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Thursday, March 5, 2015

1 in 6 American’s Get Food Poisoning Annually, Don’t Become a Statistic!



Francine L. Shaw CP-FS, CFSM, FSP, FMP

Every year in this country 48 million people get foodborne illnesses, 128,000 individuals are hospitalized and 3,000 people die. US Foodborne illnesses cost 15.6 billion dollars per year…that’s right, BILLION. Yet, they’re 100% preventable. So why and how does this happen?


In most occurrences it’s really pretty basic. Here are the statistics: improper holding temperatures (37%), poor personal hygiene (19%), cross contamination (16%), improperly cleaning and sanitizing the dishes and utensils (11%), purchasing products from unapproved suppliers (6%). In many cases it is never determined where the foodborne illness originated. Of those that have been determined: 61% ate food prepared by foodservice, 32% ate food prepared at home, and 7% ate food that was commercially prepared i.e. tuna salad, potato salad, etc.


So how do you know the food you are serving is safe? If you are being proactive you really should have little doubt; but, so many are flying by the seat of their pants. Does your facility have a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) plan in place? Do you panic when the health inspector walks in the door? Are you embarrassed by the results of your most recent inspection? Do you have at least one food manager on staff? The FDA FOOD CODE recommends you do, some states and jurisdictions mandate it while others do not. A savvy restaurant owner would educate their staff either way. To protect their customers, increase their bottom line and help minimize their liability. Take your blinders off and look around your facility, does it look clean? Not just on the surface, but the details. The threshold under the door where your customers enter, the ceiling vents, the baseboards, is there mold in the ice chute at the beverage bar?

Now is the time to get back to the basics. Keep HOT food HOT and COLD food COLD.  Hot food should be held at a minimum of 135⁰F (57⁰C) and cold food should be held at a maximum of 41⁰F (5⁰C).  Time and temperature play an important role in food safety.  It’s paramount that food products are cooked to the correct temperature and stored properly. How do you know this if you can’t even find the thermometer; or, don’t have one? And, this is just the beginning!


Are the employee’s washing their hands with soap? Are they wearing gloves when necessary? Are their uniforms clean? This is all part of personal hygiene….someone that is preparing food should never wear their apron into the restroom because….Well, I won’t get into that here.

Education is power. Educate yourself and your team; don’t allow yourself or your establishment to become one of the statistics in Bill Marler’s phenomenal food poisoning litigation practice.

Handwashing with soap stops the spread of disease and can save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention.


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