Reduce Up to 99% of Present Pathogens on Your Next Grocery Day

During the 1990’s grocery stores began offering reusable bags in an effort to reduce the environmental costs of plastic and paper grocery bags. The trend caught on and many Americans enjoy the benefits of using them. While ecologically friendly, many people are unaware of the physical dangers of reusable grocery bags if not properly washed. Reusable bags are often made of various plastics, canvas, or woven synthetic fibers - all of which can transfer harmful bacteria to contents if they not properly cleaned and maintained.

These bags are typically taken to the market time after time filled with everything from raw beef and poultry to ready-to-eat foods such as heads of lettuce or apples. Washing the reusable bags after use can eliminate harmful pathogens such as E.coli or Salmonella by 99.9% according to *STOP Foodborne Illness.

The Breakdown

• Reusable grocery bags are bags made of plastic, canvas, or woven synthetic fibers.

• Beginning in the 1990’s, supermarkets began offering reusable grocery bags in an effort to reduce the environmental costs of plastic and paper grocery bags.

• Reusable grocery bags tend to go unwashed after carrying raw meat products and have been linked to an increase in E. coli infections.

• By washing reusable bags either by hand or in a washing machine after use, present pathogens can be eliminated by 99.9%.

This principal also applies to other areas that will come into contact with your food. Lunch boxes, for example, should also be washed after every use. Another common mistake is to wash poultry in the kitchen sink, spreading harmful bacteria to large areas around and in the sink - potentially causing contamination. There is no need to rinse your poultry. When poultry is cooked to a temperature of 165⁰F or higher, the bacteria is reduced to levels that make the poultry safe to consume.

A few food safety tips for a healthy home:

·       The temperature of the refrigerator in your kitchen should be kept at 37⁰F-38⁰F. This will keep your cold food temperatures around the recommended 41⁰F or below. 

·       After you open a product, such as lunchmeat or potato salad, be certain to store it for seven days or less. The day you open the product is counted as day one. After seven days the potential exists for enough bacteria growth to make you ill. If the temperature of your refrigeration unit is off by even one or two degrees it is going to affect the safety of your food.

·       Clean the aerator on your kitchen faucet. Your spigot in your kitchen is typically the dirtiest in the house. Is this where you rinse fill your mop bucket AND rinse your vegetables? YUCK!

·       Don’t use sponges in your kitchen, as they harbor potentially harmful bacteria such as E.coli and Salmonella.

*STOP Foodborne Illness is a national nonprofit public health organization dedicated to the prevention of illness and death from foodborne illness by advocating for sound public policy, building public awareness, and assisting those impacted by foodborne illness.

STOP’s Stance

• STOP believes that reusable grocery bags are not a problem in themselves; it is the lack of consumer education on how to properly use them that causes foodborne illness.

• STOP encourages educating consumers on the risks of spreading pathogens through reusable bags and producing reusable bags with a clearly visible message and instructions to wash reusable bags after each use. This simple act could greatly reduce the illnesses spread through bags while maintaining the environmental agenda.

Back to School: 4 Ways to Pack a Safe Lunch for Your Child

It’s the beginning of August and it won’t be long until the wheels on the bus go round and round. That means that millions of parents across the country will begin to pack their children’s lunches. Whether it’s a shiny new Paw Patrol carrier, a character from Frozen, or a brown paper bag doesn’t matter. What is important is the safety of the food inside.

There are approximately 48 million foodborne illnesses in this country every year; that’s 1 in 6 Americans, add to that 128,000 serious cases that require hospitalization and 5,000 deaths. Those little darlings carrying those shiny new lunch boxes are among the most susceptible. It is believed that a large percentage of these illnesses are caused at home. Foodborne illnesses are 100% preventable. It is your responsibility to protect our youth and make certain their food stays safe until it’s consumed.

Many of these illnesses occur because someone didn’t wash their hands properly, didn’t cook the food thoroughly, contaminated equipment was used, products were purchased from unsafe sources or food wasn’t held at the proper temperature.

I recently read an article that stated the following:

In a recent study, lunches of 235 children were checked with at least one perishable food item 90 minutes prior to lunch. The results were astounding:

· 39% of lunches had no ice packs

· 45.1% of lunches had at least one ice pack

·  88.2% of lunches were found to be at a hazardous temperature

· 1.6% of perishable items checked were found to be at unsafe temperature.

This means that most children are eating food that is unsafe (at least according to this study).

Do you know what time your child eats lunch? What temperature is your lunch when you consume its contents? So, what’s a person to do? 

Make certain the food is not contaminated when it is initially packed.

· Wash your hands.

· Clean counter tops.

· Clean utensils, dishes, and anything else that’s going to touch food, including the lunch box.

Keep cold food cold.

Cold food needs to be kept at 41°F or lower:

· Use a cold pack.

· Freeze water, juice, and milk

· Keep packed snacks chilled in refrigerator overnight.

· Freeze items such as grapes, carrots, celery, sweet bread, cubed cheese, etc.

Keep hot food hot.

Hot food needs to be held at 135°F or higher:

· Put all hot foods and beverages in a thermos.

· Pour hot water in thermos prior to filling with food contents.

· Separate cold food from hot food.

Keep cold food COLD and hot food HOT. Every kitchen should have a calibrated thermometer.

What not to pack.

Stay away from proteins and carbohydrates, i.e. meats, pasta, potatoes, including chicken salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, egg salad, etc. These items pose a risk in anyone’s packed lunch.

So, wash your hands and pack those lunches with confidence!

Food Safety Tips for Memorial Day Weekend

Picnics, barbecues, family, friends and the traditional start of summer… Who doesn’t love Memorial Day weekend? While you’re assembling your list of activities for the busy holiday weekend, you may want to remember to add some standard food safety precautions to the agenda. With the warmer weather, the buffet style feeding frenzy, and the potluck smorgasbords that you’re about to partake in, your risk for a foodborne illness is likely to increase significantly. And, I didn’t even mention the lack of hand washing facilities, in some instances… step away from my food!

·       • Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water (100⁰F) before handling any food and after handling raw meat, poultry, or raw eggs.

·        • Always rinse fresh fruits and vegetables.

·       • Cook foods to the required temperatures, especially ground beef (155⁰F), pork (145⁰F), and poultry (165⁰F).

·       • Keep hot foods hot (above 135⁰F) and cold foods cold (below 41⁰F).

Avoid cross contamination, don’t let raw meat products come into contact with ready-to-eat foods (i.e. lettuce, tomato, onions, cheese, bread). Don’t use the same plates and utensils for raw and cooked meat products; for example, don’t carry meat to the grill on a plate and then place the cooked burgers on that same plate without first properly washing it. Someone could get E.coli or Salmonella as a result of this cross-contamination and spend hours lying on the bathroom floor… or worse.

Many picnic foods are potentially hazardous, and should be handled with care:

·       • Any product that contains eggs, meat, poultry, tuna, potatoes, pasta, etc.

·       • Lunchmeats, protein foods, ham salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc.

·       • Meat, fish, poultry

·       • Milk and dairy

·       • Sliced tomatoes

·       • Cut melons – yes, melons!

Again, KEEP HOT FOODS HOT (above 135⁰F) and KEEP COLD FOODS COLD (below 41⁰F)! Enjoy your time with your family and friends, and keep everyone safe and healthy!

*Temperatures in article are reflective of the 2013 FDA FOOD CODE

Monitor Food Safety While Staying Heart Healthy

PURCHASING

Be selective.

Do not purchase bruised or damaged produce - whether it’s on sale or not!

If purchasing pre-cut produce — such as a sliced cantaloupe or bagged salad greens — choose only those items that are kept cold i.e. refrigerated, packed in ice.

Fresh fruits and vegetables must be bagged separately from meat, poultry and seafood products when packing them to take home. This is a sure way to cause illness. Cross-contamination is bound to happen if these items are bagged together.

STORAGE

Did you know that proper storage could affect quality and safety?

Store fresh fruits and vegetables (like strawberries, lettuce, herbs, and mushrooms) in a clean refrigerator at a temperature of 41°F (5°C) or below. There shouldn’t be any mold or unidentifiable objects in your refrigerator. These things are spreading contamination, get rid of them!

All produce that is purchased pre-cut or peeled must be refrigerated to maintain both quality and safety.

SEPARATE

Fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw must be kept separate from other foods such as raw meat, poultry or seafood — and from kitchen utensils used for those products. If not cross-contamination is likely to occur. Here are a few food safety precautions:

Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils and counter tops with soap and hot water between the preparation of raw meat, poultry and seafood products and the preparation of produce that will not be cooked.

If you use plastic or other non-porous cutting boards, run them through the dishwasher after use.

PREPARATION

When preparing fresh produce, start with clean hands. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water 100°F (38°C) before and after preparation.

Remove any and all damaged or bruised areas on fresh fruits and vegetables before preparing and/or eating. Produce that looks spoiled must be discarded.

Wash all produce thoroughly under running water before eating, cutting or cooking. This includes produce grown conventionally or organically at home, or purchased from a grocery store or farmer’s market. Using soap, detergent or commercial produce washes is not recommended.

Whether or  not you plan to peel the produce before consuming, it is still important to wash it first so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the utensil onto the food product. Melons and cucumbers and other firm veggies should be scrubbed with a clean produce brush.

Dry product with a clean paper towel to remove any remaining bacteria that may be present.

Of course eating fruits and vegetables is not the only thing that will help you maintain a healthy heart. A well balanced diet and exercise are part of the plan as well. And, I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention that while a happy healthy heart is our number one goal - if you are lying on the floor beside the toilet and it’s because your forgot to wash your veggies; your happy healthy heart is going to feel very, very sad. 

We at Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc. wish you a lifetime of love with a healthy heart.

Celebrity Chefs: Have they forgotten basic hygiene?

During the past eight years, I have trained nearly 10,000 people for food manager certifications nationally and internationally.

On a weekly basis, someone brings up a celebrity chef and talks about what he or she viewed on a televised program. Bam! I have to undo the damage that’s been done.

In other words, if a huge celebrity chef can do it on TV, why can’t I?

Let me tell you, Gordon Ramsay’s primary responsibility when filming “Hell’s Kitchen” isn’t food safety, it’s entertainment. The same rubrics apply for Tom Colicchio and the filming of “Top Chef.”

Then we move to morning television. Flashback to November 2012 and Martha Stewart, self-proclaimed queen of anything and everything domestic, was confined to bed for several days after becoming ill with salmonella. She had made her rounds on the daytime talk shows, preparing turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday. I remember thinking, “I wish they would show her wearing gloves or washing her hands.” Apparently, she did neither, or at least not well.

Yes, celebrities get sick, too.

In December, Giada De Laurentiis was on “The Today Show” preparing ready-to-eat foods with her bare hands. But worse than that, she had a bandage on her finger.

Where was the finger cot? Where were the single-use disposable gloves?

This will certainly send any health inspector or food safety professional over the proverbial edge. Is there any responsibility as far as the media is concerned, or is it simply entertainment?

If I was inspecting a kitchen she was working in and this was happening, it certainly would be a violation. Foodborne illnesses such as Staphulococcus aureus, Hepatitis A and Norovirus can spread rapidly via improper personal hygiene such as not properly washing one’s hands or washing improperly. Wearing single-use gloves is an added precaution to prevent the spread of illness.

An unbandaged, uncovered wound just adds insult to injury.

The fact is, often the food you see celebrity chefs preparing isn’t what the audiences are consuming, but viewers assume it is. In reality, the food is prepared in a professional kitchen that you don’t see on the air.

Here are six food-safety tips for any kitchen, whether it belongs to a home chef or a celebrity chef:

1. Wash your hands. Always wash your hands with hot, soapy water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food. Dry with a paper towel.

2. Two-hour rule. Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food and leftovers within two hours. Do not leave them sitting out at room temperature. Bacteria grows rapidly at room temperature.

3. Thaw laws. Always thaw food in the refrigerator. Never defrost food at room temperature on the counter top or in the sink. It is acceptable to thaw frozen food under running water at a temperature of 70 degrees or below.

4. Cutting-edge guidelines. Wash cutting boards and knives with hot, soapy water after food preparation, especially after cutting raw meat, poultry or seafood. Clean utensils and cutting boards between uses when meat has been on them. Sanitize cutting boards and counters with a diluted bleach solution. Add 1 Tablespoon bleach to a gallon of water; put in a spray bottle for easy use.

5. The raw deal. Never place food on the same plate or cutting board that previously held raw meat, poultry or seafood unless the cutting board has been thoroughly washed and rinsed.

6. Mindful marinating. Always marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the countertop. Discard leftover marinades that have been used with raw meat, poultry or seafood.

I am not familiar with any celebrity chefs who are ranking food-safety trailblazers. Let’s let the food-safety professionals execute the educating and the chefs prepare the meals. As for the celebrity chefs — let’s hope they remember some of the basics they were taught when they began in the industry and hope the restaurants they own utilize better food-safety techniques than the television shows for which they’re famous.

Food Service Gloves: Good or Bad?

You stop into a deli for lunch, and your sandwich maker rings up your order wearing gloves and goes right back to making sandwiches. You may ask, “Aren’t you required to wash your hands before preparing food?” She answers, “No. I have gloves on.” Many establishments require employees to wear gloves to protect customers, and many workers believe that gloves will keep their hands clean. It does; but now a filthy, bacteria-laden glove is in contact with your food. This is one of many ways food can be contaminated with improper glove use.

Introduced around 20 years ago, food service gloves were intended to reduce the risk of contamination. A study of average food service glove use in 2007 and 2010 found that hand washing is less likely to occur when employees were wearing gloves. If the hands underneath are dirty, the gloves will do little to protect against contamination. Instead, the risk of contamination is higher with the use of gloves, which can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Nothing good is happening in there where it’s warm and sweaty.

Additionally, using food service gloves is very wasteful. If used properly, employees can go through a dozen pairs of disposable gloves in an hour. Not only is the influx of waste bad for the planet, it is also expensive. In the preparation of food, a cook or server can be managing several different foods at once. If they are touching raw meat, they are required to change gloves before moving on to another type of food. If they open a refrigerator, cough, sneeze, or touch any contaminated surface, they need to change their gloves. If employees change their gloves as often as needed, the food will take longer to prepare.

Gloves aren’t all bad news. There are situations where using gloves is important, such as preparing sushi. Handling raw fish requires special care and gloves make it easier to do so. For example, if one customer orders shellfish and the next has a food allergy, gloves make it easier for them to switch materials safely. Although they may provide a false sense of security, gloves may also give customers a perception of cleanliness of your business.

There are many types of gloves available, all with pros and cons. Latex gloves provide a tight fit, more dexterity and can withstand heat, but some people have a severe allergy. These have also been banned in three states. Nitrile gloves are durable and offer dexterity, but contain a toxic chemical known as DEHP. Polyethylene is inexpensive but cannot withstand heat and tear easily. Vinyl gloves are an appropriate alternative to latex, but can begin leaking as soon as employees put them on.

A good awareness of food safety, cross contamination and a basic responsibility to the dining public are good places to start with reducing contamination. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends revising food prep methods as an alternative to requiring food service gloves. Revisions would limit the number of times the worker would need to touch raw meat or other contaminating surfaces.

As a part of the food service industry, restaurateurs have the opportunity to make a positive impact on this issue. Whether you decide to use gloves or not, committing to making your food safe is important. Train your staff the correct way to use gloves and to maintain proper hand hygiene. Have all the necessary equipment needed to make your kitchen safe. Always have an abundant supply of gloves in the food prep area or plenty of soap and towels near your sink.