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?

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. 

WE ARE NOT THE BAD GUY.

This may be the first time some of you have heard of me. My name is Francine. I am a food safety subject matter expert. I own Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc. and provide a multitude of services for those in the food/alcohol service industry.

That being said, I have had a rather interesting past few days. One of many frustrations and a few moments of great satisfaction. I LOVE what I do and I've spent over 30 years in the industry and literally worked my way from the ground up.

Now to the point. On Saturday I was conducting health inspections anticipating an easy day. When you're in my line of work, you know things rarely ever go as expected. I entered my first establishment and all of their meat products in the meat cooler were well over the required forty-one degrees, and most were well into the fifty degree range and over! Needless to say I shut them down. The second establishment, a butcher shop, was more of the same. Fresh bacon was at seventy degrees, chicken breasts at fifty degrees, and stuffed pork belly (hog maw) at fifty-five degrees. Again, I shut them down. Five of eight establishments inspected were closed for various violations. No adequate hand-washing stations, no food thermometers, no sanitizer or test strips, and the list goes on. At one point a member of the community was so angry that she could not purchase her groceries she began shouting, "I DON'T NEED YOU TO PROTECT ME!" A large crowd was gathering and they were not happy! I am protecting them and I am suddenly the bad guy. Yet, if they became ill or heaven forbid died, as the bad guy I should've caught it.

Recently a little girl in Oregon (5 years old) and one in Washington state (3 years old) died as a result of E. coli, and five more children in Kentucky are in the hospital with a kidney disease usually caused by E. coli. These are only a few of the most recent cases of illnesses that have been reported. Once it's been determined, if it can be determined where these illnesses originated - it's too late. These people are already sick or deceased!

Every year in this country it is estimated that there are 48 million foodborne illnesses per year: 1 in 6 Americans, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths. Education and awareness are paramount.

We need to get everyone on the same page. There is no reason for people to get sick or die due to the food they consume!

Cutting Corners Doesn't Cut Costs.

As someone that is personally out and about in the food service industry, I have opportunity to see things that I really wish I didn't. I spent over twenty years in "operations." I have personally cooked food, waited on customers, cleaned drains (with toothbrushes), scrubbed toilets, and even wiped fecal matter off the walls (Yes - for some reason, certain customers feel compelled to do this...).

When I was a manager and eventually an Operating Partner, I wanted to operate my establishment in a manner that I could be certain the food was safe. This meant keeping the employees trained and the facility clean. I am astounded when I go out to conduct food safety inspections! I'm not speaking of working dirt. I can look beyond that issue. I am referring to total disregard for public health. I was so naïve in my early years I thought everyone had the same standards I did... silly me!

When money is tight and owners/managers start to make cuts, typically the first items cut are training and cleaning supplies. This makes no sense to me. It's a fact that well-trained staff contribute more profit to your bottom line. It's also a fact the customers don't like to visit dirty restaurants. Again a loss of clientele is going to take away from your bottom line. So, how do we change this thought process? How do we change the mentality of what they don't know won't hurt them (when in fact it can kill you)?  How do we make those who don't seem to care, care? I don't pretend to have the answers to all of these questions; nor, do I intend to throw everyone into this preverbal boat. But, I do know that we have many issues that need to be corrected as a whole and it starts at the top - with attitude.

Mold around edge of freezer 

Unidentifiable meat product, improper storage, filthy floor 

Uncovered product, cardboard in box, contaminated 

Unidentified meat product

Grapes

Stove