For Safety's Sake • Food Safety Newsletter • January 2008
Information and Tips for Keeping it Fresh!
Volume 2 • Issue 1
Welcome to For Safety's Sake - an informational newsletter dedicated to food safety. We hope you enjoy this issue and share it with others who are concerned about food safety. Sign up to receive this newsletter by email >
Focus on Food Safety
Food Safety Tips for the New Year!
Food safety will no doubt continue to make headlines and be important to Americans in 2008. At National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc., we will make it our on-going mission to educate not only the food service industry, but general consumers as well on the important role each of us can play in overall food safety. And, as we start a new year, it makes sense to review some common procedures and easy safe guards you can take to keep your family, friends and co-workers safe in helping prevent food-borne illness. Whether it's shopping at the grocery store, storing and preparing food at home or dining out, here are some tips to keep in mind.
At the grocery store, avoid buying cans that are bulging or jars with loose or cracked lids. Make certain to check freshness dates and if possible, refrigerated items should be the last ones to make the cart before checking out. Once home, refrigerate or freeze those items as appropriate. If your drive home takes you more than an hour, consider a cooler for the trip. If something looks or smells suspicious, throw it out. Check eggs for cracks or breaks and don't purchase those that are. Concerning fruit, check for broken skin, which is one way for bacteria to easily enter. And, as you will learn more from our expert further in this issue, wash your hands well before preparing and eating food.
At home, store food at the proper temperature. Freezers should be set to 0 degrees F or lower and the refrigerator should be set to 40 degrees F. Cook meat, poultry and fish within 2 days or freeze. If your refrigerator doesn't have a thermostat, it makes sense to invest in one. Meat should not be stored in freezer past 2-3 months. Thaw meat, poultry and fish in the refrigerator or microwave, never at room temperature. Throw out old cutting boards with cracks as bacteria may preside in the crevices. Consider using thin dish clothes in place of sponges, as sponges are a breeding ground for bacteria.
When dining out, select items in their truest form, avoiding those made with mayonnaise or other sauces that might hide flavor or the smell of ingredients past their prime. Ask to see the restaurants most recent inspection report. If they can't or don't want to produce it, dine somewhere else. This year, let's resolve to help reduce the possibility of food-bone illnesses by taking a few simple precautions.
Have a great year!
Greg West
President of National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc.
Food Safety in the News
FDA Gets Help From North Carolina
In 2005, inspectors with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture started a monitoring program for imported foods which routinely checks imported candies, seafood, dry spices and other products found on grocery shelves. Now, the FDA has requested North Carolina to join four other states in assisting them develop a better system for monitoring the safety of the nation's food supply.
Source: Charlotte Observer - Posted: Jan. 1, 2008
Slight Increase in Food-Safety Funding
Despite many calls for increased funding to keep up with increased imports and food safety concerns, the Food and Drug Administration will only receive a modest increase. The appropriation is 12 percent more than the agency received for food safety in fiscal 2007. However, half the increase will be eaten up by annual cost increases, including pay raises. The FDA won't get the other half until July, and only then if it has a performance plan in place that lawmakers find adequate.
Source: USA Today - Posted: Dec. 18, 2007
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Top Food Stories of 2007: RECALLS
In a recent poll of the country's top food editors, they are calling 2007 the year of recalls. Here is how the top three food stories of the year stacked up:
- The national recall of more than 90 brands of popular pet food topped the charts as the number one food-related story of 2007.
- Following closely was the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recall of more than 21 million pounds of ground beef.
- The peanut butter recall of Peter Pan and Great Value brands was the number three food story of the year. They were linked to a salmonella outbreak and blamed for sickening almost 600 people nationwide.
Source: PR Newswire - Posted: Dec. 17, 2008
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Food Safety Q & A
If you have a question you would like us to address in a future e-newsletter, please contact us at 4safetyssake@gmail.com.
Q. Are accidentally frozen canned goods safe to eat?
A. The answer to that question is not a straight yes or no. Canned goods often need some investigating. Check the seams and seals on them. Are the seams and seals broken or cracked? Do you know the foods history? Has it been frozen, thawed and refrozen?
Thaw the canned food slowly in a refrigerator on a tray so you can determine if the can is leaking. After completely thawed, is the can bulging? This could indicate spoilage or the presence of toxin that causes botulism, a potentially deadly food-borne illness. If the seams are intact, the food quality is safe to use however, use it as soon as possible. If the can of food has a broken seal and has thawed on its own, discard it.
Source: Cattle Network - Posted: Jan. 4, 2008
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Safe Serving Spotlight
Who is leading the pack in food safety? In this section, we highlight foodservice entities that hold the highest standards and can teach all of us a thing or two. If you believe your organization deserves to be recognized, please e-mail us 4safetyssake@gmail.com and let us know. We'd love to share your story, too.
Popular Florida Restaurant Takes Food Safety Seriously
The Broken Egg Leads Way in Food Safety in Sunshine State
"Food safety has always been a top priority at our restaurant," says Bob Kirscher, managing partner of Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota's popular The Broken Egg restaurant. Since 1985, this restaurant, featuring breakfast and lunch has been a longtime fixture in the community and is popular with local residents and tourists, alike.
Indeed, The Broken Egg is proud of its reputation for serving delicious food and maintaining high safety standards. What's more, the restaurant uses only the freshest ingredients, from local suppliers if possible, to enhance the taste of selections on its menu.
In the height of the season, the restaurant serves an average of approximately 3800 diners a week. This is no small feat for any restaurant, yet despite the healthy guest count, The Broken Egg is not about to skimp when it comes to food safety.
For starters, all of its management team is "serve safe" certified. Additionally, the restaurant provides hand sanitizer not only for its staff, but for its guests to use prior to dining, which is not often seen, but just makes good sense.
With a moniker like The Broken Egg, one can only imagine the importance of the egg. In fact, Kirscher estimates that the restaurant serves nearly 300,000 eggs per year.
"We have more than 30 egg dishes and five different eggs Benedict selections alone," he says. "We go that extra step by serving pasteurized eggs exclusively to our patrons enabling us to eliminate the risk of salmonella poisoning and providing us with peace of mind knowing that we are doing all we can to keep our guests safe."
Indeed, this is an important safeguard because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates 2.3 million eggs contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis (SE) were sold in 2006, exposing a last number of people to risk of illness. More than 60 million Americans are at risk for sever reactions to egg-related salmonella, including children under 10, pregnant women, those over 50 and those with compromised immune systems. The FDA's Model Food Code recommends using pasteurized eggs in all dishes calling for raw or softly cooked eggs.
"When you are offering as many egg dishes as we are, it just makes sense to be certain that you are serving it the safest way possible," says Kirscher.
For more information about The Broken Egg restaurant, check out its website at www.thebrokenegg.com.
From the Food Safety Expert
Are you an expert in food safety? If you are, we'd like for you to be part of our expert team. Email 4safetyssake@gmail.com and let us know about you.
The Real Bottom Line: Food Safety
Did you know that more people in the United States die of food-borne illness each year than are killed in fires? About 5,100 people, mostly children and seniors, die from something they ate each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that about 4,200 Americans die in fires. You would move mountains to ensure that customers were not killed in a fire in your establishment. But, do you pay as much attention to food safety?
Most businesses believe that profit is the bottom line. But in foodservice, food safety needs to be the first priority; if your food is unsafe you'll never make a profit. If you make customers sick you lose business, reputation and money. Food-borne illness complaints are increasingly followed up by litigation, and settlements typically range in the six figures and some, even millions of dollars. Modern testing - "DNA fingerprinting" technology such as pulsed-field gel electrophoresis can take the pathogens and germs from a patient and match them with the food, foodservice worker or establishment they came from.
Then, it's all over. A legal principle known as "strict liability" states that if you cause harm you're liable. Negligence per se does not need to be established. If a person gets sick from something they ate at your establishment, you are liable. Period. Food safety-certified staff, positive inspection reports, HACCP plans and logs won't matter.
That doesn't mean that they are not important. In fact, they are more important than ever. Policies and procedures not only need to be in place, but they need to be followed consistently. Management must understand that corners cannot be cut to save time or money, because it will cost more later. Line employees and crewmembers need to understand why they need to follow the policies and procedures. It's not because the manager tells them they have to, but because you don't want to make someone sick - or worse.
And what's the most important thing you can do? Wash you hands! The Centers for Disease Control state that handwashing is the single most effective way to prevent the transmission of disease. Make sure your staff knows how and when to properly wash their hands, and avoid touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands.
So - watch that bottom line, keep you customers healthy and your hands clean!
About Dion Lerman:
Dion Lerman is the education and training director of Handwashing for Life. For more information on handwashing, visit Handwashing for Life at www.handwashingforlife.com.
Did You Know?
Honey has more uses than just food; it has been used as a remedy for many aliments in many cultures around the world. Due to honey's antibacterial and anti-inflammatory components, researchers are finding many new medicinal ways to use it:
- Anti-scarring agent
- Anti-inflammatory: Effectively treats wounds, burns, and surgical incisions.
- Moisturizer: A useful treatment for sunburn as well as a general-purpose skin softener.
- Eye care: Effectively treats inflammation of the eyelid, some types of conjunctivitis, and keratitis (along with other forms of corneal damage).
- Anti-fungal: Used to treat athlete's foot and other fungal infections.
- Sore throat treatment: Can kill the bacteria that sometimes causes sore throats.
- Dental care: Used to reduce tooth decay, all that sticky sugar notwithstanding.
- Anti-ulcer agent: Helps to heal ulcers and upset stomachs.
- Digestive aid: Can regulate intestinal function, alleviating both constipation and diarrhea.
- Sleep aid: Used as a sleep aid and to increase alertness.
- Embalming material: Once used in Ancient Egyptian and Middle Eastern cultures to embalm the dead.
Source: SenseList
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