Valentine’s Day is coming up which means that many couples are making reservations for their favorite restaurant. Although the crumbs on the floor and the occasional sticky table might add to the “homey” atmosphere of your preferred mom and pop diner, you should think twice about what the kitchen might look like if the dining area is so filthy. You like the relaxed nature of the employees that shows when they prefer to handle your food without gloves; however, you should also consider how many “relaxed” food handlers tend to disregard those “Employees Must Wash Hands” signs hanging in the restrooms. Hopefully, you are trying to help your significant other remember this special night for how much you love them, not for how upset their digestive system feels. Here are some suggestions to help make your dining experience safer and more enjoyable:

• Take note of the dining area and restrooms. If they do not meet cleanliness standards, it’s probably a good sign that the kitchen is also in need of more than just a light dusting. You might consider eating elsewhere for your own safety.
• Only eat foods that are served to you hot. If the food is served to you at a lukewarm temperature, chances are that it was left sitting for too long and has allowed harmful bacteria to multiply.
• Make sure the staff does not touch your food or the tips of your silverware with their bare hands. It’s probably not a good idea to let them sample your drink either.
• Be wary of meat, eggs, oysters, or other raw foods that are undercooked.
• Wash your hands properly before and after eating.

And what about the doggie bag? If you and your loved one know that you will not be back home to refrigerate your leftovers within the next two hours, leave your food remains behind (even if it makes starving children in other countries cry.) If your leftovers do make it home, make sure that you reheat the goods to at least 165 degrees F. With leftovers, always keep the “Temperature Danger Zone” in mind–the range of temperature that bacteria thrives in, usually falling between 40 and 140 degrees F. Make sure to keep your food above or below this range.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

–Madelyn Tucker

Sources: NSF.org, FDA.gov

Blaise Pascal, a French scientist of the 17^th century, researched the effects of pressure on fluids. His research lead him to a method called high pressure processing (HPP) which uses pressure—rather than heat, chemicals, or irradiation—to preserve and sanitize food. Although discovered long ago, HPP has become quite a big deal in the food industry as of late.

In a Food Safety News article called “Putting on the Pressure: ‘No Heat’ Way to Zap Pathogens,” Cookson Beecher explains that more than four centuries after Pascal’s scientific advance, HPP is being utilized by companies like Maple Lodge Farms, Starbucks, Cargill, and Hormel to kill harmful pathogens like E.coli, Listeria, and Salmonella. And the good news is that this process does not change the nutritional quality or the taste of the treated food.

Many people in the food safety world regard HPP as a “natural option for food safety” and a “technological breakthrough.” V.M. Balasubramaniam, an HPP researcher, says that Cargill’s use of HPP is “the most promising food-safety innovation in recent years” and will become a “key player in food safety.” Companies are learning that HPP, though a more expensive way of preserving and sanitizing food, is worth the extra money to their consumers who are becoming increasingly aware of food safety issues.

To learn more about HPP and its process, check out this video. For the full Food Safety News article, hit up the source link below.

–Aubrey Pontious

Source: Food Safety News

We are happy to announce that our industry-leading online food handler course is now available in five languages! The course, now available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, and Vietnamese, is currently live in the States of Colorado and California–with other locations soon to follow! For less than the price of a few gallons of gas, food workers of many language and cultural backgrounds can come to StateFoodSafety.com to receive food safety instruction in a way that will connect with them and have a better likelihood of being implemented in the workplace. We, in partnership with dozens of health departments around the nation, recommend this food handler training for food workers of all experience levels to help reduce  pathogens in the workplace and prevent the spread of foodborne illness.

Do you have a language need that we haven’t yet addressed? Let us know! Write to us at info@statefoodsafety.com. Group purchases are also available.

Click here for your California Food Handler Card.

Click here for your Colorado Food Handler Card.

Back in 2010 some Minnesota students went on a field trip, killed some deer, dressed them, and ate them.  That’s pretty awesome.  We didn’t even get to go to the Jelly Belly Factory when I was in school, and it was only about an hour’s drive away. The field trip wasn’t all fun and games though.  Twenty-nine students were infected with E. coli O103:H2.  Maybe my field trip to the Railroad Museum isn’t looking so bad now.

Cross contamination was the most likely culprit with students not washing their hands or utensils between handling raw and cooked meats.  Skewers taking the bacteria into the middle of the meat upon insertion could have been a carrier as well if the meat was undercooked.  But what’s the moral of the story?  Well it’s really two-fold:

1. Let’s be more creative about our field trips.
2. Make ABSOUTELY 100% SURE you are following safe food practices. People can get sick and possibly die.

Please make sure you’re safe with your food.  In this case nothing very serious happened.  In too many cases it does.  For the full story from Food Safety News, click here.

–Tim Snarr

Well, it’s been an interesting year in food safety. Some good things have happened and some not so good things. This little post will highlight some of the bigger stories that took place in 2011.

One of the biggest stories is that of the raw milk industry. It seems that recently you can’t find a food safety website or blog without finding an article about raw milk. The raw milk advocates testify about the health benefits of drinking raw milk, and on the other side, the food safety experts all say that raw milk is dangerous. We here at StateFoodSafety.com definitely side with the safe food experts in saying that raw milk has the possibility of being a very dangerous product. All dairy products should undergo pasteurization to be safe for human consumption. Although, if you’re interested in some raw milk preaching all you have to do is google “raw milk” and you’ll find many people declaring that they have seen the light of raw milk. As for myself, when I read that one of the first things that will happen when you drink your first cup of raw milk is diarrhea, I have to stop because that doesn’t sound like miracle food to me. It sounds like a foodborne illness.

Listeria was in the headlines an awful lot this year. 2011 saw the deadliest outbreak of Listeria in decades. Not only were there outbreaks in several different countries but in several unexpected food sources as well. Cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Colorado were found responsible for one particularly deadly outbreak. When all was said and done the CDC investigation found 146 persons infected in 28 states–and 30 deaths! Our hearts go out to those families that suffered through this tragedy. We hope to never see another one like this.

In California, steps were taken to avoid more foodborne illness outbreaks. SB 303 passed the Senate and House and Governor Brown signed the law into effect on September 6, 2011. The bill, which amended Senate Bill 602, mandates that food handler training programs be accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

You can find more about the law by following this link: http://www.statefoodsafety.com/company/pages/articles/article-11

StateFoodSafety became the first online food handler training provider to receive the ASTM e2659 accreditation in California.

So in review, raw milk, listeria, and new food handler legislation; hopefully 2012 will bring more advances in foodborne illness prevention and fewer outbreaks. If we all do our part, even simple activities like handwashing can make everyone’s food safer. Happy New Year from StateFoodSafety.com!

–Tim Snarr

For more information about outbreaks and food safety in 2011, visit FoodSafetyNews.com.