WOW...What A Year We've Had!

One more for 2012...

Yesterday I made a list of goals and objectives for 2012 (a first for me without being forced).  Doing so, forced me to reflect on the past year.  I find myself a bit amazed at what we have accomplished.  I'm not the type to sit around and pat myself on the back, so many times we accomplish what we set out to do and move on to the next "big thing".

Though I have over 35 years of food service industry experience, I founded my own business in 2008;  I had been working as an independent contractor since 2006.  I truly didn't intend to start my own company, believe it or not, it's something I was "forced" to do (that's a whole other story - I could write an award winning book, on that one).  Anyway,  back to the point,  I didn't really start actively pursuing business until January 2011.  I started teaching "public" classes in three cities.  My very first "public" (public vs private, corporate, etc.) had two students!  Well, I'd been through this before - when I worked for another company.  I helped grow that company to where it is today.  I can do this, I thought as I drove home calculating the money that class had COST me to teach...ugh.  My original plans for the company didn't work out.  One or two people (who talked me into this) bailed before we even got started!  I need a new plan...I am a survivor and I will make it, that became my motto.  If other companies can do this, so can I.

I knew before I started I needed a solid brand, I had that.  I'd hired a wonderful company to help me with all of my branding and marketing.  Now I need to get the message out.  What is the most effective, least expensive way to accomplish this...

In the past twelve months, I have hired a Training Coordinator, an Accountant, and two Trainers.  We are training in - not three cities - but six states!  We have a facebook page that is viewed in twenty countries around the world and read in eighteen languages!  Food Safety Training Solutions, LLC publishes a monthly news letter that goes out to two thousand subscribers in three countries!  And, I learned how to tweet (hahaha).  I write a monthly article for a local Chamber of Commerce.  We have been contracted to teach for two colleges, and obtained two state certifications.  We have also been asked to conduct some speaking engagements.  And, have our own personalized stationary!  Thanks Laura and Amber - I love you guys:)  Not bad for twelve months.

So what's next, I would like to get back into third party audits and inspections.  I love that work.  I hope to get more involved with the TIPS program and possibly RAMP, again in 2013.  I want to hire another trainer and maybe, one more office person.  I will hit 3,000 "LIKES" on facebook - funny how that is now a measurement of how we're doing...it was a year end goal, close but won't quite make it.  It would be awesome if I could be at 10,000 by this time next year!!! Who knows...I'm a dreamer.  There's more, but I guess it's not good to publicly share ALL of my plans...

I want to thank everyone that's been a part of this amazing, crazy, process.  I appreciate each and everyone of you more than you know, your support is how I get through some of the most difficult days - and there have been a few.  My husband and my kids have been amazing, I love them so much.  Most of my friends have been very supportive, I can't tell you how much it means...Again, thank you all.

I hope everyone one has a safe and happy new year!  One more thing...does this mean that I can soon get a comfortable office chair??? 

Stay safe, be happy!

Francine





 

Where Did The Time Go?

WOW!  Where did the month (year) go!  I have had an incredibly busy few weeks.  I just realized I haven't posted anything in my blog for three weeks...I'm being a real slacker! lol  If you only knew....

We, here at Food Safety Training Solutions, have been busy wrapping up our year end.  Deciding what states to venture into next year; and, what new projects to take on.

We participated (anonymously) in the 26 random acts of kindness, in honor of the victims in Newtown, CT.  And donated funds to the local food basket for those in need.

Personally, I have spent a considerable amount of time with my Granddaughter. We baked cookies, put up the Christmas tree, set out decorations, went to see Christmas lights, and just enjoyed our time together in general.  I've also seen more of my daughter than normal which is wonderful!

We are still working on our new website and as excited about it as ever.  Shopping cart to be included!  As well as a few specialty items.

Our facebook page has a post pertaining to the worst food safety errors of 2012.  It's worth a read.  I also just posted a recall from Wal-Mart and Sam's Club...Nice way to wrap up the year (sarcasm).

This year, I was faced with the decision of whether to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holiday's".  Really?  This is my decision, "Merry Christmas" it is and will be.  I don't want to offend anyone; but, I promise you - if you want to honor your faith and say "Happy Hanukkah", "Happy Kwanzaa", anything else, or nothing at all, I will not be offended.  I will also respect and honor your decision.

Happy New Year to one and all!  Stay Safe and I'll chat with you in the New Year!

If the "Queen of Cooking" Can Make a Mistake, So Can You!

“I never get sick, but I came down with salmonella. I think I caught it because I was handling so many turkeys around Thanksgiving," Stewart told Page Six. "I was on the 'Today' show, I did a number of other [Thanksgiving] appearances. It really hit me hard and I was in bed for days. It was terrible." 
The above is a quote from Martha Stewart dubbed the, "Queen of Cooking".  I have news for her, simply handling those turkeys did not make her sick...somehow she ingested that salmonella.  Whether one of those birds (or the stuffing) wasn't cooked properly, she didn't wash her hands correctly, or maybe a cross contamination or cross contact happened somewhere - who knows?  At least at this point, it doesn't seem to have been a outbreak - the whole 'TODAY' show staff could have gotten ill, IF it had been from that particular turkey and IF they had all eaten it.  In reality, we will probably never know where Ms. Stewart's particular illness originated, because fortunately it seems she was the only one that became ill - it may not have been turkey at all.
Let this be a lesson to everyone that foodbourne illness can happen to ANYONE.  Food safety training for staff and employee's is key.  Basic knowledge for everyone is essential.  Knowledge prevents illness and saves lives!

Ain't Nobody Got Sick Yet!

Do you have any idea how many recalls there were this year?  How about foodbourne illnesses?  What about deaths due to foodbourne illnesses?  I can tell you the statistics are staggering!  Why?  All of this is 100% preventable!  I’ve said it before.  Somewhere between farm and fork, someone messed up and messed up big; because, now we have people getting sick and dying.  For those of you that don’t pay much attention to recalls, over the past several months Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Nesquick, Dole Bagged Salad, Infants Tylenol, have all been recalled - just to name a few…

And then, in California at a six bed senior care facility four people died because the caretaker made soup with poisonous mushrooms she picked from the yard.  Of course, this was unintentional.  She herself was hospitalized.

Again, why?  Everyone seems to have the - it won’t happen to me mentality.  “I’ve been cooking for 40 years, ain’t nobody got sick yet!”, if I’ve heard that once I’ve heard it a hundred times.  I’m telling you, it can and it does happen.  If it can happen to a large corporation, I can guarantee it can happen to you.  Educate yourself and if you own/manage a foodservice facility or if you feed people during the course of your workday educate your team.  Not because you have to, because it’s the right thing to do.  It’s the best insurance policy you can get!

Breakfast at ???

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  In my mind they are always too short!  Yesterday my husband and I decided that we were going to go out for breakfast - something we rarely do.  We visited an establishment that I can only bear to visit about once every year or so.  It's one of those places that the entire kitchen is in full view, so you have the full "advantage" of seeing and hearing everything.  This would not be a bad idea, if the restaurant was run well.  It is not; but, every time I agree to go I'm hoping things have changed...

My husband decided that we would sit at the bar instead of sitting at a booth, I agreed (why?).  I promise you, even though I own a food safety training/consulting company, I am not obnoxious to eat with; however, as I stated I already have issue with this facility and their seeming inability to do the basics correctly. 

How many food safety violations can be broken in one dining experience?  Who are the single use gloves meant to protect?  Is it OK to scratch your nose, touch all of the handles on the equipment, scratch your nose again, touch the tops of two plates, put toast in the toaster and take it out of the toaster, and then put it on those plates?  Waitresses were handling dirty and clean dishes; not to mention collecting money.  We were in this facility for 45 minutes, NO ONE washed their hands, NO ONE changed their gloves, NO ONE....

Is any wonder the ceiling vents were growing fur and I could have scratched my name in the filth on the baseboards?!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Today I finished tossing the remainder of the Thanksgiving leftovers.  As I was cleaning out the fridge, I found myself wondering...How is it possible that just over a week ago I spent hours preparing all of this food and everything looked, smelled and tasted wonderful.  Today, honestly, there was one dish I didn't even recognize.  How does that happen?  Bacteria is a terrible thing!  As I was emptying the bowl of sweet potato casserole, I had to smile remembering my three year old granddaughter's efforts at helping me prepare them!  She had a blast, hopefully this will be the beginning of a Thanksgiving tradition.  She loved licking the spoon (it was 9:30 at night and she was exhausted, but having a blast, she fell asleep on the kitchen floor...)!  She was so excited the next day as she told everybody she helped make dinner...

Have you thrown away your Thanksgiving leftovers yet?

'Tis The Season For...Egg Nog!

As I begin to write this blog about food safety and what you can do to keep your loved ones safe and healthy over the holiday season; I can’t help but think about those individuals all along the East Coast that are still digging their way out from the wrath of “Superstorm” Sandy.  How are they celebrating the season?  Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers; they’re going to need all of the support they can get over the coming days, weeks, even months while they acclimate to a new normal.

I love the holiday season.  From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day...food, food, food and more food!  And, I LOVE food…meat, vegetables, fruit, cookies, desserts and don’t forget the drinks!  One of my favorites, EGGNOG…

Grandma’s Eggnog recipe most likely needs a Safety Update (and, before you say it – NO alcohol does NOT kill the bacteria).  I love my Nanny’s eggnog, what do I do?!  Pasteurized shelled eggs are an option, if you have access to them.  If not you’ll need to go another route.

The key is to heat the eggs to 160°F in order to kill the bacteria.

Ahhhh, but the savvy egg-eater would state that this would make a runny egg an omelet; and, they would be correct.  However, simple alterations to the recipe can correct this issue.  Eggs harden when their proteins coagulate, so in order for them to stay runny, their proteins must remain separate.  This can be achieved by diluting the egg with something like milk or sugar.

The magic number is two tablespoons of sugar per white.  If yolks and whites are being cooked together the American Egg board recommends ¼ cup of liquid or sugar per egg.  This mixture can then be heated to 160°F and it will not harden. 

Following this recommendation will not only keep your eggnog safe, but you can refer to it for other recipes containing raw eggs as well.  No need to change the recipes, just combine the ingredients in a different order.

Now, let’s talk about another source of Salmonella.  As I mentioned before I LOVE food, anything sweet is my weakness (my dentist is cringing right now).

Eggs are the unexciting ingredient that goes into many of these cookies, cakes, and other sweet treats.    Eggs are often added quickly then we move on to something more exciting…Chocolate chips! 

When you purchase your eggs commercially there are regulations in place, so you can expect the exterior of the egg and the carton to have met certain standards.   However, Salmonella can live inside the shell.  This means you need to be careful.

I’m not going to tell you to not eat raw cookie dough or you will never read anything else I write.  What I am going to say is, do it at your own risk.  None of you want to spend the holiday cuddled up to the toilet on the bathroom floor.  Barf Humbug! 

Enjoy the season and everything it has to offer – SAFELY!

Who Am I?

Who Am I?

I am a 50 year old woman, married to a wonderful man; I have two terrific children, both adults one son (engaged to an amazing young lady) and one daughter; and, the funniest, most beautiful granddaughter in the world (yes, I'm biased). 

I have over 30 years of food service industry experience, from the ground up - literally.  During that time there isn't much I didn't see or experience first hand.  I've "jumped down" the trash in dumpsters, cleaned a milkshake machine that had cockroaches floating in the mix (restaurant now closed), put out more than one grease fire (at work and at home), and conducted an audit in a facility that had cockroaches falling from the ceiling (no I'm not exaggerating)...

I've had arguments with owners, operators, and chefs pertaining to the safety of the food that they had stored in their walk-in coolers (rice in a cabro pan at 70 degrees Fahrenheit is NEVER a good thing; nor are chicken wings at 57 degrees Fahrenheit) and I've questioned VP's about their policies and procedures.  This work does not typically make me the most popular person in a facility, often times I feel less liked than an auditor from the IRS.  But, what it does do is increase the safety of the customers at those facilities.  I'm not usually hired because a place has a squeaky clean record, generally their has been an issue.  A complaint to corporate or the health department, an ongoing issue with low health inspection scores, or maybe - just maybe, a company has the foresight to do some "preventative" planning.  That's where I come in...

I own a company that conducts food safety training and certification, audits, inspections, consulting, etc. for the food service industry.  It's an industry that I know and love.  I've worked for small privately owned companies, as well as national corporations and casinos.  Life is interesting to say the least!   Take for example the day I had to explain why it was not permissible for a nursing mother to store her breast milk in the walk-in refrigerator....

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

So  after months of contemplating, I am finally going to do it!  I am going to start a blog.   Now the dilemma - what do I write???  Decisions, decisions, decisions....

I could write about my 30+ years of food service industry experience (which includes everything from cleaning crap off walls to conducting third party audits); I could write about basic food safety and the seemingly daily recalls; I could write about the drive-thru cashier that just took my money with his gloves on, wiped his nose, and then handed me my food, or I could write about the fact that over the Thanksgiving holiday my kids found expired ranch dressing in my cupboard (unopened) and expired olive oil mayo in my fridge - my husband and I don't use a lot of condiments - and my future daughter-in-law (whom I love dearly) pointed out, we always have to check the condiments here! You would think given my profession my condiments would be "in code" but even I get caught up in poor rotation (or simple lack of use)!  UGH! 

I could go on, but no need to share everything...I presume this will be a blog pertaining to current events both personal and professional, local and global.  I hope you enjoy it....