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Rob Mancini

  • Sprout producers need to kick it up a notch

    Posted: November 17th, 2011 - 1:38pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reports
     
    Producers of sprouts should add more food safety steps throughout the production chain to lower the risk of the kind of contamination that triggered a widespread Escherichia coli outbreak in Europe earlier this year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in a report released yesterday.
    The EFSA's Panel on Biological Hazards said it is difficult to limit bacterial contamination of seeds used for sprouting in the face of many risk factors, but called on producers to step up their efforts. The panel also said no reliable method has been found to decontaminate all types of seeds without reducing germination or yield.
     
    Recent article published in Journal of Food Science 2011 evaluated the effectiveness of calcinated calcium spray on Escherichia coli 0157 H:7 87-23 population on radish sprouts. The results indicate that a 200 ppm NaOCl soaking followed by 0.04% calcinated spray resulted in no microbial growth after a 72 hour sprouting, while maintaining a high germination rate. However, the study reveals that despite treatment method, most of the inoculated Escherichia coli 0157 H:7 87-23 cells accumulated on the sprout roots and biofilms formed on sprout surfaces.
                Sprouts are inherently dangerous as there is no proven method to effectively eliminate pathogenic bacteria during sprouting. There appears to be limited steps sprout producers are able to take to reduce the risks associated with such a product. As such, the public needs to be adequately informed on the risks of consuming sprouts, in particular, vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. 
     
    The EFSA risk assessment on pathogenic bacteria in seeds and sprouted seeds was prompted by the enterohemorrhagic E coli (EHEC) outbreak centered in Germany this past spring and summer. The outbreak, which involved at least 3,134 cases and 40 deaths, was traced to fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt. The finding caused the EFSA to warn consumers not to eat any sprouts for a time; the warning was canceled on Oct 3, after the implicated seeds were off the market.
    Decontamination of seeds before sprouting is used as an additional safety measure in some European Union states, the panel observed. However, "To date, no method of decontamination is available to ensure elimination of pathogens in all types of seeds without affecting seed germination or sprout yield."
     
     
    Fransisca, L., Zhou, B., and Feng, H. The Effect of Calcinated Calcium and Chlorine Treatments on Escherichia coli 0157 H:7 87-23 Population Reduction in Radish Sprouts. Journal of Food Science. Vol. 76, Nr. 6, 2011
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    Journal of Food Science, Sprouts
  • Food safety education: child-to-parent instruction in an immigrant population

    Posted: February 14th, 2011 - 4:08pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    Food safety training programs must take into consideration language barriers in order to be effective. I further believe that unless these training courses provide some sort of demonstration and not just regurgitation of information and facts, retention will be minimized. 
     
    2011 Journal of Environmental Health Abstracts
    Dhitinut Ratnapradipa, PhD, CHES | Daniela Quilliam, MPH, REHS | Lauren Wier, MPH, PhD (c) | Darson L. Rhodes, PhD, CHES
     
    Abstract: A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was used to examine increases in food handling knowledge among eastern European refugee restaurant candidates as a result of educational material taught either by the employee’s child or the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. Participants were nonrandomly assigned to a study (n = 15) or control group (n = 17). The study group was taught by their children in their native language. The control group was taught by an SLVHD instructor in English. All participants completed pre- and posttests that measured four areas of food handling knowledge: personal hygiene and hand washing (PHHW), cooking and holding time/temperature (COOKTT), cooling and holding time/temperature (COOLTT), and cross-contamination (CC). Both groups demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge of PHHW, but only the study group demonstrated significant improvements in COOKTT and CC knowledge. These study results suggest that food handling education programs are effective in increasing knowledge and mode of delivery may be an important factor.
     
    Mode of delivery is an important factor in health education programs. The nature of training itself involves not only the dissemination of food safety messaging in the hopes of achieving a high grade; rather it involves demonstrating the principles.   I have seen this multiple times; people retain more if they are shown what to do and why it is important. For instance, it is one thing to inform operators to use a digital tip sensitive thermometer and another to show how to use one. Often times, through routine observations, this practice has been done incorrectly thereby increasing the probability of a food borne illness. Physically demonstrating the proper use of the thermometer, including calibration, engages the operator and helps in retention. This works for any food safety practice.
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  • Sick food handlers....stay home

    Posted: February 11th, 2011 - 3:25pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
    Viruses, such as Norovirus, are very contagious and therefore spread rapidly causing significant food borne outbreaks. Symptoms are predominantly vomiting and diarrhea with a typical incubation period of 12- 24 hours. Unlike bacteria, viruses do not multiply in food, and infectious doses are rather small (10-100 viral particles), meaning that it doesn’t take much to cause an illness. Sick food handlers can spread the virus in a number of ways including lack of hand washing, sneezing, and coughing. Viral shedding can even occur up to 2 weeks after initial symptoms have worn off. So, as a food handler, if you’re sick, stay home, stop spreading the love.
    Lindsey Connell from WTVM reports that basic trainees at Sand Hill on Fort Benning endure rigorous training every day but a recent outbreak is stopping some in their tracks. 
    On Thursday, officials reported that 150 soldiers have come down with what they suspect is a food borne virus.
    Common areas likes dining halls, barracks and buses are being sterilized, down to chairs and banisters.
    The 150 sick soldiers have been isolated in separate barracks to stop the spread of the illness.
    Public Affairs officials say 300 soldiers have reported to sick call over the past two days but only half actually have the gastrointestinal virus. The sickness lasts one to two days and causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
    Officials suspect it was spread by a food handler who was sick and coughed on the food or had dirty hands.
     
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  • Will your home kitchen pass a health inspection? Kitchen crimes (mini version)

    Posted: December 17th, 2010 - 12:10pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    In light of the recent reports on whether or not your home kitchen would pass a health inspection, I was asked by City TV in Winnipeg to comment and perform an inspection in a home kitchen. In reality, one cannot compare a restaurant inspection to a home inspection as there are a myriad of differences a health inspector would look for in a restaurant; most home kitchens would most certainly fail. In the home, it is more prudent to look at proper food handling and food preparation practices, that is, the use of digital tip sensitive thermometers, proper hand washing, and so on. Below is the link to my interview. 
     
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    City TV, Health Inspector
  • Relying on a friend

    Posted: October 7th, 2010 - 3:37pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    A new study from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna has shown that Campylobacter jejuni is protected and dependent upon the presence of spoilage bacteria on meat, in particular Pseudomonas for survival.
     
     
    It is known that C. jejuni cannot grow under normal atmospheric conditions – the levels of oxygen are too high for it – so how it survives was until recently unknown. The mystery has now been solved by Friederike Hilbert and colleagues at the Institute of Meat Hygiene, Meat Technology and Food Science of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.
    The surface of meat harbours a number of species of bacteria that – fortunately – are rarely harmful to humans, although they are associated with spoilage. It seems possible that the various species interact and Hilbert hypothesized that such interactions might help bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni survive under hostile, oxygen-rich conditions. She thus tested the survival of C. jejuni in the presence of various meat-spoiling bacteria. When incubated alone or together with bacteria such as Proteus mirabilis or Enterococcus faecalis, Campylobacter survived atmospheric oxygen levels for no longer than 18 hours. However, when incubated together with various strains of Pseudomonas, Campylobacter were found to survive for much longer, in some cases over 48 hours, which would be easily long enough to cause infection.
     
    Campylobacter jejuni is a bacterium found primarily in the intestinal gut of animals and birds and shed primarily through the feces.  Poultry feces have been found to contain up to 106 cells or more per gram.  The infective dose for campylobacteriosis (disease acquired from the bacterium) can be as low as 500 cells. This makes it very easy for people to get sick from food contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni.  Symptoms commonly associated with campylobacteriosis are enteric in nature, that is abdominal cramps, diarrhea, in some cases bloody diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Keep poop away from food.
     
     
     
     
     Friederike Hilbert, Manuela Scherwitzel, Peter Paulsen and Michael P. Szostak. Survival of Campylobacter jejuni under Conditions of Atmospheric Oxygen Tension with the Support of Pseudomonas spp.
    September issue of the Journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology (Vol. 76, 5911-5917).
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  • Australians fall ill at the Commonwealth Games

    Posted: October 5th, 2010 - 4:07pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    A good friend of mine is competing in the Commonwealth Games and I’m looking forward to see how everything pans out.  Well, it seems as if some of his competition may not be doing so well.  
     
    Commonwealth Games organisers have ordered an inspection of all food at the athletes village after Australians fell ill after eating there.
    Swimmers Ryan Napoleon and Rob Hurley, and swim coach Matt Brown, suffered a classic case of Delhi Belly on Sunday night after eating a meat bolognese pasta at the village dining hall.
    But Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell on Tuesday suggested their sudden sickness may not have come from the village - despite athletes being restricted to the campus apart from training and competition.
    "We have asked for a check on the food, but we were not told that it necessarily came from the village, it could have come from anywhere," Fennell said.
    "All I am saying, the village food, the caterers, we have asked to inspect fully."
    Delhi Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the food at the village had attracted rave reviews.

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    Commonwealth Games
  • Washing pre-washed lettuce, trying saying that 10 times

    Posted: September 9th, 2010 - 12:44pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    The public seems to be bombarded with a myriad of confusing mixed food safety messages. This is to be expected as food safety is a technical discipline that is rather complicated. Let’s take lettuce for instance, should one wash pre-washed lettuce in their sink or not? The simple answer is no. This practice would simply encourage cross-contamination of the already pre-washed lettuce from the sink, an unnecessary step. Others may feel that washing their lettuce in the sink with a dilute solution of bleach would be the answer. Dilute, what is dilute and what is the magic number?   I don’t know of anyone to have chlorine test strips in their house to verify free chlorine, which would end up being combined chlorine due to the organics anyway, to measure 50 ppm. Let’s go back to science, what does the research tell us. It has been documented that simple agitation under running water for 10 minutes is a very effective means in reducing E. coli counts.  The best treatment, however, is applying 35% white vinegar directly on the lettuce and let sit for 10 minutes(1). This has been shown to dramatically reduce E. coli counts on lettuce. You’ve gotta love science.
     
     
     
    1. CHITRA VIJAYAKUMAR AND CHARLENE E. WOLF-HALL. Evaluation of Household Sanitizers for Reducing Levels of Escherichia coli on Iceberg Lettuce.
    Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 65, No. 10, 2002, Pages 1646–1650
     
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    E.coli, Lettuce, white vinegar
  • Reusable grocery bags not a major contributor of foodborne illness

    Posted: August 6th, 2010 - 3:20pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
     
     
     
    The University News in Manitoba reports that food service and home kitchens cause the majority of foodborne illness in society and not reusable grocery bags. Dr. Rick Holley, a food safety and food microbiology professor with the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, says
     
    I don't think foodborne illness in humans has developed as a result of contaminated reusable grocery bags.
    There really hasn't been very much work done in this area.
    My suspicion is though that when the work is done we will find that this is not a major contributor to foodborne illness but rather, as we have always thought, the handling of food at food service and the home, the kitchen is the second most frequent place where foodborne illness develops.
    That relates to, for whatever reason, our inability as consumers to consistently follow the recommendations that we get from government agencies about how to handle foods in the kitchen.
     
    Food safety recommendations are available from a number of government agencies, yet foodborne illness continues to occur. The consumer definitely has an obligation to inform oneself on matters of food safety to minimize the risk of excruciating barfing. The problem, however, occurs when the product is already contaminated at some level through the farm to fork chain. In this case the informed consumer is out of luck. 
     
    The most frequent setting for foodborne illness to develop is in the food service industry and that speaks to the need for continuing education both at the food service level but certainly at home as well.
     
    Yes, food service workers need to be continually informed on matters of food safety. Many food service operators take a food safety certification course, typically 8 hours in length, to meet regulatory requirements. I agree that this is a good thing but the delivery of the course could use some work. Classroom settings make people nervous and pending a dreaded final exam is not effective. Reminds me of Jason Stackhouse from True Blood trying to write an exam, you may forget certain things cause your little friend anxiety kicks in and guess what retention goes out the window. Perhaps on-site training coupled with info sheet postings for quick reference may work better- basis for my Masters thesis.  
     
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  • Reusable grocery bags harboring bacteria

    Posted: June 24th, 2010 - 2:27pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    Reusable grocery bags are indeed friendly to the environment but studies have shown that these bags may harbor foodborne pathogens. As such, it is important to wash your reusable bags frequently, just like you would with your dirty socks. Simply wash the bags using soap and water, machine dry, and reuse. The use of bleach may be overkill especially when the bags are meant to be environmentally friendly.  It is also a good idea to separate ready to eat foods, such as produce, from meat, poultry, and fish to prevent cross contamination. Perhaps designate one bag or bin for meat and meat products and all others for ready to eat products. I have also noticed that people tend to reuse their plastic bags as well, in particular, to carry lunches. Remember that bacteria aren’t picky and if that bag had been carrying raw meat, there’s always the potential of pathogenic bacteria being present, it doesn’t take much. 
     
     
    Reusable grocery bags contaminated with E. coli, other bacteria***
    These bags may be friendly to the environment, but not necessarily to you, according to a new report by researchers at two universities.
    Reusable grocery bags can be a breeding ground for dangerous food-borne bacteria and pose a serious risk to public health, according to a joint food-safety research report issued today by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University in California.
    The research study – which randomly tested reusable grocery bags carried by shoppers in Tucson, Los Angeles and San Francisco – also found consumers were almost completely unaware of the need to regularly wash their bags.
    "Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half of the bags sampled," said Charles Gerba, a UA professor of soil, water and environmental science and co-author of the study. "Furthermore, consumers are alarmingly unaware of these risks and the critical need to sanitize their bags on a weekly basis."
    Bacteria levels found in reusable bags were significant enough to cause a wide range of serious health problems and even death. They are a particular danger for young children, who are especially vulnerable to food-borne illnesses, Gerba said.
    The study also found that awareness of potential risks was very low. A full 97 percent of those interviewed never washed or bleached their reusable bags, said Gerba, adding that thorough washing kills nearly all bacteria that accumulate in reusable bags.
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  • Handwashing, just as important as the World Cup

    Posted: June 23rd, 2010 - 5:21pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    Health inspectors and any health type professionals for that matter always push for more handwashing as it is the best measure to reduce spread of microorganisms. Proper handwashing involves lathering with soap and water using friction for 10 seconds or so, then drying with a clean paper towel. Hand air dryers are not recommended because they simply don’t dry hands efficiently. This results in moist hands that support microbial growth and therefore defeating the purpose of handwashing altogether.
     
    The New Zealand Herald reports,
     
    A third of New Zealand's schools are using hand dryers that are potentially leaving children's hands dirtier than when they left the toilet cubicle.
    The findings come from a study in which 400 New Zealand parents and 100 schools were asked about washroom hygiene.
    SCA Hygiene Australasia commissioned the study in a bid to learn more about washroom behaviour, fears about the upcoming flu season and the best way to reduce bacteria on hands during the drying process.
    SCA spokesman Mark Stevens said not all hand drying methods were created equal - but not everyone was aware of that fact.
    "Most people know that washing your hands with soap and water is important but it is the method that you then use to dry them that determines how clean your hands are.
    "The key is getting your hands dry because germs thrive in a moist environment."
     
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  • Fewer food violations in school cafeterias

    Posted: May 3rd, 2010 - 1:02pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
     
    Cafeteria food inspections tend to have fewer critical violations than let’s say your full scale service restaurant due to minimal food preparation involved. Everything is essentially pre-packaged and heated in a microwave prior to service or deep fried for the non health-conscience consumer. As such, cafeteria food operators need to pay attention to effective hand washing as well as verifying internal cooking temperatures of what actually goes in the microwave. Food products that are generally cooked in the microwave are initially frozen and thus may not achieve the desired temperature that will inactivate food borne pathogens and keep you from barfing.
    I thought this article was interesting as I just returned from the Twin Cities from a fantastic concert (Jonsi).
     
    The Duluth News Tribune reports
     
     
    Inspections of school cafeterias turn up far fewer problems than inspections of restaurants and convenience stores, say the people who probe the pantries, refrigerators and sinks of local schools.
    Government inspection reports of several area school districts for the past three years showed only a few incidents that would make you say: “Ewww.”
    Reasons for violations include: expired freshness dates for products, dented cans, rotten vegetables, a lack of hand-washing or glove changes between tasks, thawing and refreezing pizza, water not hot enough and milk not cold enough.
    “Typically, schools are pretty good inspections for us,” said Brian Becker, an environmental health specialist with the Douglas County Department of Health and Human Services. “They are well-trained, maintained; they’ve had their staff for a while. Oftentimes in other industries in food, you’ll see a higher turnover.”
    School cafeterias must be inspected twice a year. Most schools this year had low numbers of critical violations — those that can lead directly to food-borne illnesses — or none at all. Non-critical violations — of which there were higher numbers — don’t directly cause illness; they often relate to equipment or flooring. But even they can lead to food-borne illness.
    Improper hand-washing is the practice most potentially harmful to the health of students in cafeterias, said Ryan Trenberth, supervisor of the Duluth District Office of the Minnesota Department of Health, which has taken over for St. Louis County inspections.
    “We’re finding that’s how most viruses get spread,” he said. “Sick employees … not hand-washing, or cross-contamination going from a raw product to a ready-to-eat product.”
    Neither inspector could remember any food-borne illnesses spread in school cafeterias in Douglas or St. Louis counties.
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    barfing, Hand Washing, Microwave
  • Canadian government gives food safety advise to pregnant women

    Posted: March 25th, 2010 - 5:03pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    The Canadian government is focusing on the importance of food safety for pregnant women.
     
    Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are reminding women who are pregnant of the importance of food safety.
    During pregnancy, both woman and unborn child are at an increased risk for foodborne illness. This is because a woman's immune system is weakened during pregnancy, making it harder to fight off infections. The unborn baby's immune system is also not developed enough to fight off harmful foodborne bacteria. For both mother and baby, foodborne illness can cause serious health problems.
    It's estimated that there are approximately 11 million cases of foodborne illnesses in Canada every year. Many of these illnesses could be prevented by following proper food handling and preparation techniques.
    While it's always important for Canadians to follow proper food safety steps, it's especially important for women to pay close attention to food safety during pregnancy. To protect themselves and their unborn baby, pregnant women should follow the four key steps to food safety: Cook; Clean; Chill and Separate.
    Caution
    Pregnant women should also pay close attention to what they are eating during their pregnancy. Some foods are at a higher risk for foodborne illness than others.
    Make sure to cook hot dogs and deli meats until they are steaming hot before eating them
    Don't eat raw or undercooked meat, poultry and seafood
    Avoid refrigerated smoked fish or seafood
    Avoid unpasteurized juice, cider and milk
    Avoid soft and semi-soft cheeses made from raw or unpasteurized milk
    Avoid refrigerated pâtés and meat spreads.
    Avoid uncooked foods made from raw or unpasteurized eggs.
     
    My wife and I are expecting our first child and when it comes to foods to avoid during pregnancy, my radar is in full gear. I just finished writing a paper, more like an assignment, on the risks of consuming raw sprouts. Sprouts are everywhere and mixed into anything so half of the time one doesn’t even know they are eating them, considered a stealth food.
    Pathogens frequently isolated from raw sprouts include Salmonella, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Shigella species. Since it is impossible to guarantee a pathogen free sprout product, avoidance is the best measure. Sprouts are mentioned in the list, just have to dig further.
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  • Antibiotic resistant microbes in soil

    Posted: March 8th, 2010 - 5:11pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
     
    University tuition is not cheap and I, like many others, had to find employment throughout my university career to help pay for courses. Unfortunately, I ended up working in a hospital dealing with patients suffering from MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus) and VRE (vancomycin resistant enterococcus), very disturbing and heartbreaking at the same time. A recent study in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology indicates that there is more evidence pointing towards microorganisms in the soil becoming more resistant to antibiotics, ultimately ending up in the food supply; not unlikely. For instance, the use of avoparcin in Europe, an antimicrobial drug used as a growth promoter in food producing animals was shown to be one important factor leading to VRE in animals and that foodborne VRE may cause human colonization1.
     
    The United Press International reports:
     
    The researchers said that trend during the past 60 years continues despite more stringent rules on the use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, as well as improved sewage treatment technology that broadly improves water quality in surrounding environments.
    David Graham of Britain's Newcastle University and his colleagues said scientists have known for years that resistance was increasing in clinical situations, but the new study is the first to quantify the same problem in the natural environment over long time-scales.
    The scientists said they are concerned increased antibiotic resistance in soils could have broad consequences to public health through potential exposure from water and food supplies. They said their findings "imply there may be a progressively increasing chance of encountering organisms in nature that are resistant to antimicrobial therapy."
     
    1. L. Clifford McDonald, Matthew J. Kuehnert, Fred C. Tenover, and William R. Jarvis. Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci Outside the Health-Care Setting: Prevalence, Sources, and Public Health Implications. Emerging Infectious Diseases, Vol 3. No.3. July-September 1997. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
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    MRSA, Staphylococcus Aureus, United Press International, VRE
  • Questioning food safety practices

    Posted: March 4th, 2010 - 4:12pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    Health inspectors or like our partners to the South, registered sanitarians need to keep abreast of evidence based food safety publications to provide the most accurate and up to date information to the public. It is apparent that regulatory bodies tend to push certain food safety practices without them ever be questioned. For instance, are chemical sanitizers really the best way to go in terms of bacterial log reductions on food contact surfaces? Restaurant inspectors constantly push for the use of chlorine or quaternary ammonia as the chemicals of choice for sanitation. Yes, they do work, but what about vinegar. I read an interesting article from Pete Snyder comparing quaternary ammonia, vinegar, and water on cutting boards1. The paper states wiping a surface with a clean cloth soaked in vinegar is a very effective sanitizer. Furthermore, that vinegar should be approved as a sanitizer for food contact surfaces.
    One critical item that restaurant inspectors take note of is whether or not an establishment is using an approved sanitizer. Half of the time there is no sanitizer, but when there is, the concentration tends to be too strong i.e. >500 ppm available chlorine. Other times, the sanitizer solution is often mixed with a detergent rendering it ineffective. Restaurant inspectors need to take the time to check these critical control measures to ensure the restaurant operator is aware of these issues. A simple 5-7 minute inspection certainly will not suffice and in my opinion is a grand waste of time. That’s like making a fantastic, time worthy meal, and wolfing it down in minutes instead of enjoying it. I’m Italian, I enjoy food.
     
    KGBT 4 reports:
     
    Noe's Restaurant on 190 West Robertson in San Benito has a lengthy history on Food 4 Thought. The first dirty dining report we exposed at the location dates back to 2005 with 36 demerits. Noe’s scored 33 demerits back in December of 2009.   That’s why the food patrol looked a little closer at the restaurant’s latest inspection report when it was discovered Noe’s scored zero demerits.
    At the top of each health report, an inspector is supposed to log the start and end times to complete each report. Noe's inspection was finished in just seven minutes.   San Benito's Code Enforcement Director, John Rodriguez Jr., admitted seven minutes was an “improper” time. He said it should have taken a minimum of thirty minutes to do a proper, thorough check of all 27 critical items established by the state.
     
    1.Snyder, Peter. The Microbiology of Cleaning and Sanitizing a Cutting Board. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, 1997.
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    Chlorine, quaternary ammonia
  • 2 stars, you're out

    Posted: February 17th, 2010 - 12:16pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
     
    The Restaurant and Catering Association (RCA) has welcomed a new food safety rating system for Brisbane businesses.
    The Brisbane City Council will use information from its regular audits to rate the city's 6,000 eateries by the end of the year.
    Those with less than two stars will be made to fix problems.
    It will not be compulsory for businesses to display their rating but Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says public pressure will force dodgy outlets to lift their game.
    "We want to provide some transparency for the public so they know what they're getting," he said.
     
    Restaurant disclosure gets people talking about food safety, be it a letter grade, smiley face, or stars, people will notice. Same thing happens when Burton Cummings performs, people notice (it’s a Winnipeg thing). Restaurant inspections are merely a snap shot in time and what goes on when the inspector leaves is your best guess.  Running a restaurant is not easy and the last thing a restaurant operator wants to have is a horrible inspection rating. Disclosing information to the public may compel operators to work with health inspectors and develop a relationship to achieve one common goal- less barfing.
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    Burton Cummings, inspector, restaurant disclosure
  • The wooden board wins

    Posted: February 8th, 2010 - 3:06pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
     
    Food safety experts always recommend using two cutting boards, one strictly for meat and meat products and the other for fruits and vegetables to avoid cross contamination. Great advice, now what type of cutting board will reduce microbial counts after cleaning; plastic, wood, or marble?
     
    Ninemsn reports:
     
    Plastic comes a definite last and that's because bacteria are able to breed in the cuts left by knives.
    Marble came in second because bacteria spread everywhere. Marble also loses points because it's tough on knives.
    In the final wash-up, it was wood that blew the competition out of the water. This is no surprise to Professor Cliver. In many similar experiments, wood's always been a winner.
    Leila: "Why is wood so much better?"
    Professor Cliver: "It's a very porous material and the fluid is drawn into the wood by capillary action and if there are bacteria in the fluid they go in and they never come back alive."
    Leila: "So the wooden boards kill the bacteria?"
    Professor: "Well, they die off slowly. It may take a few hours, but all the same, they aren't in a position to cause any trouble."
    Leila: "So wood's the way to go?"
    Professor: "In my opinion."
    But the professor adds a rider — be sure to choose a tight-grained hardwood board. If the wood's too soft, those pesky bacteria can multiply in deep knife cuts.
     
     
    I had the opportunity to swab a number of cutting boards when shooting the series Kitchen Crimes, both plastic and wooden boards. Microbial counts were consistently high because bacteria will hide in the cracks and crevices of the board rendering cleaning ineffective. It is important to toss or refinish your cutting board if it appears to be heavily grooved to prevent this from occurring.
     
    Here are some tips on how to effectively clean and sanitize your board:
    1. Wash with soap and water using friction.
    2. Rinse with warm water.
    3. Sanitize using a mild solution of bleach to water, approximately 5mL bleach to 500mL water.
    4. Finally allow to air dry for optimum results.
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    Cross Contamination, Cutting Boards, Kitchen Crimes
  • Melamine strikes again

    Posted: February 2nd, 2010 - 12:45pm by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini

    The AFP reports,

    China has launched a probe into food safety after the new discovery of products laced with melamine, a chemical blamed for the deaths of six babies in a huge scandal in 2008, state media said Tuesday.

    In the latest cases, some companies were found to have made products using melamine-contaminated milk powder that was recalled after the scandal but found its way back on to the market, the official People's Daily reported.

    At a weekend meeting on food safety issues hosted by Health Minister Chen Zhu, officials decided to launch and inspection campaign "to thoroughly check potential problems in food safety," the newspaper said.

    "There are still some businesses and individuals that ignore the safety and health of the public and are blinded by greed," it added.

    According to the report, the companies involved in the fresh melamine scandal were based in several parts of China, including Shanghai and the northeastern province of Liaoning.

    In the latest reported case, authorities in the southwestern province of Guizhou found that some products contained levels of the industrial chemical above allowable limits.

    Melamine is a nitrogen rich compound (66% nitrogen) that is specifically used to increase the protein content of food products, namely milk. Upon doing so, one can dilute their product with water thereby increasing profits, essentially food adulteration for economic gain. The problem however, is when melamine combines with cyanuric acid causing crystallization in the kidneys ultimately leading to kidney failure and death.

    In 2008, adulteration of infant formula lead to the deaths of six children in China and sickened nearly 300,000 others. Melamine is not approved for direct addition to human or animal foods2 and should therefore be kept out of the food chain.

    1. 1. U.S. Food And Drug Administration. Melamine Contamination in China. Januuary 5, 2009. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm179005.html.
    2. 2. Mermelstein, N. Analyzing for Melamine. Journal of Food Technology. February, 2009.
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    Melamine
  • Raw milk=people sick

    Posted: January 27th, 2010 - 11:57am by Rob Mancini

    Author: 
    Rob Mancini
    The raw milk debate continues and clearly the risks of drinking unpasteurized milk outweigh its’ benefits. I read earlier that the raw milk enthusiasts were crying and almost begging to legalize the sale of raw milk. Well, when you are looking at your own child in the hospital on a dialysis machine, you’ll really want to cry. Again, this brings me back to my laboratory days when I was analyzing raw milk that was implicated in a number of horrible illnesses. We were testing for a whole gamete of nasty pathogens and when I saw the agar plate the next day which was specific for Campylobacter jejuni, the numbers of colonies present were overwhelming, couldn’t even read the plate. The samples kept coming in with more and more positives and of course more and more people sick.
    The Toronto Star writes:
     
    Despite claims that drinking raw milk has well-defined health benefits, this has never been established. But even if true, the risks clearly outweigh any potential benefits. Before mandatory pasteurization of milk, the TB sanatoria in Ontario were inundated with tubercular patients, many of whom were infected by the bovine tubercle. This is not something we want to repeat, particularly in an era when TB is again on the rise and drug resistant strains have emerged.
    Your editorial on the same date correctly pointed out that drinking untreated milk puts consumers at increased risk of exposure to deadly pathogens. It is one thing for milk producers to drink their own milk – they do so knowingly at their own risk. However to legally provide raw, potentially contaminated milk for consumption by the public is a matter of great concern.
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  • Run, it's the health inspector

    Posted: December 18th, 2009 - 3:33pm by Rob Mancini

     

    The last thing I want to do is shut a restaurant down during the Christmas season but when one encounters multiple critical food violations, my hands are tied. An immediate closure was issued on a local restaurant due to improper food holding temperatures, inadequate dishwashing as pots/pans were merely rinsed with water, potential cross contamination issues in the cooler, and the list continues. It is important to note that there was a manger on duty that had successfully completed the food handlers’ course and would therefore in theory be aware of these critical issues. At any rate, I rolled up my sleeves, threw on my hair net and proceeded to physically show the foodservice staff how to properly wash pots/pans via the 3 compartment sink method. Also went over ice baths to rapidly cool foods, preparing sanitizer solutions, and how to use a digital tip sensitive thermometer, supplied by me of course because they didn’t have one. After training on-site, it was up to the staff to show me what they have learned without sitting down and writing an exam, which I feel is pointless.

                A number of Health Departments are consistently struggling with staffing issues resulting in less than par health inspections. I would rather spend the time and perform a quality health inspection by incorporating on-site training rather than being concerned with the quantity of restaurants inspected. 

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    Food Safety Policy, Thermometers  |  2 Comments
    3 Compartment Sink Method, Health Inspector
  • Mmmm, what's that flavor, Campylobacter?

    Posted: December 18th, 2009 - 1:33pm by Rob Mancini

     

     

    The Tomah Journal writes:

    In most circumstances, the test of whether an activity should be illegal isn’t whether it creates harm, but whether the cost of eradicating the harm is exceeded by enforcement costs.

    Many activities -- drunk driving, manufacturing methamphetamine, hunting from the side of the road, dumping untreated sewage -- are worth the cost of enforcement. But is selling raw milk? Two area lawmakers don’t think so, and they’re probably right.

    State Rep. Chris Danou (D-Trempealeau) and state Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) have introduced legislation that would legalize on-farm sales of raw milk in Wisconsin. Critics claim that raw milk is unsafe, and that’s true in the narrowest literal sense. According to the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 39 raw milk-related bacterial outbreaks in the United States between 1998 and 2005 sickened 831 people, hospitalized 66 and killed one. In Wisconsin, bacterial outbreaks linked to unpasteurized milk sickened 189 people and hospitalized three.

    In the large scheme of things, however, those aren’t large numbers. Last year, 23 people died in Wisconsin snowmobile accidents, and nobody suggests banning snowmobiles.

    The benefits of raw milk are economic. Raw milk has a passionate, if small, base of consumers who are willing to pay farmers top dollar. In a struggling economy when it’s difficult for dairy farmers to make ends meet, it’s an economic boost that can’t be easily dismissed.

    Most Americans grew up with pasteurized milk, and in an easily grossed-out food culture like ours (how many of us eat beef tongue, sweetbreads or chicken gizzards?) the prospect of raw milk as a widely consumed commodity appears very slim. And there’s no doubt that if a consumer wants to follow a safety-first approach to food consumption, pasteurized milk is the logical option. But if consumers want to take a moderate risk and consume raw milk, it’s not worth the resources of the state to tell them they can’t. Wisconsin has bigger law enforcement problems than people who take their chances.

    How many kids have to get sick and die from consuming unpasteurized milk? If the consumer wants to take the risk and consume such a product, fine, just don’t impose it on your kids and don’t say you weren’t informed.

                I remember quite fondly when I worked in the Provincial Lab in Alberta and was testing unpasteurized milk that had made a number people sick. I was shocked from the number of positive bacterial cultures, in particular, Campylobacter jejuni, a nasty foodborne pathogen.

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    Campylobacter Jejuni, Unpasteurized Milk