The Flu & Food Safety

Did you know?

An invisible sneeze droplet can contain 200 MILLION droplets of germs! 

* Think about this 200 MILLION droplets of germs x ("our sanitizer kills 99.9% of germs!") .01% = YUK!!!!

Statistics say that Norovirus, the number one foodbourn illness in the USA, can remain alive and well for 12 hours on hard surfaces and up to 12 days on contaminated fabrics such as carpets and upholstery.  In still water, it can survive for months, maybe even years.    It’s resistant to household disinfectants and even alcohol based hand gels.  This illness wreaks havoc in hospitals, schools, prisons, nursing homes, day cares, cruise ships, and hotels.

It takes fewer than 20 particles to infect someone with Norovirus.  This means that each droplet of vomit or gram of feces – yes feces, or if you prefer – poo – from an infected person can contain enough infection to contaminate more than 100,000 individuals.  Norovirus like the flu is running rampant this year and unlike the flu…IT IS A FOOD SAFETY ISSUE.

To learn more about the flu and food safety join us today 1.24.2013 @ 3:00 EST at Keeping It Kleen where I will be hosting a twitter party.   Join the chat @ http://tweetchat.com/room/kleenchat  we would love to chat with you there!  It’s sure to be tons of fun!

EXCITING NEWS!

Hey everyone, I have some exciting news!  I am hosting a party!  A twitter party, yep - that's right, a twitter party!  Warm up your thumbs, wipe down your phone, and get ready to join me and the folks at Keeping It Kleen.  We can't wait to chat with you.  The topic will be the flu and food safety.  Click the link for below for the details:

http://www.keepingitkleen.com/commercial-blog/join-us-at-kleenchat-when-we-talk-all-things-flu-food-safety/

Then join us Thursday 1.24.2013 at 3:00 EST @  http://tweetchat.com/room/kleenchat

Looking forward to chatting with you there! 

Stay Healthy,
Francine

WHAT'S A FOODBORNE ILLNESS OUTBREAK COST?

Some of you read my blogs regularly and may know that I am a subject matter expert in the Food Safety arena.  I have been in the food service industry for over 35 years (ugh!).  Seems impossible since I'm only 35...hahahhaha

Anyway, this past year has been a nightmare.  One outbreak after another, one recall after another, people not only in the US but around the world getting sick and dying from foodborne illnesses - which by the way, are 100% preventable.

Only a portion of the states in the U.S. require food service operators to have a food safety certification.  Most reputable corporations require it of their management personnel.  This stuff needs to be take seriously.  People need to stop getting ill and dying because of someone else's carelessness or stupidity.  Many companies conduct internal training, I have no issue with that, as long as it's done properly and it's not a "let's just get through the test mentality".  It only takes one weak link and if we start multiplying those week links, well...

Once food comes into an establishment unsafe, there's nothing you can do to make it safe.  I am attaching a link pertaining to some contaminated lettuce....quite a chain of events. 

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/01/lettuce-served-by-kfctaco-bell-in-canada-contaminated-with-e-coli/

I understand that training is expensive and everyone has a bottom line to concentrate on; however, well trained staff saves money.  It's a fact..  And, what's is going to cost if someone gets sick or dies?  A whole lot more than basic food safety training...

NO MATTER HOW LONG I LIVE...

No matter how long I live, some things will never cease to amaze me.  My husband and I went out for dinner tonight he wanted pizza, so we drove to a restaurant about 30 minutes from our home - we live in a pretty rural area.  The restaurant is a national chain - a franchise. 

We ordered a specialty pizza, he was pretty anxious to try it.  I have to tell you, I have NEVER eaten a worse pizza; it was horrible.  I think it's the first time I've ever eaten dry pizza...  After two bites, I decided I was finished.  This left me plenty of time to just sit and observe.  I know better than to face the kitchen!  Given my occupation, it's never a good idea.  As I was talking to my husband waiting for him to finish, I noticed  a horses head over the "wall" towards the kitchen...what?  I did a double take, sure enough - the cook had some headgear on that resembled a horses head, hair and all!  I'm not a prude and I don't mind employees having a good time but really?  Is this acceptable?  Should this be acceptable?  Of course not.

In the meantime, a little boy - about 7 years old - was at the salad bar alone making himself a salad.  He dropped his bowl and all of its contents on the floor.  Not certain what he should do, he began attempting to clean it up.  He placed the contents that had spewed all over the floor back into the bowl, as several of the establishments employees walked around him.  No one offered to help and I don't know where his parents were.  After he had everything cleaned up to his satisfaction and back in his bowl, he placed it back on the salad bar and start adding more to the contents.  Just as I was about to get up, an employee finally came over to rectify the situation.  Wow..at what point is it proper to intervene?  What made those employees think it was OK to just walk around that little boy and not help him?  Let alone, allow him to place that dirty bowl and its contents back onto the salad bar...this establishment was not busy - not that that would have made it acceptable.

I enjoyed my lemonade and our waitress was very nice, so it wasn't a total loss.  Won't be in any rush to go back.

And, for those operators that are wondering.  If you wouldn't do it if the health inspector was standing there, you shouldn't do it when they're not.

The Main Dish: IT'S THAT TIME...PITCH THE LEFTOVERS

The Main Dish: IT'S THAT TIME...PITCH THE LEFTOVERS: We're 6 day's into the new year and my husband and most of my friends have been knocked on their butts by the flu!  It's some nasty stuff.  ...

January 12th...the flu is lingering.  No of them have fully recovered!

IT'S THAT TIME...PITCH THE LEFTOVERS

We're 6 day's into the new year and my husband and most of my friends have been knocked on their butts by the flu!  It's some nasty stuff.  I don't think Tim has moved for 3 or 4 days.

As I said, we are already six days into the new year.  Yes, 2013 has arrived and is here to stay for another 359 days...It seems like a long time but before we know it, it will be Christmas again!

If you have not already done so it's time to purge all of those New Year's Eve and New Year's Day leftovers from your refrigerator.  It's too late to make soup from that leftover ham, don't do it!  I don't care how good the ham still smells, it's time to toss it.  And, grab that eggnog and dump it too.

This is an exciting month for us...we are training in another new state (New Jersey) and I will be the guest host @ Keeping it Kleen's Twitter Party (#Kleenchat) on 1.24.13 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST.  Be sure to join in on the fun! 

As I type this blog, they're talking about "poison pizza" on the television...ironic.  Food safety issues are everywhere!

Follow us on twitter @ foodsafetytraining@fsts3787

 

IT'S A NEW YEAR!

It's a new year!  One has to wonder what this year will bring...we (as a country) didn't fall off the proverbial fiscal cliff, so what does that mean?  As far as food safety is concerned, it means there is less money to spend to ensure the safety of the food we consume.  In essence, it's more than likely going to be more of the same.  More bad food, more illnesses, more deaths.  We as individuals are going to have to take it upon ourselves to educate one another on the perils of food safety.

How do we do this?  When you're out, don't be afraid to speak up!  If you see an employee that's not washing their hands, say something.  If you see someone that's not wearing gloves, say something.  If you notice an expired food safety certification or lack of certification, again say something.  You deserve safe food!

Every year in this country an estimated 76 million people get a foodborne illness, 325,000 people are hospitalized and 5,000 individuals die...why?  This is 100% preventable, there is no excuse!  I believe education is the answer.  Education and accountability.    Well trained employees are more productive, reduce food cost, and are less likely to cause harm to your clientele.

Why not invest in the best insurance policy you can get?  A well trained staff...