With September being Food Safety Education Month, it is appropriate to take the opportunity to educate – or reeducate – your team on some of the most critical aspects of food safety. To assist your efforts, we have compiled four of the top risk factors that lead to foodborne illness outbreaks which could be used as focal points of your next four weekly food safety meetings – extending into October if needed, since neither food safety nor education should be limited to a single month!

Whether you are in a food processing facility, restaurant, or anywhere else along the food supply chain, ensuring worker understanding of, and attention to, the following can go a long way to keeping your food safe for your consumers.

1. Poor Hygiene. One of the most common, and critical, aspects of this is a lack of proper handwashing. Food workers in any establishment can spread bacteria to food, equipment, and even customers if proper handwashing protocols are not followed. Workers should be instructed to wash their hands thoroughly (wetting hands, lathering with soap, scrubbing for 20 seconds, rinsing, and drying with paper towels) before entering the processing area of a manufacturing facility, or handling food in a restaurant. When using gloves, hands should always be washed before gloves are donned, and gloves should be changed any time they become torn, dirty, or otherwise contaminated. Dress codes should also be observed, ensuring that uniforms or other wear are regularly laundered so as to not carry contaminants on them, and hair and beard nets completely cover the worker’s hair.
   Education could include practicing handwashing during a training session; viewing photos/videos of proper hair/beardnets and handwashing; general discussion of difficulties workers have with any of these; and reviewing applicable regulations and standards (FDA 21 CFR 117.10, USDA 9 CFR § 416.5, Food Code Chapter 2).
2. Contamination, Cross-Contamination, and Cross-Contact. Contamination can be caused by chemical, biological, or physical substances, including allergens, that get into foods during processing, preparation, or other handling. Cross-contamination refers to the transfer of raw into ready-to-eat foods, while cross contact represents that of allergens into non-allergenic foods. Contamination can occur anywhere along the food supply chain, so it is critical that all food workers understand the risks and necessary preventive practices. Contamination can be caused by something as simple as an unsanitized tool or utensil being used on food, or one being used with a raw then a finished product or allergenic then non-allergenic food without being cleaned and sanitized. All are significant hazards and require care in handling to help prevent adulteration of a food.
   Education could include photos or videos depicting contaminants and discussion on how to detect and prevent them; the risks associated with contamination, including food poisoning and allergic reactions; and review of applicable regulations and standards (FDA 21 CFR 117.135(c)(3)(ii), USDA 9 CFR § 417, Food Code Chapter 3).
3. Inadequate Cleaning & Sanitizing. Proper and regular cleaning and sanitation are key to preventing contamination, so it is essential that workers understand that equipment, utensils and food-contact surfaces are to be first washed and rinsed to remove food soils and grease, then sanitized to reduce microorganisms. Additionally, all workers should thoroughly understand and consistently apply the company’s procedures, practices, and processes that include a focus on the removal of environmental pathogens on food-contact surfaces (from counters to equipment to packaging), prevention of biological hazards caused by employee handling, and how biofilms, that harbor bacteria to contaminate foods, can result from lack of thoroughness in cleaning/sanitation.
   Education could include photos or videos of improperly cleaned/sanitized surfaces and utensils and corrective action; a review of the company’s cleaning and sanitation protocols; discussion on the difference between cleaning and sanitation; and review of applicable regulations and standards (FDA 21 CFR 117.35, USDA 9 CFR § 417.2, Food Code Chapter 4).
4. Improper Temperature Control. Because pathogenic bacteria grow quickly in the temperature “danger zone” of 41°F to 135°F, it is essential that hot foods be kept hot above this zone and cold foods kept cold below it. When a cooked food needs to be cooled, FDA requires a two-step process: A two-hour “rapid cool” from 135°F to 70°F, followed by a 4-hour window by which time the food must reach 41°F or less. Additionally, no food requiring temperature control should remain at “room temperature” for more four hours while being prepared, stage, serviced, etc. Temperature controls also apply to ensuring that an RTE food is cooked to the proper temperature; then held at that temperature or rapidly cooled (as detailed above).
   Education could include a discussion of the danger zone and how it applies to your operation; a “pop quiz” on safe food temperatures followed by discussion; or review of applicable regulations and standards (FDA Time/Temperature Control, USDA Time/Temperature Chart, Food Code Chapter 3)

If you scanned through these topics thinking, “Yeah, I know all that. What’s new?”, you may be surprised to learn that your workers know, or remember, less than you think. Regularly reeducating workers on the basics is one of the best ways to not only confirm they know as much as you think they do, but to ensure they are applying it as well. And what better time to hone your focus than during Food Safety Education Month!

In Summery, regularly reeducating workers on the basics is one of the best ways to not only confirm they know as much as you think they do, but to ensure they are applying it as well. The top risk factors that lead to foodborne illness outbreak are: poor hygiene, contamination, inadequate cleaning & sanitizing, and improper temperature control. Make sure you and your staff are reeducated on these topics during Food Safety Month!

Need assistance in training your team? Give TAG a call, we can customize our vast range of course topics to fit your needs.