have rigorous testing in place.
Refresher Training: Remind staff that “pre-cooked” or “deli” doesn’t mean “risk-free.” Cross-contamination at the slicer can turn a single contaminated loaf into a widespread outbreak.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Common questions I get include:

How can I stay updated on food recalls in Minnesota?

The most reliable sources are the FDA Recall List and the Minnesota Department of Health website. We also include major alerts in our Safe Food Training newsletters.

Does washing deli meat kill Listeria?

165 thermometer temp — Know the temperature that kills pathogens and bacteria.

No, you can only kill Listeria by cooking it to 165°F. Washing meat creates a cross-contamination risk by splashing bacteria onto sinks and countertops.

Why are illnesses increasing even with more regulations?

Regulations exist, but there are not enough enforcement resources. Additionally, our food supply chain is more complex than ever, meaning a single contamination event at a large facility (like Boar’s Head) can instantly affect distribution nationwide.

Why Trust Safe Food Training?

Building on a 20-Year Legacy of Food Safety Excellence.

Safe Food Training has been a cornerstone of Minnesota’s food safety community for over two decades. While ownership transitioned to Jeff Webster in 2025, our mission remains unchanged: to provide the highest standard of education to the state’s food professionals.

Proven Track Record: We have helped thousands of managers earn their certifications.
Local Focus: We understand Minnesota-specific codes and challenges.
Flexible Learning: From the Twin Cities to Duluth, Alexandria, and Brainerd, we bring the classroom to you.

Need to renew your certification?

View our upcoming course schedule!

December 11, 2018December 11, 2018

The Food Safety Problem with Romaine Lettuce

November has come and gone, and with it another major food safety problem with Romaine lettuce causing an illness hazard and sickening your guests. This week, we’d like to look at some of the potential causes of these outbreaks, and how good food safety training helps prevent sickening your guests with contaminated lettuce.

Hints On How To Prevent A Food Safety Problem with Romaine Lettuce

Like most vegetables, romaine lettuce grows in the dirt, and as we all know, dirt is dirty. Soil contains all sorts of bacteria and contaminates, it is home is insects and snails, and it can be further contaminated by fertilizers and other outside sources. Even the water that farmers use to water their crops can be contaminated with bacteria that can be harmful to people who consume the final product.

Some farms that grow our produce also house livestock. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that manure can spread from one section of the farm to another on a worker’s boots or the tread of a tractor tire. As you can imagine, there are infinite possibilities as to how romaine lettuce becomes a health hazard, but what can we do about it?

Unfortunately, keeping the food from becoming contaminated on the farm is outside of the scope of what we do as a food safety training provider, however, we can help you take steps to keep lettuce in your restaurant clean and free from contaminates. Here are a few steps you should take:

Inspect lettuce upon delivery
Wash lettuce thoroughly
Be alert for recalls
Dispose of potentially contaminated romaine lettuce

A close inspection of your lettuce will reveal how much soil has been shipped with your product or if bugs and snails have tagged along for the ride. If you feel that your lettuce isn’t up to food safety standards, don’t be afraid to reject the shipment.

It’s not just a food safety problem with Romaine, all fresh produce should be washed thoroughly before serving, but lettuces such as romaine need extra attention. There’s a reason that you hear about more food poising cases from lettuce than potatoes. Potatoes and many other fruits and vegetables have one continuous outside surface, so a quick wash gets rid of more bacteria than a quick wash of a head of lettuce. We suggest washing your lettuce after taking the leaves off of the head in order to rinse areas that won’t be cleaned if the head is washed whole.

Finally, be aware of recalls and dispose of compromised lettuce. Taking a hit on food cost is a much better option that sickening your guests.

Did your business suffer from that latest recall of romaine lettuce?

December 20, 2016December 29, 2016

Food Safe Training Guide to E. coli

Over the past few months, we’ve run a series of articles focusing on the most common causes of food-borne illnesses and product recalls. This month, we continue our series with a look at how E. coli and the related STEC bacteria strains are spread and how you can prevent your guests from consuming contaminated food.

Food Safe Training and E. coli

E. coli poisoning recently garnered national attention with a nationwide outbreak traced to Chipotle restaurants. Even with this high-profile case, E. coli is no longer ranked as a top-five cause of food-borne illness according to the CDC. It is, however, still very important to understand how to reduce the risk of spreading illness due to E. coli because according to this same study, this bacterium causes over 2,000 hospitalizations each year.

In order to control the spread of E. coli, we must first know where it comes from. The STEC strains may exist in:

Undercooked ground beef
Unpasteurized milk and cheese
Unpasteurized juices
Alfalfa sprouts
Unwashed vegetables

If you have worked in the food industry for a length of time, you know that you must cook ground beef thoroughly in order to kill E. coli, but some of the other causes might come as a surprise. We have discussed the dangers of serving raw milk products numerous times in the past, and we can now add the potential for E. coli poisoning to the list of risks involved with consuming unpasteurized dairy products.

Raw fruits and vegetables pose a threat that often goes undetected. While the STEC bacterium does not naturally occur in raw produce, exposure to cross contamination is a real risk. E. coli naturally occurs in the digestive tract of livestock, and it spreads through contact with the animal, its feces or raw milk. Produce can be contaminated simply by a farmer walking through a cow pasture and transferring it to the soil raw vegetables grow in by wearing the same shoes. The same can happen with farm equipment on a much larger scale.

To keep your vegetables safe, especially leafy greens and sprouts, we urge you to wash all produce that you receive before serving it to guests or incorporating it into other menu items.

Next month, our series will continue as we tackle the number-one culprit of food-borne illness, the easily spread norovirus.