For Safety's Sake • Food Safety Newsletter • August 2008

Information and Tips for Keeping it Fresh!

Volume 2 • Issue 3

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

Focus on Food Safety FocusFood Survey Reveals: Consumers Still Concerned About Food-Borne Illness

Nine out of 10 Americans are as concerned or more concerned than they were just a year ago about contracting a food-borne illness, according to a recent study conducted by TNS/NFO. I am sure that comes as no surprise to any of you in the food service industry considering nearly every day there is a new issue concerning food safety making headlines.

Most interesting to me in the study was information on one of the leading causes of these illnesses - Salmonella. Of course, since Salmonella bacteria found in eggs is one of the main culprits contributing to food-borne illness, I found much of the information relating to Salmonella and eggs intriguing and eye opening. According to the survey, 70 percent of Americans know the best way to avoid getting Salmonella bacteria from eggs is by cooking them thoroughly. However, this doesn't seem to be happening as often as necessary, as more than half of those surveyed said that they prefer their eggs undercooked, served over easy, sunny side up, soft boiled or as Eggs Benedict. The good news is that with pasteurization we know there are safe options available.

Unlike the average American consumer, today's food industry professional is more often using best practices as a priority in the fight against food-borne illness. However, it is obvious there is always room for more education and awareness on the many leading causes of food-borne illness. One of our objectives at National Pasteurized Eggs, (NPE) is to spread the word about the best practices and the use of easy solutions which can prevent illness or business disruption. Making certain food operators know their options when it comes to keeping consumers safe is our priority. For our part, NPE has and will continue to conduct numerous food safety educational seminars for chef associations, restaurant groups, healthcare associations and chain restaurants, as well as dozens of state and county health departments throughout the U.S. We have made it part of our mission to support the educational process on food safety.

Above I have referenced just a few of the statistics uncovered by this telling survey. If you would like more information on the survey results, it will be posted on the safeeggs website in September, which coincidentally, is National Food Safety Month. Check back at www.safeeggs.com.

We hope you continue to value our on-going communication with you and we encourage you to contact us with any questions or ideas you have on how to continue promoting food safety.

Greg West
President of National Pasteurized Eggs

Food Safety in the News

Food Safety in the News Serrano pepper named as suspect No. 2 in outbreak

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came closer to cracking the mystery of a massive salmonella outbreak with a discovery of contaminated serrano peppers and irrigation water on a farm in Mexico. The FDA said consumers should avoid fresh serrano peppers from Mexico and products containing them. It also reiterated its earlier warning that consumers avoid fresh jalapeno peppers from Mexico.

The new findings lend weight to the FDA's theory that several foods may be causing the outbreak, which has sickened more than 1,300 people nationwide. Serrano peppers, which start green but ripen red, brown, orange and yellow, are five times hotter than jalapenos. Both are often used in salsas.

Recently, the FDA found salmonella matching the outbreak strain in jalapeno peppers at a Texas distribution center. Those peppers came from a different farm in Mexico than the one where salmonella was found in the water, said David Acheson, the FDA's food safety chief, during a congressional hearing.

Source: The Chicago Sun-Times- Posted: July 31, 2008

Food safety worries change buying habits

Troubled by the tainted tomato scare, nearly half of Americans are concerned they may get sick from eating contaminated food and are avoiding items they normally would buy, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll has found. Although three in four remain confident about the overall safety of foods, the poll found that consumers overwhelmingly support setting up a tracing system for produce in the wake of the salmonella outbreak first linked to tomatoes and, now, hot peppers.

The poll found that 80 percent of Americans said they would support new federal standards for fresh produce. Meat and poultry have long been subject to enforceable federal safeguards, but fruits and vegetables are not, although produce increasingly is being implicated in outbreaks.

In Congress, a leading advocate of food safety reforms said the industry would do well to listen to consumers on the need for tracing. While the produce industry agrees that federal standards for preventing contamination are necessary, there is no consensus on a mandatory tracing system. Cost is a concern, especially for smaller companies. The telephone poll of 1,000 adults was conducted July 10-14 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the overall sample.

Source: Yahoo! News- Posted: July 18, 2008

FDA must require tracking of produce-food groups

As more Americans continue to become ill while health officials search for the cause of a salmonella outbreak sweeping the country, consumer groups are pushing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement some emergency tactics to track the movement of produce. Food safety and consumer groups maintain that a tracing system would make it easier to track the origin of fruits and vegetables as they move through the supply chain, thus helping to identify the source of outbreaks of food-borne toxins such as salmonella or e.coli.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Consumer Federation of America say that a single tracking system should be implemented that follows produce from farm to table, ensuring proper record-keeping throughout the process. Some produce companies already use tracking technologies, but they are voluntary, and systems are different from one business to the next.

The consumer safety groups also called on the FDA to require growers and others handling produce to have food safety plans for their businesses.

Source: Business News for the Food Industry-Posted July 7, 2008
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Food Safety Q & A

Food Safety Q & AIf you have a question you would like us to address in a future e-newsletter, please contact us at 4safetyssake@gmail.com.

Q. Is it safe to refreeze raw meat and poultry that has thawed?

A. The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing."

(DO NOT thaw meat at room temperature, such as on the kitchen counter.)

Meat and poultry that is refrozen might suffer some quality loss as moisture may be lost during thawing. Safety will depend on whether the raw product was handled properly before it was frozen, refrozen shortly after it was thawed, cooked to a safe temperature when it is eaten, and handled safely if there are any leftovers.

Source: Food Reflections-Posted September 2003
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Safe Serving Spotlight

Univeristy of Montana 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.

University of Montana-Missoula, Montana
Executive Chef Tom Siegel

Sanitizing at an expert level

The University of Montana's food service operation takes it mission seriously when it comes to food safety on campus. Their goal is to provide guest satisfaction by serving delicious, well-balanced meals at reasonable prices, while providing excellent guest service and innovative programs. The university is a self-operated food service entity and all profits are put toward renovations and improvements throughout the campus. Making sure that they stay a self-operated business, as well as a "safe"-operated business is Tom Siegel, executive chef.

Chef Siegel works extensively with 90 full-time employees and 250 part-time student employees on their initial training and mandatory safety procedures, on top of keeping the dining services up and running. Another of Chef Siegel's focuses is to maintain safety in all dining areas.

"We are blessed to work with an official sanitarian, Dan Corti, who is the executive director of the environmental health and risk management department. He is constantly evaluating our environment," said Siegel. "Not every campus has the luxury of having an official sanitarian perform inspections regularly to ensure maximum safety."

Another reason that the university is so unique is because every employee participates in the National Restaurant Association's Servsafe (Safe Serve) Program within one year of his/her hire. The Servsafe Safe Serve Program is highly rated and one of the most commonly used programs within the country. Employees are required to attend this program for a total of 16 class hours. In this training, they are awarded with manager's level certification. This is crucial in the event they are asked to assist in service lines or observe the actions of their peers. This also is a building block that helps prepare students for a possible career in food management.

Other food safety aspects that Chef Siegel is proud of are regarding monitoring food time and temperatures prior to serving to the masses. They are diligent in recording temperature at scheduled intervals and then marks the findings in a temperature log. Another important safety concern is the hygiene of the food service handler. There is a glove policy when handling food, as well as a vigorous hand washing program.

"These programs have always been in place, however we have really stepped them up due to a past outbreak of the norovirus in our vicinity, which is an infection that affects the stomach and causes severe stomach flu-like symptoms," Chef Siegel said. "We wanted to make sure that the norovirus was never a concern of ours, so we really ramped up the personal hygiene program within the last two years."

As the University of Montana continues to promote a safe atmosphere they are also concentrating on making the food allergy friendly. Foreseeing a rise in nut allergies, Chef Siegel is spending time on separating the nut filled recipes from the regularly served recipes. Increasing allergy awareness is just another way Chef Siegel continues to keep his dining services safe and ready for an expert evaluation. Hats off to Chef Siegel and the University of Montana food service team!! Keep up the good work!!

From the Food Safety Expert

From the Food Safety Expert Food Protection Connection: Dirty Little Secrets - What Your Equipment Won't Tell You

Whether it's a home, hotel, or school kitchen, when it comes to cleaning and sanitizing, we work in a vacuum. We don't see the pathogens on food contact surfaces, yet every day we take steps to destroy them. If your food equipment could talk, what would it really tell you about dirt and germs? This column, explores some of these "dirty little secrets." Let's start with dirt, or more technically, "soil," that resides on the surfaces of pots and pans, dishes, slicers, mixers and the like.

Secret #1. You can't always see soil.

We think of soil as the brown stuff in the garden or under the lawn, but some soil is not visible to the human eye. Soil can vary in composition, containing fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, sand, fine metal particles, or charred and carbonized residue from cooking and combinations of these. Each type of soil responds to detergents differently. For example, many carbohydrates are soluble in water, while fats require an emulsifier, and proteins require alkaline cleansers for removal. Enzymes are used as ingredients in some cleaners today; these are specialized proteins that break down organic substances. Stubborn mineral build-up often calls for acid cleaners.

Secret #2. Bacteria form resistant biofilms on food contact surfaces.

A biofilm is a mass of bacteria that have formed their own sort of "glue" and construct a hazardous film over a surface--even on stainless steel. The process begins when a few bacteria attach to a surface. As bacteria multiply and a colony develops, the bacteria produce chemical substances that build a protective matrix. The matrix is tough and hard to permeate. Sanitizers can "slide" right over it without harming the bacteria within. In some cases, a chunk of the biofilm can break off, releasing live bacterial cultures. Besides bacteria, other pathogens such as fungi can also form biofilms. Biofilms are not limited to the foodservice environment. They can also form in the body (e.g., on teeth as dental plaque), in healthcare environments, plumbing systems, and manufacturing plants. While research focuses on techniques for preventing and destroying biofilms, experts suggest that scrupulous attention to conventional cleaning and sanitizing techniques in food service is our best ammunition against the dangers. Diligence in the cleaning process is especially critical, because this helps remove the biofilm before sanitizing. If a biofilm persists, even a chemical sanitizing agent may not be effective against the protective barrier of a biofilm.

Secret #3. Damaged food contact surfaces may not be cleanable.

While stainless steel is very tough, withstanding acid, salts and corrosive agents, other surfaces are not. Aluminum, for instance, is readily damaged by food acids and by alkaline cleaners. When a surface becomes corroded, pitted, cracked or roughened, cleaning (and sanitizing) become less effective. Plastics are also subject to damage. Even polished stainless steel, when subjected to abuse (e.g., improper cleaning), can have its smooth surfaces marred. The problem with any surface damage is that sanitizing agents can't reach the germs to do their job. Tiny crevices serve as hiding places. It's important to select high quality equipment, and to inspect it regularly. If surfaces are damaged, discard and replace equipment.

Secret #4. An unclean surface can't be sanitized.

Much as a rough surface can't be cleaned, a surface containing soil deposits can't be sanitized. Soil deposits render a surface uneven as well, making it impossible for sanitizing agents to make solid contact. In addition, some soils chemically inactivate a sanitizer. Among the choices of agents, quaternary ammonium compounds (quats) are least sensitive to small soil deposits, but as there is no way to measure their effectiveness in the kitchen, it's best to aim for perfection.

Secret #5. With chemical sanitizers, more is not better.

Conscientious foodservice employees are often tempted to boost concentrations of sanitizing agents when mixing a solution, with the thought that a little extra will be more effective. In fact, beyond standard concentrations, chemical sanitizers are no more effective, and can damage food contact surfaces. However, length of contact time does have an impact.

Happy cleaning!

Excerpts reprinted with permission from: Dietary Manager, February 2008
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About Sue Grossbauer, R.D.:

Sue Grossbauer, R.D., building on a career in hospital food service, is active in educational support, marketing communications, and internet development within the foodservice industry. She writes the Food Protection Connection column for Dietary Managers Association (DMA) and has authored several textbooks and online courses, including Behind the Food Code, offered by DMA. Grossbauer is President of The Grossbauer Group in Chesterton, Ind. She can be contacted at sue@ggnet.net.

Did You Know?

With the new school year approaching, why not impress friends and colleagues with some fun facts about food? Slip in a fact or two and let them be impressed with your new found knowledge. Here are some factors to consider:

Source: click here

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