How Safe is Your Ice?

Americans purchase several bags of ice every year. As you would suspect the majority of it is purchased during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Bagged ice comes in many forms. Regardless of its form or the source of water it is derived from, ice is considered a food by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). If it is produced in one state and sold in another, packaged ice is regulated, as a food. FDA regulations require that packaged ice must be produced with properly cleaned and maintained equipment from water that is potable, and that it is stored and transported in clean and sanitary conditions.

 Handle ice like a food, treat it safely:

At Home

• Use clean, non-breakable utensils to handle ice, such as tongs or an ice scoop

• Avoid touching ice with dirty hands or glasses

• Store ice only in clean containers that are safe for storing food

For Picnics

• Raw foods that will be packed with loose ice in a cooler should be wrapped securely to prevent water from the melting ice from cross-contaminating the foods in the cooler -- for example, carrying juices from raw meat to vegetables (ideally you wouldn’t pack raw meats and vegetables in the same cooler)

• Put a separate bag of ice in a cooler to use in drinks. Don't use loose ice from a cooler full of raw foods for drinks

For Parties

If you plan to pour packaged ice into a tub or sink for guests to use in their drinks:

• First wash the receptacle thoroughly with a mixture of one teaspoon of unscented liquid bleach to a quart of water

• Rinse with clean water

• Let it air-dry or pat dry with fresh paper towels

• Be sure to have several scoops, tongs, or other utensils handy with which your guests can pick up ice without touching it with their hands

Another Tip: When you visit your favorite eating establishments take a look at the ice shoot. Is it clean? If not cleaned and sanitized regularly the beverage center can harbor potentially harmful bacteria and viruses. Have you ever seen someone stick their hand in that shoot?

Helping Your Clients Prepare for a Health Inspection

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

If you are reading this, more than likely you are someone that trains individuals in the food service arena. Nothing makes these folks more nervous than a health inspector. Trust me, I know - I am a health inspector and I experience it firsthand. One of the advantages I have (I believe) is that I have worked both sides of the industry. I know what it’s like to be on the other side of the clipboard. As an operator I thought everyone operated like I did. I held cleaning parties every so often to deep clean, implemented cleaning schedules and back-up assignments - the whole gamut. This isn’t the norm. I am thoroughly amazed at the things I find. But that’s not what this is about; I want to help you help your clients feel more at ease with their health inspectors.

Let me begin by saying, health inspectors are like everybody else. We wake up in the morning wanting (sometimes praying) to have a good day. Health inspectors don’t go out looking for restaurants to shut down. We are willing and able to educate those who are willing to learn. We prefer the code violations be corrected as we conduct the inspection; this helps the operator with their overall rating.

So, what does the health inspector look for? We each have certain areas we focus on - I’m certain (for me it’s ice machines). The pictures I could show you – there aren’t enough words to describe. Overall there are some key areas:

• Proper hand washing stations

   - Hot water – at least 100⁰F

   - Hand soap

   - Paper towels/Air dryer

   - Trashcan

   - Signage

*When done correctly hand washing is the single most effective way to stop the spread of infections.

• Health inspectors need to make certain that the food is coming from an approved source. And, yes we may ask for the documentation. You might want an explanation of what an approved source is… I once walked into a restaurant right after a goat had been slaughtered in a kitchen – true story! That meat was not USDA approved.

• Health inspectors need to ensure that cooled foods are chilled in an appropriate amount of time. How can I verify this without temperature logs?

• Does the commercial/manual dishwashing station have the correct sanitizer concentration? How do you know if you don’t have test strips readily available? Locked in the office is not readily available.

• Health inspectors need to assure that there has been no cross-contamination between various products in the numerous storage areas.

• Are hot foods hot, cold foods cold, and frozen foods frozen? Sounds pretty straightforward, but temperatures are a key issue on health inspections. Primarily because most restaurants don’t keep temperature logs, therefore they don’t realize that the products aren’t the correct temperature. Heck, sometimes they don’t even have a thermometer!

These are just a few of the basics, but if operators have these items under control they are well on their way to a successful health inspection, which will make them feel more comfortable with their inspector! In the few hundred health inspections I do every year, the majority of them are fantastic operators!

Where is my food thermometer?

Once again, I was out and about yesterday conducting food safety audits. My assistant and I entered an establishment and began our normal routine. It was a small operation so we weren’t expecting it to take long. Generally, we can tell right away if the operators are above board or not.

After introducing ourselves, we headed to the kitchen. The owner was somewhat distraught, “You didn’t call me to schedule an appointment.” Uh no kidding, I thought. “No ma’am, we don’t schedule appointments,” I replied. “Well, if you’d scheduled an appointment I would’ve been ready!” she blurted. “I guess so.” I responded.  “Do you have a food thermometer?” I asked, as I was taking the temperature of the water at her hand sink. “Yes.” She answered. “Great! I need to see it.” I said. The owner then went on a ten minute mission while we continued our inspection process. Now I’m not proclaiming to know everything but my experience is telling me, if you can’t find your thermometer within two or three minutes – ladies and gentlemen - YOU’RE NOT USING IT! And this is what I told her. Her eyes shot darts.

So, now we move on to the sanitizer, does she have it? Yes, there it is. How about test strips?  Another hide and seek mission. She tells me she just purchased some at Lowe’s. At Lowe’s? I have never seen them at Lowe’s. Who knows? Again, if you can’t find them… I seriously doubt you’re using them.

The point of this is to let you know that you’re health inspector is not an idiot. 

He or she knows if you are doing what you need to do on a regular basis or not. It’s much easier to be compliant and follow the rules, than to go through the awkward 30 to 60 minutes of the inspection process and wonder if you’re going to be in compliance or not. I personally hate those awkward inspections. Let alone the ones where I have to shut a facility down because they pose an imminent danger to the public.

Educate yourself and your team. 

Make your health department your ally, they want to help you. We love those who do their jobs well. Trust me; we want to have a good day just as much as you do!  And those Food Manager Certification classes - don’t just learn the information to pass the exam; take the information back to your team and share it with them. I can’t tell you how many times a day I say, “Remember that food safety class you took?”  “Oh yeah…” they say.

We can help you maintain compliance! Visit us at fsts.net to find out how.