Food safety Perspectives by Christine Testa - Regional Food Safety Specialist
Lately, during food service operation inspections, I have noticed that foodservice employees have question about where and how to store the knives and other utensils. Many times, I find soiled knives inside sanitizer buckets with soiled sanitizer solution and food particles. Other questions […]

(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 […]

“I’ll have my burger rare!” Why take a chance? Pathogens, including E. coli O157:H7, are contained within raw hamburger meat and need to be destroyed before eating. In the past, officials would advise to cook hamburgers until all the “juices run clear.” We have since learned that the only reliable means of […]

In many parts of the Northeast, Memorial Day signals the opening of pool season, while many other areas of the country, swimming pools remain open all year round. With the unofficial start to summer only a few days away it is important to ensure that your pool and pool water area properly maintained.
To be […]

We have been asked by some to have a blog on topical issues in public health and, particularly, in the areas of environmental health and infectious disease epidemiology. Today, we are launching our blog, affectionately entitled the BadBugBlog, with a discourse on Mad Cow Disease. We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions for […]