Generic E. coli is found in the intestinal track of both man and animals. Thus, the finding of generic E. coli in ready-to-eat foods is an indication of fecal contamination. Fecal contamination in turn indicates that other harmful organisms, whether they be bacterial (Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter), viral (hepatitis A, norovirus, rotovirus), […]

Commentary by Christine Testa, Regional Food Safety Specialist
FIFO is a commonsense system that allows you to prepare foods with an optimum nutritional value and quality, along with practicing good food safety procedures. FIFO rotation will also lower your food cost. Knowing what you have in stock and how fast or slow food items are moving […]

(Here Christine Testa comments on food safety observations during her time as a Health Department official in the state of Michigan.)
Most food service operations utilize sanitation buckets at every food prep area. The question remains for many operations – “Where can we legally stage them?” Simply, wipe cloths, used throughout the food prep […]

By Christine Testa - NE Regional Food Safety Specialist
(Here Christine Testa comments on food safety observations during her time as a Health Department official in the state of Michigan.)
1) Using a beverage glass to scoop the ice from the ice bin. Then searching for the broken glass before the owner finds […]

Over the past three months, the nation has been told by the FDA not to eat certain types of fresh tomatoes due to an outbreak of Salmonella saintpaul; which now totals over 1,000 confirmed individual cases in 42 states and the District of Columbia at last count. Neither the CDC nor the FDA, the […]

Listeria is a unique organism because, unlike many other bacteria, Listeria thrives well in cold temperatures below 41°F. Furthermore, the mortality rate for Listeria is significantly higher than that of more common bacteria associated with foodborne illnesses, such as Salmonella. Although illnesses such as Salmonella are more prevalent, Listeria is a more dangerous […]

Recent Debate on Unpasteurized Milk
The past several years have witnessed increasing debate, regulation and outbreaks of foodborne disease due to raw or unpasteurized milk. Proponents of raw milk tout health benefits that they claim are not possible when milk has been pasteurized—a process of heating the milk to 161°F for 15-20 seconds, which kills […]

An air gap is a very complicated feat of engineering! Essentially, the air gap on a food preparation sink provides a distance of twice the diameter of a sink drain discharge and the lip of the floor drain. This provides sufficient space to prevent unsanitary water from flowing back into the sink, thereby […]

Did you know that melons are considered a potentially hazardous food item?
Several years ago, cut melons were attributed to outbreaks of Salmonella in New Jersey. Since then, melons such as cantaloupes, honeydew and watermelon have all been classified as potentially hazardous food items, which means that these foods are capable of supporting rapid bacterial […]

How long do you keep important temperature records on file? Many retail operations keep these logs on file for three months, but others maintain them for at least one year. The problem is how to keep records neat and orderly and where to store the files after completion.
This is important because inspectors typically […]

With the new push towards composting and waste stream reduction, pulping units seem to be making a come back within foodservice units. Recently, I did an inspection on an older corporate food service operation that still maintained one of their old unused pulping units. You may recognize this piece of equipment in […]

Thousands cited in S. Florida for serious violations
By Mc Nelly Torres
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 15 2007
THE NUMBERS
56 — Inspectors who scrutinize over 10,000 food establishments in South Florida.
From July 2006 to January 2007, they found:
100,395 — Critical violations in 11,747 restaurants, an average of 5.6 critical violations per inspection.
52,643 — Non-critical […]

Although taking temperatures is often one of the dullest aspects of a food preparation, it is also one of the most important tasks to complete consistently. Sometimes employees try to fake the temperature of products during temperature monitoring – just to get the job done. Tell tail signs of dry lab include employees […]

There is only one way to truly determine if a food item has been cooked to the proper temperature! Use a calibrated thermometer! However, you also need to check to ensure that thermometers are calibrated consistently and that temperatures are not being “dry labbed”. The importance of verification can not be understated […]

Every product has a limit as to how much it can be handled and manipulated before it’s quality begins to suffer. From a microbiological perspective, establishing critical limits ensures that items such as cold potentially hazardous foods are maintained below 41°F and hot foods are maintained at temperatures above 140°F. When food items […]

Most of the foodborne illnesses that affect people are attributable to biological hazards. The biological hazards that we are concerned with include bacteria, viruses and parasites. Of the three – bacteria are the largest group of concern and include organisms such as E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Shigella and Campylobacter. Luckily, these organisms […]

Identifying critical control points in your HACCP system is the step in HACCP that operators need to prevent, eliminate or control/reduce specific hazards. There are a number of ways to prevent hazards in the processing environment including purchasing food products from approved vendors, ensuring that overhead light fixtures are protected against breakage, washing hands, […]

Certainly I am not the only person that has gotten a hair in their food while eating at a restaurant, but over the years, I have also found several other physical hazards of interest including bone fragments, wood chips, pieces of metal scrub pads and a screw. These are all considered physical hazards. […]

There has been much debate recently on the benefits/drawbacks of pasteurized versus raw milk. In Ohio, it is illegal to sell unpasteurized milk to stores and consumers, though dairy farm families may drink raw milk from their own herds. In September, the Ohio Department of Agriculture revoked the license of a 100-cow dairy […]

HACCP programs are designed to address food hazards from the time food products are received into an operation (and even before with vendor verification), to the time that they are prepared and ultimately severed to the customer. In fact, the very first principle of HACCP is to “identify and assess” the food hazards in […]

What are some of the most common violations associated with ice machines? Well, some may believe it is the lack of check valves or indirect drain lines, but rarely do we find this to be the case during routine inspections in retail operaitons. The two most common food safety violations identified by our […]

Many people don’t recognize that single service items (including plates, plastic utensils and cups) must be stored in much the same manner as food items. That is, they must be covered and protected against the potential for cross contamination at all times and must never be stored on the floor.

Chemical test strips should always be used to monitor concentration levels of sanitizers in the three compartment sink, chemical dispensers and in dip buckets and spray bottles. When using chlorine bleach as a sanitizer, concentration levels in the third sink should remain at 50ppm. Iodine should be maintained at 12.5 ppm and quat […]

In retail foodservice, there are essentially three accepted sanitizing agents for use. These include chlorine bleach, iodine and quartanary ammonium or “quat”. Each of these sanitizers will be effective in eliminating a vast majority of bacteria from a properly cleaned food contact surface, but your operation must chose the best chemical for […]

What is the difference between “clean”, “sanitized” and “sterilized”? Clean means free of visible soil. Sterilize means free of all germs – ie bacteria and viruses. In the food service environment, it is impossible to sterilize items, therefore, we rely on the next best thing and that is to “sanitize” or reduce […]

Do people really walk around sneezing onto food? Does it really happen that much? Maybe not, but all the same – Health Departments all require food product that is held on display to be protected from customer cross contamination or other appropriate device. Additionally, if food is considered to be “self […]

The walk-in and reach-in refrigerators and the dry goods storage room, typically receive great scrutiny during regulatory inspections of retail food service operations. There are a number of food safety practices that signal that a facility is adhering to good management practices (GMPs). While conducting self-inspections in these areas of your operation, ask […]

There are several different mistakes that are made when taking the temperature of potentially hazardous food items. These mistakes include: not inserting the bi-metal probe thermometer into the deepest portion of the food, taking temperatures of meats too close to the bone in the space created when meat separates from the bone, not […]

Over 20 years of laboratory analysis of food items collected during routine food safety inspections has confirmed to us the importance of treating vegetables and other raw items added to protein salads, including tuna, chicken, ham, turkey, and shrimp/seafood salads. In the past, we recommend blanching vegetables in boiling water for at least one […]

Thermometer use and calibration
There are several inexpensive types of thermometers available on the market today, including bi-metal probe and digital thermometers. Both types are capable of accurately recording internal temperatures of food products during the cooking process, however, one of the most important things is to insure that your thermometer is properly calibrated. […]