Confessions of a health inspector: What is that mystery meat?

As a food safety inspector, I have inspected nursing homes, casinos, fast food, casual and fine dining restaurants, convenience stores, hotels and more. During these visits, I have seen some establishments that are operating as they should be, and other places that I’ve had to shut down due to multiple food safety infractions.

I entered a restaurant not too long ago to find frozen chicken heaped in a pile in the filthy three-bay sink, with dirty dishes and utensils surrounding the frozen raw poultry. To make matters worse, there was a bag of raw onions just to the side of the sink, where some of the raw poultry juices were draining. In the walk-in cooler, raw produce was stored under seafood and poultry, where juices could drip on—and contaminate—the ready-to-eat foods, and mold was growing on the cooler’s walls. Syrup-like strings of contaminated grease residual were hanging from the vents above the grill, occasionally dripping onto product as it was being cooked. The cold food on the restaurant’s buffet was well over the FDA Food Code’s recommended 41⁰F, and the hot food was well under the recommended 135⁰F. I was stunned and horrified by all of the blatant food safety errors happening at this place.

Another time when inspecting a fine dining restaurant, I found numerous temperature violations and mystery meat in five-gallon old chemical buckets in the walk-in cooler. The cooks were picking crabmeat off the leftovers from the guests’ plates to make crab imperial and cream of crab soup to serve to other diners! Much of the shelving in the facility was made of plywood, which can harbor all sorts of bacteria that can contaminate the food. An employee was literally crawling around on the shelving, where the dishware was stored, potentially contaminating the dishes with his hair, unwashed hands, shoes, etc. As I stood engaged in a heated discussion with the owner about these (and many other) infractions, a cockroach wandered across the stainless-steel countertop between us. The owner simply smashed it with his hand and knocked it onto the floor.

To be honest, I see cross-contamination issues, temperature abuse problems and insect infestations on a regular basis. I once caught a manager turning off the hot water heater – necessary to clean and sanitize dishes, equipment and employees’ hands – to save money! The one commonality that establishments with multiple violations have is they lack strong, knowledgeable leadership.

Here are a few helpful tips from Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc. for running a safe and successful commercial kitchen:

Stay current and get your team formally trained in a certified food manager course. This will reiterate the importance of the critical rules and regulations that you learned when you initially began in the foodservice business. Sometimes, a busy day or being short-staffed distracts from following the basic rules, and a refresher course can be a helpful reminder of the fundamentals 

Train your employees using a food handlers program. This will provide your team with basic (but critical) food safety knowledge. The more educated your team, the more profitable your organization. This also helps lessen the risk of food safety violations in your establishment. 

Conduct self-inspections. This will enable you to catch small issues before they become big problems. For example, if you received a delivery and it wasn’t stored properly, this gives you the opportunity to take corrective action, reminding staff of proper protocols. Otherwise, there could be a spoilage issue, a cross-contamination or cross-contact problem or other challenges that may not be noticed until it’s too late. Hold one another accountable. 

Use temperature logs. This is a valuable tool that will assist you with spotting temperature issues before they become a cost factor or liability issue. By utilizing temperature logs, you can take corrective action prior to having to waste product, therefore, decreasing food cost and increasing profit margins. This valuable tool will aid in finding temperature issues before the health inspector writes them up as code violations, but, most importantly it’s a proactive means to keeping your patrons healthy. 

Hire an agency to conduct third-party inspections. Often, bringing in an objective third party will boost your profits and increase your health inspection scores. Another set of eyes from the outside will see things from a different perspective, which can be invaluable. Third-party inspectors can review key elements that the health inspector will be assessing and point out possible infractions. Hire someone reputable, who knows the business and genuinely cares about your outcome.

Implement an active managerial control program. The purpose of active managerial control is to focus on controlling the five most common risk factors for foodborne illness:

- Purchasing food from unsafe sources
- Failing to cook food adequately
- Holding food at incorrect temperatures
- Using contaminated equipment
- Practicing poor personal hygiene

Taste correctly with a clean utensil every time – no double dipping!

Utilize single-use gloves properly. Single-use gloves are a protective barrier between your hands and the food you serve. If your gloves become contaminated, they’re useless. Prior to putting the gloves on, wash your hands properly with warm water 100⁰F (38⁰C) and soap, then dry them thoroughly. Never blow into the gloves or roll them to make them easier to put on - both of these practices will cause contamination. Single-use gloves must be changed as soon as they become dirty or torn when changing tasks, after interruptions (such as taking a phone call), or after handling raw meat, seafood or poultry and before handling ready-to-eat food.

Holding a leadership role in the foodservice industry isn’t an easy job. It involves long hours, high stress and significant responsibility. Sometimes you work for many days straight without a day off, but you still need to be a positive role model for your staff. Leaders should model the importance of proper food safety protocols, ensuring that their entire team follows these important rules. By doing so, you’ll improve your business benefits (higher profits, strong customer loyalty) and keep your valued guests safe.

Francine L. Shaw is president of Food Safety Training Solutions Inc., which offers a robust roster of services, including consulting, food safety training, food safety inspections, norovirus policies for employees, norovirus clean-up procedures, curriculum development, responsible alcohol service training, and more. The Food Safety Training Solutions team has more than 100 combined years of industry experience in restaurants, casinos and convenience stores. The company has helped numerous clients, including Paradies Lagardère, McDonald’s, Subway, Marriott, Domino’s, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Dairy Queen and Omni Hotel and Resorts, prevent foodborne illnesses. Additionally, they work with restaurants of all sizes, schools, medical facilities, convenience stores, hotels, and casinos. Francine has been featured as a food safety expert in numerous media outlets, including the Dr. Oz Show, the Huffington Post, Food Safety News and Food Management Magazine.

The Collaboration of Food Safety and Design: It’s Not Just About Cool Colors and Kitchen Aesthetics

By Francine L. Shaw, President
Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc.

Often, people think of only the aesthetics of a kitchen design – like what color tiles to use and what the finished project should look like. It’s far more important to think through the function of the design to maximize efficiency and to ensure it supports proper food safety protocols.Recently, I happened to sit next to an interior designer on a plane, and we chatted throughout the entire flight.  She was telling me about her job as an interior designer, and I was telling her about mine as a food safety expert, and we discussed – at length! – how these two roles aligned.   In our conversation, we agreed that food service professionals – restaurant owners, kitchen managers, etc. – should work in conjunction with the folks who design restaurants, kitchens, and equipment.  In fact, all commercial and residential kitchens should be designed with food safety in mind.

A person can wash their hands 100 times a day, but if the water at the sink doesn’t get hot enough, it’s irrelevant as far as food safety is concerned. Often, I see commercial kitchens with hot water tanks that are too small to handle their large volume of business.  This is something that should be considered at the design stage to ensure the proper size tank is installed (and will fit into the space).

Similarly, if the faucet at the kitchen sink is too low relative to the sink rim, contaminants can easily splash up into the aerator, making the faucet a major source of contamination. Many people would be shocked to learn how dirty kitchen sinks are – in both home and commercial kitchens.  If you wash poultry in the sink, for instance, you risk having salmonella splash up in the faucet where it can survive and breed. When’s the last time you took the aerator off your kitchen sink and cleaned it? (Not many people do.)

When planning and designing commercial kitchen spaces, it’s critical to consider food safety protocols.   When reviewing the proposed layout, think like a food safety expert (or, better yet, hire a food safety expert to consult on the project!).  For instance, servers shouldn’t walk through the prep areas with dirty dishes and utensils that they cleared from guests’ tables – that’s a contamination risk.  The kitchen space should have a separate area for staff to prep/cook/plate allergy-friendly meals for food-allergic guests.  Also, there should be separate equipment (including fryers and grills) that are designated allergy-friendly and free of common allergens, including gluten, seafood, nuts. and dairy.  The floor plan should show the flow between all areas of food service, coolers/freezers, storage, ware washing, server prep, restrooms and janitor areas to maximize food safety and minimize risks.

Cleanliness is an essential part of food safety procedures, and any good kitchen design makes it easy, efficient and safe to clean hands, food, dishes and other equipment.  Handwashing sinks should be convenient and easily accessible for all employees on the line, in prep areas, in the ware wash room and in the front of the house.  (Remember – everyone on your staff will need to wash their hands after handling money, touching menus, shaking hands with guests, before handling food, etc. – so all employees will need access to handwashing sinks throughout their shifts.)  Each kitchen should have at least one separate mop sink available to fill up and dispose of mop water – and this sink should never be used to wash food, equipment, dishes or hands.  Also essential: a 3-compartment sink for washing, rinsing and sanitizing equipment.  A 3-compartment sink is necessary even if the kitchen has a dishwasher.

The layout of each part of the kitchen should be thoughtfully considered for efficiency and food safety.  For instance, the food prep line should be efficient, of course, but should also be designed to elevate food safety practices.  In the prep line, position the salad station on the opposite end from where raw meat and poultry are being prepped and handled.  Additionally, store ready to eat foods (like produce) away from raw proteins (poultry, meat, seafood, eggs) to reduce the chance of cross-contamination.

While the design and functionality of the kitchen space are important, so is the design and functionality of kitchen equipment.  If the refrigerator in your commercial or residential kitchen has spots on the door to hold milk and eggs, that’s a design flaw that can lead to foodborne illness.  The door is actually the warmest spot in a refrigerator – especially when people are opening and closing the door multiple times per day.  Therefore, storing dairy and eggs there poses a risk.  Instead, store milk, eggs, and other dairy products at the proper temperature – in the coldest part of the refrigerator – and avoid exposing them to warm air throughout the day, which boosts the chance that harmful bacteria will grow.

Also, it may seem like a minor aesthetic detail, but kitchen designers must think about the materials they use – down to the tiles and shelving.  If designers use porous materials, there’s a much higher risk that the tiles (e.g., floors, counters, backsplashes) and shelving will harbor bacteria, which could lead to foodborne illness incidents or outbreaks.  Therefore, all finishes in food prep areas should be smooth, easily cleanable and non-absorbent.  In addition, designers and construction teams must prevent even the smallest cracks or crevices in kitchens, as these areas can quickly and easily attract dirt, germs, insects and rodents – which can a) lead to foodborne illnesses and b) be difficult and expensive to remove. Be sure to seal counters, cabinets and other equipment to the walls or, conversely, leave enough open space between the counters/cabinets/etc. and the walls to allow thorough and regular cleaning.

It is imperative that the minimum lighting requirements in food preparation, storage, and serving areas are met. And, that equipment and utensils conform to the requirements as specified in by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). These are areas that are frequently overlooked.

Food safety and design professionals must work collaboratively to minimize the risk of foodborne illnesses and to maximize the safety of all guests. A food safety expert will add unequivocal value and confidence when designing for today’s world where food safety and food defense are of the utmost importance in any commercial kitchen.

Francine L. Shaw is President of Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc., which offers a robust roster of services, including consulting, food safety training, food safety inspections, norovirus policies for employees, norovirus clean-up procedures, curriculum development, responsible alcohol service training, and more. The Food Safety Training Solutions team has more than 100 combined years of industry experience in restaurants, casinos, and convenience stores. The company has helped numerous clients, including Paradies Lagardère, McDonald’s, Subway, Marriott, Domino’s, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Dairy Queen, and Omni Hotel and Resorts, prevent foodborne illnesses. Additionally, they work with restaurants of all sizes, schools, medical facilities, convenience stores, hotels, and casinos.  Francine has been featured as a food safety expert in numerous media outlets, including the Dr. Oz Show, the Huffington Post, iHeartRadio, Food Safety News, and Food Management Magazine.