Restaurants are always faced with the problem of rapid staff turnover rates resulting in an on-going regime of constant training. Fair enough but are new staff being trained in food safety? In certain provinces only one staff in five on any given shift are required to have some sort of food safety training through a professional organization. Theoretically, on-site managers will have taken the course in the hopes of shedding some of that knowledge to their staff. The concern, however, is that some managers simply don’t care about food safety and information is not being relayed to front line service staff. That’s when typically the public, you, barf. It is one thing to train someone on the basics of food safety in a classroom setting but it is another thing to change ones’ behaviours and habits when dealing with issues on food safety. For instance, this is a picture of an undercooked chicken burger served to a customer during a lunch rush. The manager was more concerned about dealing with the influx of customers than paying attention to food safety, as a result the cooks followed suit and a raw burger was served. Managers have a responsibility to promote safe food practices and encourage staff to do the same. It apparently seems that attitudes and behaviours tend to change when something horrible happens, like a foodborne outbreak. It is time to be proactive and not reactive.

Astonishing and amazing, like the recent Pet Shop Boys concert I attended, what one can find during a restaurant inspection.

KITV writes

In mid-August, a customer complained about finding a roach in a hamburger from a Honolulu fast-food restaurant. Two days later, an inspector found dead roaches in a plastic paper sheet cover at the same restaurant.

The state sends inspectors on unannounced inspections of restaurants. KITV followed along as inspector Raena Nishimura checked the conditions at Downtown Coffee, a coffee bar off Fort Street Mall.

"Just looking in the cupboards for any signs of droppings of rodents, roach droppings," Nishimura said.

There were none of those at Downtown Coffee, but an inspector found a live rat under the sink at a Kalihi noodle shop recently.

At another downtown restaurant, an inspector found mold in a soda dispenser, just a few days after a customer complained of finding mold in some lemonade.

The only way to find violations and get dirty restaurants to clean up their act is to inspect them on a regular basis.

"Our supervisor would like to have our establishments inspected twice a year, but that's impossible," Nishimura said.

It is impossible because budget cuts have left a small number of inspectors to handle thousands of restaurants.

I couldn’t agree more, public health inspections are a culmination of hard work integrating a myriad of different scientific disciplines. As a result, they take time and more resources are needed if we are to take food safety seriously.

Restaurant inspections are generally carried out unannounced by a health inspector. In this way one can obtain a snap shot of what is actually going on at that time. Some of the expressions on employees’ faces when I arrive and announce myself are priceless, makes me feel so wanted at times. Now I know how Chuck Norris feels when he enters an establishment. So, I decided to perform a restaurant inspection that was scheduled to eliminate the wonderful element of surprise. When a health inspector schedules an inspection, it is assumed that managers’, food operators’, supervisors and anyone else involved with that facility are going to take extra measures to ensure that things are cleaned up and everything is in check. I sometimes favor scheduled inspections because if I go in and find something wrong, for instance, mixing soap with chlorine sanitizer, then it becomes more apparent that staff are unaware or misinformed on this issue. More importantly, as the health inspector develops a relationship with the chef and spends time explaining why certain practices are right or wrong, both the establishment and the customer benefits.

Digital tip sensitive thermometers are as important to a chef as espresso is to m wife and I. While inspecting a fast food restaurant which serves predominantly burgers, I noticed the chef relying solely on color to determine doneness of burgers. As mentioned time and time again on barfblog, color is not a reliable tool to determine doneness of burgers due to premature browning of meat which may result before the burger reaches 160°F, the temperature required to inactivate pathogens such as E. coli 0157 H:7. Studies have demonstrated that burgers cooked to 135°C and allowed to sit for a few minutes looked the same as a burger cooked to 160°C. After explaining this concept to the chef, the response was well I cook the burger on high heat until it pretty much looks charred. Oh “that’s a deal breaker.” I have been dying to use this catch phrase from 30 Rock for sometime now. I went on to explain what happens when meat is cooked at high temperatures to a point of charring. A chemical change can occur in the meat resulting in the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCA’s). To prevent this from occurring, one can lower the temperature used for grilling and flip patties continually. The use of tongs or spatulas should be used to flip meat as a fork will puncture the meat causing juices to run causing flame ups which are responsible for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a carcinogenic compound2. It is interesting to note that marinades and spices may reduce the amount HCA’s found in the meat. The addition of spices such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and brine, reduced the content of HCA’s below 60% when compared to a control1. It is always a good idea to scrape off any parts of the meat that are charred. Finally, always use a digital tip sensitive thermometer to determine if your burger is done 71°C (160°F).

Sources:

1. Antioxidant spices reduce the formation of heterocyclic amines in fried meat
M. Murkovic, D. Steinberger and W. Pfannhauser
Volume 207, Number 6 / November, 1998

2. Environmental Health Services. Food Council News. Volume 4 Issue 3. May 2001. Capital Health

I was always skeptical when it came to sushi because of hands constantly touching the rice, fish, and other ingredients that go in the roll. Rice is notorious for harbouring bacteria such as Bacillus cereus, a nasty little germ that is capable of forming a spore and can cause one to seriously embark on a journey of barfing. One of the critical control points in controlling the growth of this bacterium is to acidify the rice, that is, attain a pH of <4.6. Synder¹ reports that a pH of less than 4.6 will retard the growth of this bacterium and others such as Clostridium botulinum. I remember when I attempted to make sushi at home, I added enough vinegar to the rice that one bite would have given you an instant gastric ulcer, so I stopped. But are food operators’ testing their product to ensure the rice is at a pH of <4.6?

The Arizona Daily Star reports that Sushi Ten was reported in having 11 critical health violations.

Sushi Ten, a midtown eatery specializing in raw seafood, failed its first health inspection with a new owner, Pima County reported Monday.

The restaurant, which for several years held the top spot for sushi in the Tucson Weekly's annual "Best of Tucson" survey, amassed 11 critical food-safety violations during an inspection last Wednesday. Critical violations are those that carry the risk of spreading food-borne illness, and an eatery receives a provisional rating if a county sanitarian notices five or more of them.

Sushi Ten, 4500 E. Speedway, will be reinspected within 10 days, said Sharon Browning, manager of the county Consumer Health and Food Safety unit.

Sushi Ten's owner, David Lam, who took over the restaurant in May, said many of the violations stemmed from his employees not being fully aware of Pima County's health code. He said he plans to attend a county class to learn more about safe food preparation and to educate his employees.

Most of the violations were corrected during the course of the inspection, Lam said.

The violations included employees failing to wash their hands after handling raw food or dirty dishes, food not being kept at the proper temperature, and potentially hazardous food not being properly date-marked.

Source:

1. Synder, O.P. (2000A). Sushi rice HACCP. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management.

It is amazing what one can find during a routine restaurant inspection from temperature abuse of food to pest control problems. Rarely, however, does the owner of a restaurant decide to shut down to correct any problems as in Smart Alec's Intelligent Food restaurant.

The Daily Californian writes

 On Wednesday, several students noticed that Smart Alec's Intelligent Food restaurant had closed its doors for a short period of time. The decision to temporarily shut down the restaurant was made by the owner Stephanie Dodson after a routine visit from a health inspector revealed a health violation.

The health inspector from the City of Berkeley's Environmental Health Division was doing a routine check to make sure that the restaurant was in compliance with Berkeley health codes.

"Our inspector was in the field (Wednesday) and visited Smart Alec's," said Manuel Ramirez, the manager of the Environmental Health Division. "He visited Smart Alec's for three hours."

The inspector found evidence of rat droppings near the cash registers. All other areas of the restaurant were in compliance with the city's health codes.

Dodson said as soon as the health inspector informed her of the issue, she decided to close Smart Alec's for an hour and a half.

"There were some signs of some activity, and we noticed it immediately and addressed it immediately," Dodson said. "I made the judgement call that we needed to (shut down)."

Thanksgiving is right around the corner (in Canada) and families are scurrying to purchase the most perfect, succulent turkey for the upcoming festivities. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of turkey, more a pasta kinda’ of guy, however, this year we’re cooking up turkey. Here are a few tips when cooking the bird. The turkey should be cooked to an internal temperature of 85°C (185°F). Use a digital tip sensitive thermometer to verify the internal temperature by inserting the thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh. It is a good idea to cook the stuffing separately so that it reaches an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F). In the event of leftovers, never happens in my family, refrigerate immediately by placing the turkey in shallow pans in the refrigerator, covered. Refrigerate stuffing and gravy separate from the turkey meat and consume everything within 3 days or freeze. Upon re-heating, turkey meat should reach an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F) and ensure that the gravy is brought to a rolling boil. Throughout the whole process of cooking the turkey, remember to always wash your hands. Happy Thanksgiving.

Old man winter is right around the corner and as usual the lovely geese of Manitoba begin their trek south to avoid the ridiculous temperatures of Winnipeg. No I’m not bitter, just a touch cool from my brisk morning rides to work on my scooter. Being jealous of the geese I was reminded this morning about food safety tip number 2. Avoid eating poop. Geese fecal matter or animal fecal matter contain pathogenic organisms such as E. coli and Salmonella. Geese really don’t care where they do their business which means it could be getting into your fruits and vegetables. Studies have also shown that Salmonella can survive in the soil for up 900 days and can also survive in fruits and vegetables (1). Washing your fruits and vegetables at this point will be ineffective.

 I remember when I was a young lad in Edmonton, Alberta performing water quality testing for the triathlon games. The athletes were to use a man-made lake for the swimming portion of the event. The lake was consistently bombarded with E.coli due to the overwhelming number of surrounding geese. If poop can get into the water, it can get into your gardens as well. Foodborne illnesses associated with fruits and vegetables have been increasing. This increase is partly due to higher consumption of such products to satisfy a healthy diet, better reporting, and changes in production practices (2). It is important to think about where your food is coming from (farm-to-fork chain) and the potential sources of contamination, one being animal droppings. As a consumer, there is very little one can accomplish in reducing bacterial loads with certain types of vegetables, one being sprouts for instance. Pathogens can exceed10 ⁷ per gram of sprouts without affecting its appearance (3). It is for this reason that the young, old, immunocomprised, and pregnant women should avoid raw sprouts.  

1. Charpentier, Heribert Hirt. The Dark Side of the Salad: Salmonella typhimurium Overcomes the Innate Immune Response of Arabidopsis thaliana and Shows an Endopathogenic Lifestyle

2. Risk Profile on the Microbiological Contamination of Fruits and Vegetables Eaten Raw. Report of the Scientific Committee on Food (adopted on the 24^th of April 2002). European Commission, Health and Consumer Protection Directorate- General.

3. Taormina PJ, Beuchat LR, Slusker R. 1999. Infections associated with eating seed sprouts: An international concern. Emerg Infect Dis; 5: 629-634.

 Food safety month, has a nice ring to it, should be food safety year as more and more people are barfing from food related incidences and since we eat everyday. So, as I was perusing the streets of Winnipeg on my Vespa flying at a record fifty kilometers an hour, listening to the Flight of the Conchords for inspiration, first food safety tip dawned on me. Change your ragged dishcloth on a daily basis as they may harbor pathogenic bacteria. The dishcloth provides the perfect medium for bacterial growth which will eventually spread throughout the kitchen increasing the risk of foodborne illness. Analyses of these cloths have revealed extremely high bacterial loads coupled with significant numbers of mold and yeast. If you change your socks daily, shouldn’t you change your dishcloth?

Food safety seems to be very hot topic lately especially with the whole Listeria thing but how effective are food safety communicators in getting the word out to the public? I was struck the other day, when at the grocery store, I had asked a pregnant lady whether or not she was concerned eating the lovely bag of bean sprouts she was holding in her hands. She laughed and replied yeah maybe the bag but not the sprouts. She continued on by saying that sprouts are a healthy choice and are great when mixed into salads, sandwiches, and other like foods. Had I asked this woman the same question regarding raw chicken, nine times out of ten, Salmonella would have been shouted out to the roof top, in an annoying Celine Dion sort of way. It seems to be a lot different when it comes to bean sprouts. So, food safety geek on alert, I decided to survey a number of people at the grocery store, some of my pregnant friends, and family members asking if they were concerned with eating this product. The answer was repeatedly no. A list of outbreaks concerning bean sprouts and food safety information on this topic can be found at http://www.foodsafety.ksu.edu/en/article-details.php?a=2&c=6&sc=36&id=865.

And no I am not talking about Johnny Depp. Time and time again food safety communicators promote the use of digital tip sensitive thermometers to determine doneness of food. But how often is this practice being done in restaurants? If so, is it being done correctly? From my experience, it seems that restaurant operators depend on color far too often and the operators that use thermometers do not use them correctly. This simply boils down to a need of properly train staff. It is imperative that front line food service staff are physically shown how to correctly use thermometers rather than just explaining the concept and theory behind it. Health inspectors, in particular, must take the time during routine inspections to demonstrate the proper usage of thermometers and compel restaurant managers to train their staff accordingly.

There have been too many cases of raw chicken burgers being served to the public and ultimately making people barf.  At times, food service staff are stressed and end up getting food orders wrong and are therefore rushed to correct the problem. In doing so, corners are cut resulting in burgers not being cooked long enough. Take the time to properly cook chicken burgers and remember stick it in.

A number of fast food restaurants insist their staff wear gloves when preparing food, just like Michael Jackson when performing. However, wearing gloves does not necessarily mean safer food. A study conducted by University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, indicates that levels of heterotrophic bacteria, which is one way of determining level of hygiene, were essentially higher on staff wearing gloves than on bare hands. Perhaps this may be due to food service staff wearing gloves for an extended period of time without changing them and without handwashing in between. Also, there seems to be this mentality that wearing gloves signifies less handwashing because bare hands are not in contact with food. This notion is false and should never replace handwashing.

My wife and I recently returned from our 6 week honeymoon vacation in Europe. We spent three weeks in France, one week in Spain, and two weeks in Bella Italia. The scenery was breathtaking, the architecture unimaginable, the stench from unpasteurized cheese- priceless. My sister in law, who was also travelling with us in France, was quite taken away with a few of the unpasteurized cheeses offered. She later experienced severe cramps, headaches, nausea, bloody diarrhea, and ended up barfing away-exorcism style. After the second day of bed rest, she decided to visit the local hospital as the symptoms seem to have been worsening. The attending physician simply indicated that she had food poisoning. No samples were submitted, no food history, no information regarding foods she should be avoiding, nothing. Dr. Spaceman from 30 Rock would have probably have given better advice. If the attending physician decided not to submit samples for analysis or obtain a food history, perhaps some food safety tips would have been appropriate like avoid unpasteurized cheeses.

I love food safety and hate pathogens, so sometimes I can get a little too excited when restaurant operators’ are engaged in food safety and really care about what they are doing. Just the other day on a routine restaurant inspection, the manager pulled me aside and asked me if I want to hear everything they are currently doing to ensure food safety. I responded, just as Alec Baldwin did on 30 Rock when asked if he liked Phil Collins, “I have two ears and a heart, don’t I?” And so he began showing me temperature log books, digital tip sensitive thermometers to ensure proper internal cooking temperatures with log books for quality assurance purposes, food from safe sources, proper handwashing, and sanitizer solutions equipped with test strips to ensure proper chemical concentrations. The manager would encourage staff to get involved in food safety, have regular meetings discussing the importance of food safety with demonstrations, essentially on-site food safety training. Wow, doesn’t really get better than this.

Well done Kansas City. The Kansas City Health Department has recognized those food service establishments, 55 in total, who have gone above and beyond in terms of sanitation and food safety. Recipients of this award will definitely benefit by getting more business simply because people enjoy clean and sanitary restaurants. Do you blame them? The Kansas City Star writes:

The recipients of the department’s Fifth Annual “Grade A Food Excellence Award” for 2008 winners include full-scale restaurants, fast-food establishments, school cafeterias, convenience stores and grocery stores, among others.

The award is valid for one year.

The winners include Arby’s on Oxford Avenue in the Northland, Bluestem in Westport, Culver’s Frozen Custard and ButterBurgers on State Line Road, Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza’s Café Express and Kansas City Marriott Downtown’s Lilly’s, Paul’s Drive-in on Blue Ridge Boulevard, Popeyes Famous Chicken and Biscuits on State Line Road, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at Union Station, Russell Stover Candies on 51st Street, and Sylvia’s Deli on Washington Street.

“When you go in a restaurant you look for good quality in the food, good service, but most of all cleanliness and my deli is clean,” said Sylvia Raya, owner of Sylvia’s Deli at 1746 Washington St., which will celebrate its fifth anniversary in June. “From day one I was determined to get this award and my employees worked very hard for it as well.”

All food establishments in Kansas City are inspected regularly by the Health Department, and if they are open it means that they have passed their inspections.

But the establishments recognized with this award have substantially exceeded the standards set in the Food Code, fully endorsing employee education and training.

Criteria include:

At least one person in the facility must have successfully completed the department’s food manager course or be ServSafe certified.

High risk facilities (those with large and complicated menus) cannot have more than three critical violations, medium risk facilities (fast food operations and bistros) cannot have more than two critical violations, and low risk facilities (like street vendors or convenience stores with one or two fresh prepared products) cannot have any critical violations in the calendar year for the award.

No violations may be repeat violations from the calendar year.

My wife and I are finally embarking on our long awaited honeymoon to Europe to visit family and enjoy some time off. One of my all time favorite bands, Depeche Mode, will playing in Rome and we decided that we should go. Their latest song release reminded me of the answer I gave the establishment which was responsible for the raw chicken burger. An employee said that the chicken must of been cooked because it was really crispy-'Wrong.' Use a digital tip sensitive thermometer and stick it in.

Some people will do anything for a quick buck. Fake health inspectors in the Greater Toronto Area have been targeting mom and pop food stores in purchasing food safety tests. If managers do not comply, they would be faced with severe health code violations. Now I have heard everything. Health inspectors are required to present valid identification prior to inspecting an establishment. If something does not look right, contact your local health authority.  Food and water tests should also be performed in an accredited laboratory and not on site.

The Toronto Star writes this morning Mom-and-pop food stores and restaurants across the GTA are being scammed by fake health inspectors pushing unnecessary food and water tests, authorities say.

Dozens of convenience store and restaurant owners, most of them new Canadians, have told Peel, Halton and Toronto health departments that they were contacted by a "food and water safety technician" wanting to sell them $30 to $40 safety tests.

The so-called technicians reportedly say the tests are mandatory, and hand out what looks like "old meat plant inspection forms" from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said Matt Ruf, Halton Region's manager of food safety.

Halton and Toronto officials said the people typically identify themselves as representatives of the Canadian Food Safety Institute or the Canadian Food Safety Resource Centre, which the institute founded according to the website www.cfsrc.com.

The CFSI "is not an agency we would deal with," said Rob Colvin, manager of healthy environments for Toronto Public Health.

So far, only a handful of business owners – including two in Toronto – have paid for the tests, officials said.

The cases started emerging first in Peel and Halton in mid-January, then in Toronto about three weeks ago, Colvin said.

Jalal Hadibhai, who owns the Down Under convenience store in Yorkville, said a woman called Monday, saying she would send a technician the next day to perform E.coli tests in the store.

She wanted $39.95 in cash or cheque, he said.

Hadibhai called Toronto Public Health to ask if the tests were legitimate and was told no, he said.

In the end, no one came to the store.

"I would have asked for I.D.," the store owner said. "I would never give them cash."

Sgt. Brian Carr said Halton police are looking for a woman who attempted to sell the tests in a Hasty Market in Oakville yesterday.

She allegedly told the manager that without the tests he could face fines for health code violations.

The woman presented a business card indicating she was from the CFSRC, police said. The organization has addresses in Mississauga and Ottawa.

"There's no such unit out there," Carr said. Messages left for the CEO of the safety institute were not returned.

A toll-free number listed on both organizations' websites is out of order.

It's unclear how many people are involved, but "it seems there's a whole team of people out there," said Colvin.

Mark Nesbitt, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long- Term Care, said restaurant and store health inspections lie "entirely in the hands of local public health units."

Any private inspections purchased by business owners would be non- binding and, he added: "Buyer beware."

There are two different types of inspectors, the black and white regulators who essentially enforce the law without explanation and the one who spends time discussing food related issues and guides operators. An inspection, whether announced or unannounced, is a snapshot in time and is not indicative of what actually goes on. It is far more important that inspectors discuss food safety issues in conjunction with health regulations. Inspectors throw words around such as cross contamination or danger zone, but does the operator even knows what those words actually mean? It is easy for an inspector to enter an establishment and tell the cook, listen you need to use a digital thermometer to verify that your burger is properly cooked. In some jurisdictions, an offence notice will accompany that statement. Sure the cook can probe the burger when the inspector is around, but do they know what temperature they should be aiming for? It is important to work with food operators and discuss food safety issues to compel them rather than scare them.