Why does it seem like everyone is getting sick from salad?

Published August 2, 2018, Eater.com  |  By Brenna Houck and Dana Hatic  |  Francine Shaw, Contributor

Maybe salads aren’t a healthy option after all: Trader Joe’s salads and wraps, along with those from Kroger and Walgreens are the latest food products to get flagged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for possible contamination by Cyclospora — a delicious little intestinal parasite. It’s the most recent outbreak in this summer’s round of food safety alerts tied to parasites, having already caused McDonald’s to halt selling salads in 14 states in July.

Before that, there was the countrywide romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak — the largest multi-state foodborne E. coli outbreak since 2006 — which sickened 172 people in 32 states and killed one person in California. Add to this Chipotle’s latest public health scare in Ohio and it begins to feel like food poisoning is on the rise. But is it? Here’s the state of foodborne illness outbreaks in 2018.
Are foodborne illnesses occurring more frequently than ever before?

Not necessarily. “It is too early to tell whether foodborne illnesses or outbreaks are increasing” from previous years, according to Brittany Behm, a public affairs specialist with the CDC, which tracks multi-state outbreaks. FoodNet, a section of the CDC that monitors and surveils trends in foodborne illnesses has reported some increases over the past few years in rates of infection from things like Cyclospora and Yersinia, something the CDC attributes to the “increasing use of rapid diagnostic tests that are providing more positive results for certain germs than we saw in the past.”

That’s why, according to a preliminary FoodNet report looking at 2017’s incidents of foodborne illness, “the overall number of Campylobacter, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Vibrio, and Yersinia infections diagnosed by CIDT increased 96% in 2017 compared with the 2014–2016 average.”

While the CDC tracks bigger interstate outbreaks, states usually investigate the majority of outbreaks. Those are reported to the National Outbreak Reporting System. “The number of outbreaks reported to us by state and local health departments has remained fairly stable over the last few years,” Behm told Eater in an email.
So why does it seem like foodborne illnesses are occurring more frequently?

“Foodborne illnesses sicken millions each year in the United States.” “Foodborne illnesses have nearly DOUBLED.” The speed of today’s news cycle amplifies serious outbreaks of foodborne illness. Still, the FDA estimates that roughly 1 in 6 Americans contract a foodborne illness each year. Pregnant women, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are at particular risk for falling ill.
Are foodborne outbreaks happening on a bigger scale?

The CDC has noted an uptick in multi-state outbreaks this year so far, though as previously noted it’s too early to say if outbreaks are growing more frequent over time. Bill Marler, one of the nation’s leading food safety attorneys, tells Eater that even if outbreaks are in fact becoming more frequent, they appear to impact fewer people thanks to better tracking and detection. “I think we’re seeing more frequent outbreaks but they tend to be a bit smaller and that may be a function of how public health officials have a done better job of getting [contaminated items] off the shelves.”
Which foods are at the greatest risk for contamination?

Marler says that in the ‘90s and early 2000s the majority of his cases involved hamburgers, but following the Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak in 1993 — which sickened hundreds of people and killed four children — new, stricter policies regulating on the beef industry were introduced. “Now I have hardly any cases linked to hamburgers,” he says. These days, he sees more E. coli cases linked to fresh fruits and vegetables — also confirmed by a report in Vox — and a relatively steady rate of cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter, a bacteria associated with raw poultry.


Due to their enticing convenience, sales of pre-packaged salads are on the rise and, given trends in dining, Americans, in general, are gorging more on fresh produce. Raw foods always carry more risk, because people don’t cook them to kill off potentially harmful bacteria. “When you cut fresh fruits and vegetables you’re creating a really nice environment for bacteria to grow,” Marler says. Here are some other foods the FDA lists as risky.
Which foodborne illnesses are Americans most at risk for?

The CDC reported in 2011 that Norovirus was the number one foodborne pathogen that led to in foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. It was followed by Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella results in the highest number of hospitalizations and deaths.

“One thing we’re seeing more of is outbreaks linked to imported food products. It’s not because imported food products are necessarily dangerous — it’s because we’re importing more,” says Marler.
What is Cyclospora?

Cyclosporiasis is an infection of the intestines, caused by consuming food or water contaminated with the cyclospora parasite. It’s most common in tropical and subtropical regions. The parasite most commonly affects produce, and past outbreaks have been tied to raspberries, snow peas, basil, and mesclun lettuce.
Is Cyclospora common in the U.S.?

Cyclosporiasis is relatively uncommon in the United States compared to other varieties of foodborne illness. Some of the earliest cases were documented in the 1980s, but two highly publicized outbreaks resulting from the import of Guatemalan raspberries in 1996 and 1997 brought greater awareness to the parasite. So far in the U.S., most cases have been attributed to imported fresh produce, according to the CDC.

“As we import more food we’re going to get bugs in our food supply that we don’t normally see,” Marler says, such as Cyclospora and Hepatitis A, which surfaced following the importing of infected scallops from the Philippines in 2016.
Does this mean foodborne illnesses are shifting in a spectrum from more bacterial to more parasite?

No. The rates of Norovirus, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter spp., and Staphylococcus aureus still far outpace Cyclospora — a relatively rare foodborne illness-causing parasite.
What can companies and restaurants do to reduce the risks of transmitting foodborne illnesses to consumers?

Francine Shaw, founder of Food Safety Training Solutions has worked in chains such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Domino’s to provide food safety training services and audits. She recommends that companies work down from the executive level to improve overall awareness of food safety in order to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. She also advocates for in-person training with supplemental online training for employees at restaurants.

“While online training is very convenient and it has its place, I am a believer that there needs to be some in-person training done because online training can’t provide real-life experiences,” Shaw says. “When we provide training we can explain to people why things are important. Why it’s important that you wash your hands or why it’s important that the cold food be held at 41 degrees or below. Online training can’t always get that information across is effective as a live person can.” Shaw also recommends that companies implement third-party inspections to make sure restaurants are following food safety protocols, something Chipotle executives promised to do following the burrito chain’s 2015-2016 foodborne illness outbreaks. Shaw also advises companies to vet their suppliers to make sure they’ve seen the processing facilities and know their food safety protocols.
Are millennials to blame for all these outbreaks?

Sure, why not? When in doubt, blame millennials. But perhaps there’s actually a grain of truth to this. Product research and trend forecaster NDP found that consumers under age 40 have increased the annual eatings per capita of fresh vegetables by 52 percent and frozen vegetables by 59 percent over the last decade, compared to boomers who have decreased their consumption of fresh and frozen vegetables. Higher income millennials also tend to spend a larger share of their food budget on fruits and vegetables, according to Producebusiness.com. Meanwhile, chains like Sweetgreen are growing like weeds in order to feed the younger generation’s hunger for bougie salads.


Perhaps fast-casual chain restaurants’ desires to feed young consumers’ hunger for fresh foods is outpacing the competency of suppliers. Such appears to have been the case with Chipotle, which famously aimed to satisfy the tastes of the millennial demographic with more ethically grown and sourced foods compared to traditional fast food, like McDonald’s, which tends to source from one major commercial supplier.

During Chipotle’s widely publicized food poisoning outbreaks, these complicated supply chains turned against the company, making it more difficult to trace the cause of the illnesses. “The more complicated your supply chain is, the more opportunity you have to introduce problems,” Melinda Wilkins, an expert in food safety with Michigan State University told Wired in 2016. “[Chipotle’s] food sourcing is a laudable effort—and it’s what customers want. But they’re probably walking a fine line between offering fresh, local ingredients and decentralized food preparation and the risk of introducing foodborne pathogens because it is such a complicated food chain.” In short, as millennial tastes force companies to reshape their supply chains, there may also be increases in foodborne illnesses.

The Tremendous Cost of Foodborne Illnesses, and What to Do About it

The cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak at a fast-casual establishment could cost between $6,330 to $2.1 million.

By Francine L. Shaw  |  Published June 2018

Each year, 48 million Americans become sick from foodborne illness.

America’s food industry has a $55.5 billion food safety problem. This includes foodborne illnesses at restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, and other food service organizations, as well as food recalls and other food safety issues.

Clearly, restaurants should be concerned about sickening—or even killing—customers because of a foodborne illness and should take every precaution to reduce that risk. But foodborne illnesses are also expensive and damaging for businesses.

A foodborne illness incident can cost restaurants significant money—including decreased revenues, hefty legal fees, potential lawsuits, diminished sales (and loyalty) from worried guests, and a damaged reputation that could permanently shut their doors. In fact, foodborne illnesses cost $55.5 billion per year in medical treatment, lost productivity, and illness-related mortality in the U.S, according to a study by Ohio State University professor Robert Scharff.

The cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak at a fast-casual establishment could cost between $6,330 to $2.1 million, depending on the severity of the outbreak, the amount of lawsuits, fines and legal fees, as well as the number of employees and guests impacted by the incident, according to a new study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Casual-dining restaurants had a cost range of $8,030 to $2.2 million, and fine-dining restaurants could experience costs between $8,273 and $2.6 million per incident, according to the study.

"Our study shows that a single foodborne illness outbreak can incur substantial costs, enough to compose a large portion of a restaurant's annual profits," the team wrote in the study. "Many of these costs outweigh the costs of various infection prevention and control measures that are available to restaurants."

Each year, 48 million Americans become sick from foodborne illness, per the Centers for Disease Control. Reducing foodborne illness by just 1 percent would keep approximately 500,000 people from getting sick each year in the US. Reducing foodborne illness by 10 percent would prevent five million from getting sick.

Investing in food safety is one of the smartest things that restaurants (and other food service organizations) can do. The expense, time and energy necessary to implement—or elevate—your food safety protocols won’t be overwhelming, and it’s crucial to your business success.

Reduce safety risks—and the tremendous costs associated with foodborne illness incidents and outbreaks—by taking the following steps:

Make food safety part of your company’s culture. Everyone—on every shift—must be trained in proper food safety protocols.

Invest in the latest technologies. Digital tools are elevating the way many restaurants do business. Not only do these technological tools make food safer, but they can also save restaurants tremendous money each year by preventing food waste and reducing foodborne illness risks.

Ditch the paper. Technological solutions enhance food safety protocols and make it faster, more accurate, and more efficient to conduct inventory, auditing, training and keep food safe. Restaurants that adopt and embrace digital tools (versus using pen and paper systems) can help boost the health and safety of their establishments.

Reduce human error. While human error can never be completely eliminated, advancements in technology help minimize the risks. Sensors ensure foods are being held at proper temperatures. Centralized, continuous refrigeration monitoring systems signal when temperatures in restaurants’ coolers or freezers rise above safe holding temperatures, eliminating the need to throw away entire coolers or freezers of food due to improperly working units. As a result, restaurants can save thousands of dollars (or more) in lost product and potentially save lives.

Elevate your data collection. Innovative digital tools can now be used for restaurants’ internal auditing systems, which is a more efficient, cost-effective and accurate solution versus the pen and paper methods that are often used in the foodservice industry. Using pen and paper to audit restaurants often result in increased labor, time, errors and expenses. Hard copy records can be difficult to organize and access—especially in the midst of a frightening food safety outbreak—and it’s extremely difficult to integrate and analyze the data. Digital tools provide more efficient, cost-effective internal auditing systems, with records that are easy to access and analyze.

Become mobile. A major percentage of restaurant employees are millennials (or younger), and they live on their phones. If you’re trying to emphasize the importance of food safety protocols but then provide employees with antiquated pencil and paper record-keeping systems, there’s a tremendous disconnect. Instead, implement digital systems that can be tracked on cell phones and tablets. Use downloadable apps to enhance the way employees conduct inspections, keep temperature logs, conduct training, manage QA forms, access food code information, and more. This way, critical food safety information can be (literally) at employees’ fingertips.

Improve operational efficiencies. By doing so, you’ll improve your restaurant’s bottom line. Eliminating pen and paper line checks can save $250-600 per year per restaurant, smart sensors that prevent food spoilage can save $1,100 per episode, and reducing food and labor costs can save $4,700 per year per restaurant, according to a recent CoInspect survey. Digital tools can help with brand protection and quality assurance concerns by optimizing and improving line checks, shift logs, inspections, auditing, and other reporting.

Reduce pencil whipping. There’s a widespread “pencil whipping” problem in the foodservice industry, where employees using paper record systems falsify records or “cheat” on their processes. As much as food service leadership wants to deny that “pencil whipping” happens in their organizations, it’s (unfortunately) a fairly common practice in restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, and other industry businesses. Pencil whipping can result in increased food safety risks, food code violations, and other (potentially costly) issues. Digital tools help reduce or eliminate “pencil whipping” through real-time data collection, and visual records using photos and videos.

While technology has previously been considered to be a luxury, today, digital tools are affordable, widespread and accessible. Technology that can help minimize labor, reduce (or eliminate) foodborne illness risks, and minimize food waste is not an expense, it’s an important investment. Innovative digital systems and records are fundamental to keeping foods, consumers, and restaurants healthy and safe.

Restaurants must prioritize food safety, utilizing the most efficient and effective tools to protect the health of their guests, employees, and businesses. Technology streamlines operations improve safety protocols, reduce errors, integrates data—and so much more, and the benefits are significant. When restaurant owners tell me, “I can’t afford the investment,” my response is always, “You can’t afford not to.”

Foodborne Illnesses and Recalls on the Rise

By Francine L. Shaw

The last word a manufacturer wants to hear is “recall”. During 2017, recalls involved everything from salad mix contaminated with a dead bat to hash browns infused with shredded golf balls.

Not all recalls are created equal. Both the USDA and the FDA have three classifications of recalls to indicate the relative degree of health hazard presented by the product being recalled:

• Class I: A Class I recall is the most serious classification, involving a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death.
• Class II: A Class II recall involves a potential health hazard situation in which there is a remote probability of adverse health consequences from eating the food.
• Class III: A Class III recall involves a situation in which eating the food will not cause adverse health consequences.

During 2017, there were 456 recalls recorded in the United States. The number one reason for those recalls was undeclared allergens.

Foodborne illnesses continue to be widespread, as well. In 2017, we saw Robin Hood flour contaminated with E.coli, Soygo yogurt with Listeria, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and ground turkey tainted with Salmonella, and even shredded coconut was responsible for causing a Salmonella outbreak in the United States and Canada. Foodborne illness outbreaks can happen at restaurants, corporate events, private parties, schools and cruise ships—anywhere and everywhere food is served.

Recalls and foodborne illnesses are 100% preventable. Incidents occur because of human error, and all it takes is one weak link to cause serious—and potentially fatal—problems. That’s it. One weak link can cause the traumatic deaths and/or illnesses of customers, and cost your company billions of dollars, loss of sales, plummeting stocks, negative media coverage and a severely damaged reputation.

When there’s a recall or a foodborne illness, products must be destroyed, which is lost revenue for manufacturers, retailers, restaurants, etc. Finding the source of the contamination can be a massive undertaking. The manufacturer may need to close all of their plants for cleaning until the source is identified, which adds up to a tremendous financial burden, and also requires significant time and effort. Class 1 recalls can cost hundreds of millions of dollars or more, to identify the source of contamination, recall products, sanitize facilities, and keep consumers safe.

It takes years for companies to establish a solid reputation, and food recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks can obliterate a brand’s reputation overnight. Consumers lose confidence much faster than they gain it, and bad news travels fast (especially in this time of social media where news spreads instantly and widely). And on top of that, there may be litigation as a result of the recall, incident or outbreak, which will result in attorney fees and potential settlements that could be very significant. If the risk of massive expense and bankruptcy isn’t enough, for the past few years, the U.S. District of Justice has been issuing fines and prison terms to company leaders involved in foodborne illnesses outbreaks and food recalls.

The government, media and general public are holding companies (and their leadership) accountable now, so you’d think that recalls and foodborne illness incidents would be on the decline but, unfortunately, that’s not the case. And with advancements in technology, why are we still having so many issues surrounding the safety of our food?

Many media outlets report that foodborne illnesses have been rising considerably in the past few years. However, according to the CDC, a study showed that the six most common foodborne illnesses have actually declined in frequency by 25% over the last two decades. Having said that, though, the severity of foodborne illness outbreaks seems to be increasing, and the number of outbreaks connected to produce has risen, as well. Some experts believe the increases may be due to better reporting processes rather than an actual increase in the number of foodborne illnesses.

There are various theories as to why foodborne illnesses may be getting worse. Some government agencies indicate it has to do with farming policies. The CDC disagrees. More widely accepted beliefs are the increase in popularity of organic produce—grown with manure rather than chemical fertilizer—which can transfer bacteria to the produce. Additionally, there’s debate that the use of antibiotics can cause bacteria that causes foodborne illnesses to become resistant.

Recalls may occur for a variety of reasons. Products may be pushed beyond their shelf life by the manufacturer, or maybe the design and development around the product was insufficient (equipment, building, etc.). Is the manufacturing facility designed in a manner that can prevent contamination—structurally and hygienically? Maybe the production quality control checks failed. Did the manufacturer conduct an adequate food safety risk assessment prior to launching the new product? Profit margins are often thin—did financial incentives prevent the company from implementing a thorough food safety program?

Getting back to the basics of food safety would reduce recalls and foodborne illnesses significantly. Manufacturers must be certain about food safety as well as the integrity of the ingredients they use. They need to be honest with themselves and understand the risks of the ingredients, processes and finished products that they are handling.

Human error is a given. It’s the corporation’s responsibility to minimize the risk. Implement ongoing food safety education and training for all employees, explaining the proper food safety protocols and processes. Develop internal auditing systems, using innovative digital tools. Get rid of the pen and paper forms, where it’s more likely for errors to occur and for pencil whipping to happen. Digital solutions provide more effective internal auditing, meticulousness in corrective action systems including root cause analysis, allergen management, and controls relating to packing product into the correct packaging format—all fundamental to keeping foods, consumers and businesses healthy and safe.

What Would You Do In A Food Safety Crisis?

By Francine L. Shaw, President / Published July 17, 2017 on RestaurantNews.com

What if your restaurant inadvertently served salads made with tainted lettuce, which sickened dozens of guests?  Or one of your servers accidentally served pesto to a guest with a nut allergy, who had a severe allergic reaction as a result? Perhaps your restaurant didn’t pass a health inspection and your commercial kitchen was shut down?  You’re facing a crisis – do you know what to do next?

Food service employees don’t intend to serve up a plate of Salmonella, norovirus or listeria, but sometimes tainted produce or undercooked meats make guests sick – or worse – even kill them.  Restaurant employees may accidentally cross-contaminate – cutting ready-to-eat food like fruit on a board that previously held raw chicken, contaminating the fruit with bacteria from the raw poultry juices.  Maybe they didn’t realize that a sauce contained dairy and they unknowingly served it to a dairy-allergic guest, who had to be transported by ambulance from your restaurant to the ER.

Even with the most careful food safety protocols in place, your restaurant is at risk for a food safety crisis.  Do you have a crisis plan in case the worst-case scenario happens at your venue?

Ideally, you’ve thought about crisis management before anything bad actually happens at your restaurant.  It’s important for all food service businesses to create a crisis plan before a crisis occurs to follow if a disaster strikes.  In a crisis, your team will be upset – even terrified – and will need an actionable plan to use as a guide moving forward.  While you hope to never need it, it’s better to be prepared.  A crisis plan will help you and your employees handle a crisis, deliver accurate messages, minimize damage, and rebuild your restaurant to be stronger (and safer) than ever.

When we think of a food safety crisis, we often think of foodborne illnesses, but all restaurants should prepare for a variety of crisis scenarios: a severe allergic reaction at your establishment, a failed health inspection, a product recall, an employee worked with norovirus and infected customers with it, etc.  You should also know how to react to any potentially damaging occurrence, where “bad news” about your restaurant is spreading through town – including a social media crisis.

When you’re creating your plan, include the following:

• Find out what happened. This is the most important first step. Was there an error in your kitchen? Did a vendor ship tainted product?  Were products held at the correct temperature?  Did cross-contamination or cross-contact occur? Was there a mistake in product labeling? Did an ill employee spread a sickness (like norovirus) to customers? Determine what happened and how it happened.
• Communicate with key audiences. Your customers, prospects, employees, advertisers, sponsors and others want to know what happened and what you’re doing to remedy the situation.  Create honest, apologetic messaging and be heartfelt and genuine in your communications.  Give the facts – what happened, where there was a breakdown in the system, and how you’re preventing a reoccurrence.  Explain the solutions-focused plan you’ve created to move forward.
• Work with the media. Some restaurant owners/managers avoid the media in a crisis, but that’s not in your best interest. Instead, work with the media to tell your story – explain how there was a breakdown in your process and how you’re moving forward to fix it and prevent a reoccurrence.  Stay focused on the facts. Be apologetic, and don’t get emotional or defensive.
• Train (or re-train) your staff on food safety protocols. Be certain that everyone is knowledgeable about food safety (e.g., how to prevent cross-contamination and cross-contact, how to properly prepare allergy-friendly meals, not to work when they’re vomiting or have diarrhea, etc.) to avoid similar crisis situations in the future.
• Use social media wisely. Some restaurants (and other businesses) experience a “social media crisis” that negatively impacts their reputation (online and off). An Applebee’s employee recently posted inappropriate things about a customer, and many followers were offended.  Applebee’s reacted defensively, firing back hostile comments that added fuel to the fire.  Then they started deleting the online threads about the incident, rather than addressing them rationally, which angered their followers and caused additional damage.  Don’t get defensive and don’t allow yourself to get sucked into toxic, negative message spirals.  Messages on social media (as well as in real life) should always be positive and professional.
• Vow to win back customers’ and employees’ trust. Actions speak louder than words, so do what you promise moving forward. Be very clear about the steps you’re taking to “right the wrong” that occurred.
• Make changes. If a vendor mislabeled ingredients or sourced tainted products, cut ties with that vendor.  If an employee made an accidental error, be sure to train them (and all of your staff) about how to avoid similar problems in the future.  If an employee or vendor made a deliberate error (e.g., knowingly posting damaging information about your restaurant on social media), take appropriate action, which may include termination, suspension, etc.
• Designate a media spokesperson. When facing a serious crisis, your restaurant’s CEO/owner/president should be the spokesperson.  The public wants the head of the company to speak authoritatively about the incident and the concrete plans to resolve the problem. Work with a professional crisis management team so your spokesperson doesn’t do more harm than good in interviews.  For instance, Steve Ells, the CEO of Chipotle, was widely criticized for his delayed statements in the wake of the chain’s massive (and multiple) foodborne illness outbreaks in 2015.  Further, he appeared nervous – not authoritative – in his television interview, which may not have reassured a nervous public that he was in control of the situation.  Practice your messages before going in front of the cameras, and anticipate the most challenging questions you may receive – and determine how you’ll respond professionally, politely and non-defensively.
• Stay calm. While it’s upsetting (and also terrifying!) to be in a crisis situation, remain calm as you work to recover from the incident. Follow your crisis plan and communicate your key messages.  Make certain that important audiences (including customers, prospects, employees, the media, vendors, health inspectors, etc.) recognize how hard you’re working to prevent similar incidents in the future.
• Move forward. Yes, a crisis at your restaurant will likely be the hardest and scariest period in your professional life, but you will get through it.  Stay strong, positive and solutions-focused.  Be a good leader for your staff.  Vow to serve safe food in a healthy environment.  And demonstrate – through your words and actions – how important the health and safety of your customers, staff and community are to you.

Tips to Prevent Norovirus: The Leading Cause of Foodborne Illness

By Francine L. Shaw  |  Published May 2016

Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illnesses and it spreads rapidly. Anyone can get infected with Norovirus and it’s possible to get it more than once. The average person will get Norovirus approximately five times during their lifetime. Peak season for Norovirus is during cooler months: November to April.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year, Norovirus causes:

• 19 - 21 million illnesses

• 56,000 - 71,000 hospitalizations

• 570 - 800 deaths

When Norovirus enters food service establishments, the results can be serious and widespread. In December 2015, a Boston-area Chipotle had a Norovirus outbreak that sickened over a hundred customers. Then, in March, Chipotle shuttered a different Massachusetts restaurant amid Norovirus concerns.   

When Chipotle learned that four employees at this location were ill, they decided to close the store for a full sanitation. At the time, it wasn’t known for certain if the employees had Norovirus, so this closure and full sanitation was done as a precaution. This closure cost them a day’s sales, the cost of the sanitation, and more negative press (that they didn’t deserve). Erring on the side of caution was wise, as at least one employee was ultimately confirmed to have the virus. As a result of Chipotle’s actions, no customers were infected. They prevented an outbreak.

Chipotle has received considerable bad press since for months, as the quick service chain suffered one foodborne illness outbreak after another, including Salmonella, E. coli, and Norovirus. These events hit multiple locations, sickened hundreds, caused Chipotle’s stocks to plummet, sparked lawsuits, and even resulted in a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.

When they suspected Norovirus in early March, they did exactly what they should’ve done – closed and sanitized this restaurant. Unfortunately, their actions to prevent yet another foodborne illness outbreak were not reported in the most positive light.

Norovirus is extremely common. When employees come to work with diarrhea and vomiting, most facilities don’t close for sanitation. In fact, these employees are often permitted to work with these very contagious symptoms that can infect others – and even cause a foodborne illness outbreak.

Norovirus can easily contaminate food because it’s very tiny and infective. It only takes a very small amount of virus particles (as few as 18) to make someone sick. Food can get contaminated with Norovirus when:

• Infected people who have feces or vomit on their hands touch the food.

• Food is placed on counters or surfaces that have infectious feces or vomit on them.

• Tiny drops of vomit from an infected person spray through the air and land on the food.

Foods can also be contaminated at their source:

• Oysters that are harvested from contaminated water

• Fruit and vegetables that are contaminated during the growing process

At Food Safety Training Solutions, Inc., we offer food service professionals these tips to avoid Norovirus-related issues:

• Do not work or allow your employees to work when ill.

• Avoid preparing food for others while you’re sick and for at least 48 hours after symptoms 

  stop. Get a note from your physician before returning to work.

• Wash your hands carefully and often with soap and water (at least 100°F). The hand 

  washing process should take at least 20 seconds.

• Rinse fruits and vegetables carefully.

• Cook shellfish thoroughly.

• Clean and sanitize kitchen utensils, counters, and surfaces routinely.

• Wash table linens, napkins, and other laundry thoroughly and often.

• Have (and implement) a policy for “Clean-up and Disinfection of Norovirus” as stated in the 

  2013 Food Code.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. Kudos to Chipotle for doing the right thing, regardless of what it cost the business. On the day they closed one location to prevent yet another a foodborne illness outbreak, their stocks dropped again, and the media headlines were negative. Chipotle is going to continue to be under the microscope for a long time. They’ve made many mistakes over the past months, but they appear to be making positive changes in their foodborne illness protocols, and that should be applauded.

Foodborne Illness: It CAN Happen to You.

This year, there have been numerous, widespread, serious foodborne illness outbreaks. Many in the food service industry think it won’t happen to them. But it could happen to anyone—and it could ruin a reputation.

Chipotle prides itself on “food with integrity,” but the restaurant chain had multiple reports of foodborne illness outbreaks this year; Norovirus and Salmonella several months ago, and now E.coli in restaurants across nine states. Tainted celery caused an E.coli outbreak at retail chain Costco. Hardee’s had a Hepatitis A outbreak that exposed thousands. Just over a year ago, exclusive Mohonk Mountain House Resort had a Norovirus outbreak that made hundreds of visitors ill. These incidents potentially cost companies millions of dollars in litigation, settlements, plummeting stocks, and lost sales. Not to mention, it takes significant time, money, and energy to re-build the brand after the negative fallout. Some organizations—like ChiChis—never recover from a foodborne illness outbreak. All of the abovementioned companies have implemented corporate policies and procedures to protect against foodborne illness, yet something still went wrong. The risk is real for every company serving food. Here is how to avoid it from happening:

Get your team formally trained in a Certified Food Manager course. This reiterates the importance of the critical rules and regulations that you learned when you began in the food service business. Sometimes, a busy day or being short-staffed distracts employees from following the basic rules. A “refresher” course is a helpful reminder of the fundamentals.

Train your employees using a Food Handlers program. Provide your team with basic, but critical, food safety knowledge. The more educated your team, the safer and more profitable your organization.

If you have refrigerators in guestrooms, monitor the temperatures daily. Keep temperature logs. Guests expect the units to be working appropriately—so ensure they do.

Wash your fresh fruit and wrap it in plastic. If you offer whole fruit in bowls at your front desk or buffet, this protects the produce from guests’ potentially dirty hands as they select their fruit.

Take extra precautions at buffets. Assign team members to monitor these areas constantly for food safety (e.g., correct temps, no cross contamination) and food defense (e.g., customers potentially tainting items).

Conduct self-inspections. This enables you to catch small issues before they become big problems. For example, if you receive a delivery that wasn’t stored properly, you can take corrective action to avoid spoilage issues, cross-contamination, or cross-contact.

Use temperature logs. This helps you spot 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 allows you to find temperature issues prior to the health inspector writing 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 audits. 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. They can review key elements that the health inspector will assess, and point out possible infractions. Hire someone reputable, who knows the business and genuinely cares about your outcome.

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 on the gloves, wash your hands properly with warm water 100⁰F and soap, then dry them thoroughly on a single-use towel. Never blow into the gloves or roll them to make them easier to put on—these practices cause contamination. Change gloves when they become dirty or torn, when changing tasks, and after interruptions, such as taking a phone call.