FDA’s National Retail Food Team releases new posters that focus on proper holding practices for cold prepared food and adequate cooking temperatures for turkey and ground beef. These posters were created as part of the FDA’s efforts to enhance food safety training at the retail level by helping employees better understand their role in preventing foodborne illnesses, particularly among vulnerable populations.

The following information is being conveyed:

• The Importance of Date Marking posters demonstrate the significance of the proper retention period for prepared foods as indicated in the Food Code, §3-501.17 Ready-to-Eat, Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food, Date Marking. Date marking in retail food settings is the mechanism by which the Food Code requires active managerial control of the temperature and time combinations for cold holding as a way to reduce or eliminate the growth and spread of foodborne illness causing bacteria.
• Adequate Cooking Temperature posters explain the importance of bringing poultry (whole and ground) and ground beef to the correct temperature as a way to reduce or eliminate foodborne illness-causing bacteria that may be on meat or poultry as indicated in  the Food Code, §3-401.11 Raw Animal Foods.

The English language version of the posters are currently available on the Educational Materials for Retail Food Employees website and can be downloaded and printed.

Additional versions of these posters will be available in weeks to come. These include two-sided posters with English on one side and Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, or Hindi on the other.

These posters support the FDA’s Retail Food Safety Initiative, which seeks to strengthen the retail and food service industry’s control and reduction of foodborne illness risk factors. The agency encourages industry operators, food safety educators/trainers, and federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial regulatory officials to take full advantage of these materials, which are available free of charge at the FDA Educational Materials for Retail Food Employees website.

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Depending on the size and type of food service location or commercial kitchen, the number of cleaning solutions used to maintain the facility can be considerable. For instance, degreasers are invariably used to clean floors, walls, metalwork if there is a heavy buildup, and other areas. All-purpose cleaners are used just about anywhere and everywhere. Solutions to clean and polish stainless steel are always needed.

Further, many food service locations have very specific needs. These include selecting cleaning-related products to keep drains running smoothly, spot removers to clean carpets, and if they fully clean their own carpet, cleaning solutions made just for this purpose.

But there are two more cleaning solutions that are used in virtually every food service location. They are not designed to make surfaces look cleaner or shiner. They are designed to help make surfaces healthier, more hygienically clean, by eliminating or minimizing the number of pathogens—germs, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants—on a surface that could possibly cause illness.

These two ubiquitous products are sanitizers and disinfectants. In many ways, we can view them as we did penicillin and other antibiotics when they were first introduced. Discovered in 1928, penicillin was labeled as one of the first “miracle drugs” ever created. And in some ways, sanitizers and disinfectants are “miracle” cleaning solutions because of their ability to attack pathogens. However, just like penicillin, it was learned over time that if these cleaning products are not used properly and safely, their benefits can be cut short—something we cannot allow to happen in any facility, and certainly not in a food service location.

Defining Terms

Although some countries may define sanitizers and disinfectants differently, the following are the two most commonly accepted views of sanitizers and disinfectants in Canada and the U.S.

Sanitizer. When we sanitize a surface, we are taking steps to reduce the number of pathogens on that surface to what is considered a safe level for public health. In most types of cleaning situations, including in food service locations, a sanitizer may be all that is needed. This is good to know, since sanitizers may be less costly and easier to use than disinfectants. In addition, some are certified Green—meaning the product is independently evaluated to ensure it meets specific standards and that, when used properly, the product has a reduced impact on the health of the user and the environment.

Disinfectant. When disinfectants are used, hygienic cleaning is taken to a much higher level. While sanitizers are designed to reduce the number of pathogens on a surface to safe levels, disinfectants are designed to kill pathogens on a surface based on the product’s “kill claims” and how it is used as directed per the manufacturer’s instructions. When selected and used properly, disinfectants are able to kill most germs, bacteria, and other pathogens on a surface that could cause or spread disease.

Disinfectant Categories and Types

In the U.S., disinfectants are not certified Green. EPA, which regulates disinfectants, categorizes them as pesticides. What EPA is most concerned about is if the product works effectively and safely per the manufacturer’s instructions, with ingredients designed to kill pathogens.

For food service purposes, there are three categories or classifications of disinfectants.

1. General disinfectant. This type of disinfectant is effective against a variety of different types of bacteria, germs, and other pathogens. In most cases for the food service industry, the goal is to clean and disinfect, not attack a specific pathogen. Because of this, a general disinfectant should usually suffice.
2. Limited disinfectant. A limited disinfectant is effective against only a specific group of microorganisms. If, for instance, there are concerns about norovirus pathogens in a commercial kitchen, food service administrators should select a disinfectant specifically designed to kill norovirus microorganisms.
3. Hospital-grade disinfectant. These disinfectants have proven effective at eliminating many types of nosocomial (healthcare-acquired) bacterial pathogens. As the name implies, they are generally for use in hospitals, clinics, dental offices, or other healthcare-related facilities.

When selecting a disinfectant, the product’s label and marketing material should indicate what type of disinfectant it is and how or where it should be used. It will also indicate the product’s kill claims, which identify the specific types of pathogens—Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, etc.—that the disinfectant is designed to kill.

How to Properly Use Sanitizers and Disinfectants

For a sanitizer or disinfectant to be effective in a commercial kitchen, the surface must be clean. This means it’s a two-step process: clean first, then sanitize or disinfect.

Sanitizers are typically very easy to use. As always, read the label first and follow manufacturer instructions. What is key when selecting a sanitizer is to ensure it is NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified. This means the product has been proven effective and rinsing is not required after use, which can speed up cleaning considerably.

On the other hand, using disinfectants can be more complicated. Food service professionals should:

• Make sure the product will not prove corrosive to metalwork;
• Never mix two different types of disinfectants (or sanitizers for that matter) as they have different ingredients that may not work well when mixed, and sometimes mixing can produce noxious fumes, especially if mixed manually;
• Keep in mind pathogens can develop an immunity to disinfectants, so use only when and where necessary and change disinfectants occasionally;
• Never use too much or too little disinfectant—follow manufacturer dilution instructions;
• Be aware if the product is marketed in Canada to see if it has a DIN (drug identification number), which simply verifies the product is effective when used correctly;
• Be aware of quat binding, when the “quats”—the key pathogen killing ingredients in disinfectants—become absorbed into cleaning cloths or mops because when this happens, the disinfectant loses its efficacy; and
• Read the label to determine if rinsing is needed for disinfectants, as some may leave a chemical residue on surfaces that can, ironically, attract microbes.

To help prove disinfectants are still effective, food service operators can test surfaces using ATP (adenosine triphosphate) monitoring systems or swab surfaces and place the findings in a petri dish. A laboratory should be called in to verify the results.

In many ways, especially in today’s fast-paced world, sanitizers and disinfectants are indeed miracle cleaning products. We no longer have the time or resources to manually or even machine scrub surfaces with the goal of ensuring they are hygienically clean.

With the proper use of these products, we can rest assured our kitchens and food service locations are preventing the spread of foodborne illnesses—protecting the health of all who enjoy our food products.

Watt is head of training and new product development at Avmor. Reach him at mwatt@avmor.com.

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Dr. Winter gets the crowd waving their hands in the air like they just don’t care during one of his musical medleys.

(Editor’s Note: This is an online-only article attributed to the October/November 2018 issue.)

Do you ever catch your audiences dozing off during your presentations or lectures covering important food safety topics? Do you admit that you sometimes find it hard to stay awake during dull, boring, tedious presentations about sanitation and hygiene, allergen control, foodborne pathogens, and other often mundane food safety issues? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you are sure to be inspired by some food safety professionals who strive to make their presentations worthwhile, memorable, and lots of fun.

Food scientist Ronald Schmidt, PhD, a professor emeritus with the University of Florida, Gainesville, is quick to point out that it’s a constant struggle for professionals to find effective ways of communicating food safety messages to people of all ages and walks of life, from students to food industry and food service employees, and to consumers—while keeping them interested.

“Program design and modeling are important for the success of food safety messaging,” Dr. Schmidt says. “But all the information sharing in the world is of no avail if no one pays attention.”

So how can you grab people’s attention and hold it? How do you make learning science-based food safety information fun? How do you creatively motivate others to embrace sound food safety practices in order to minimize the risks of foodborne illnesses?

For starters, Dr. Schmidt says, there is a place for humor, poetry, and music in teaching. “These tools can improve learning,” he notes.

As a reference, Dr. Schmidt credits the Greek philosopher Plato for saying “musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful.”

Livening up the Microbiome

Frequently in demand as a food safety trainer, Dr. Schmidt firmly believes food safety training need not be tedious. He sets an example by often grabbing his guitar and livening up the microbiome with a toe-tapping song or two. He delights audiences with songs he wrote called “FSMA on His Hip” to the tune of Marty Robbins’ “Big Iron” and “Salmonella Wind” to Tom Russell’s “Santa Ana Wind.” Another of his crowd pleasers is “Chop, Cook, Slice (Listeria in the 1990s),” a song about Listeria in deli meats inspired by Slaid Cleaves’ “Hickory.” During December, he invites audiences to participate in his version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “The Twelve Steps of HACCP.”

“Playing and listening to music works several areas of the brain,” Dr. Schmidt relates. “Research shows that music increases memory and improves test scores. Moreover, music increases optimism, decreases anxiety, and enhances both attention and creativity.”

Human beings have learned through rhyme throughout history, Dr. Schmidt notes. “That started with cave people, who communicated with musical grunts.”

Drawing on his 40 some years as an educator, Dr. Schmidt offers several tips to anyone interested in adding creative touches to their teaching. “Never use humor at a student’s or audience member’s expense,” he emphasizes. “Self-deprecating humor usually goes over, but don’t overdo it. And don’t be offensive.”

Know your audience, Dr. Schmidt advises. “The generation gap is real. And it’s important to be aware of cultural differences,” he relates.

The Author of Parodiomics

As an extension toxicologist in the University of California-Davis Department of Food Science, Carl Winter, PhD, focuses on protecting consumers from chemical contaminants of food.

Aside from his more traditional professional endeavors, Dr. Winter is known by his many fans as the Elvis of E. coli and the Sinatra of Salmonella. That’s because he is a pioneering educator and performer who uses musical parodies he writes and records himself to provide food safety information in a creative and fun way. In fact, he is so into writing parodies, he credits himself for creating parodiomics, the innovative concept and the word.

“The major goal of incorporating music and fun into food safety is to improve learning,” Dr. Winter emphasizes. He’s been doing just that for nearly 30 years. Since the early 1990s, from humble beginnings and while continually honing his presentation skills, he has performed at dozens of food safety events throughout the country, including Institute of Food Technologists section meetings.

In July 1998, Dr. Winter recorded his first CD titled “Stayin Alive.” He is showcased on the cover photo wearing a white lab coat and holding an iconic “Saturday Night Fever” pose that would make a polyester shirt-clad John Travolta proud. The following year, he released his second CD, “Sanitized for Your Convenience.” The cover features a graphic of a paper strip like the ones found on toilets in cheap motels, Dr. Winter notes.

What songs are on these wildly popular CDs? If you love the Beatles, you are sure to enjoy Dr. Winter’s version of their iconic “I want to Hold Your Hand,” “You’d Better Wash your Hands.” Fans of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” will appreciate “I Sprayed it on the Grapevine.” With Dr. Winter, Queen’s “We are the Champions”/“We Will Rock You” becomes “They Might Kill You”/“We are the Microbes.” The list goes on, but you get the idea.

Dr. Winter says rap music offers any hip food safety parodiomist a great advantage in reaching younger audiences. “Rap has so many words that you can convey many messages with one song,” he relates, citing his take on Will Smith’s “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It,” “Don’t Get Sicky Wit It,” which addresses Fight Bac!’s major concepts: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

In 2002, Dr. Winter snagged a five-year USDA National Integrated Food Safety Initiative grant for a study about using music to improve food safety curricula. Collaborators included New Mexico State University, Clemson University, the University of Idaho, North Carolina State University, and the University of Delaware. The study yielded three peer-reviewed journal articles.

Empowered by his successes, Dr. Winter offers several take home messages relative to spicing up food safety education.

“Humanize yourself by being yourself and telling your own story to communicate more effectively,” he says. “You don’t have to do music if that’s not your thing. Maybe you write poetry or have an interesting hobby. Consider your unique attributes and interests and how you can incorporate them in your work.”

Be flexible and go with the flow, Dr. Winter adds. “Food safety is serious, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at the same time,” he relates. “Fun can definitely be used to covey messages and make messages stick.”

Super Active Learning

David Baumler, PhD, recalls when he joined the faculty of the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul in 2014 as an assistant professor of molecular food safety microbiology, attendance in the undergraduate introductory microbiology lectures that met at 8:00 a.m. was less than 50 percent, especially during the Friday morning sessions.

Trusty ukulele in hand, Dr. Baumler is proud to report that he was soon able to raise Friday morning attendance to more than 90 percent. He even had students saying they looked forward to coming to class. “Some students who had previously said they dreaded ‘another boring micro class’ actually ended up changing their career paths to a focus on microbiology after completing my course,” Dr. Baumler boasts.

So, what’s his secret to sparking student interest in early morning micro lectures and inspiring micro careers? Answer: A little something Dr. Baumler calls super active learning.

“Active learning, or constructivism, is a pedagogical term for teaching methods that enhance student learning by engaging the students to actively participate, and super active learning is taking this method to the next level of engagement with creativity, props, and activities that really engage the student learning experience,” he explains.

Dr. Baumler’s stash of classroom visual aids includes real and toy musical instruments, costumes, glow powders and sticks, confetti cannons, bubble machines, smoke machines, and post-it notes. He also has dozens of hula hoops, which he uses during the evolution of bacteria lecture to demonstrate plasmid conjugation and the acquisition of new genes such as antibiotic resistance, virulence factors, and new metabolic capabilities. Then there is a collection of more than 100 wacky hats.

“The staff at my local Party City knows me by my first name, and once, while purchasing an abundance of zombie make up and costumes, one of the employees said to me ‘sir, I don’t know what your job is, but I want it,’” Dr. Baumler quips.

In micro lab, he is known to tap into his German roots when making fermented foods like sauerkraut. “Wir machen sauerkrauten,” he sings, while playing his concertina and sporting a chef’s hat and apron. He adds to the fun by using a real sword to chop the cabbage.

To enhance E. coli O157:H7 studies and give his students the opportunity to express any angst with their professor, Dr. Baumler passes out pieces of paper in assorted colors, each color representing a different virulence factor gene category. (The bacteria use these genes in a cascade to cause disease and severely damage the host.)

“I ask the students to pretend to be E. coli O157:H7 and to make paper airplanes and crushed balls representing the different virulence factor categories,” Dr. Baumler says. “Then they shoot them at me in the order the bacteria use them to cause disease, while I run around the classroom being attacked by the audience of pathogenic E. coli. They attack me with their paper projectiles, weakening the host as I stagger around, and after enough Shiga toxin-colored airplanes hit me and my kidneys shut down (feigned), then I fall down, pretending to be dead. It’s always a great way for students to learn the cascade of genes required to sicken and cause death in a human, and it allows them to cut up and vent their frustrations.”

To help his micro students review Gram staining for their midterm exam that is typically scheduled close to Mardi Gras, Dr. Baumler went to the local Ax-Man Surplus store and purchased 16 secondhand Mardi Gras costumes in red, purple, and green for two dollars each. At the neighborhood dollar store he picked up hundreds of strings of red, purple, and green beads.

“I recruit a cadre of food science graduate students to don the costumes and stage a Mardi Gras parade, with signs on their backs denoting different bacteria, including Gram positive (purple), Gram negative (red), and spore formers (green),” Dr. Baumler relates. “I play ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ on my invisible trumpet while the grad students march around and toss the beads to the undergrads. Some of the students note that by learning through this activity, they will remember forever that E. coli is Gram negative (red/pink) and Bacillus and Staphylococcus are Gram positive (purple).”

Without question, Drs. Schmidt, Winter, and Baumler convey extraordinary examples of how people can use their talents to liven up food safety presentations and keep any audiences awake, attentive, and more apt to retain important messages, not to mention more prone to jump to their feet, applauding for more. Dr. Baumler, who moonlights as Davey Doodle, a children’s entertainer, is quick to emphasize that even those lacking musical talents should be able to figure out how to think outside the box and incorporate some creativity into teaching any age group. “Magic tricks, costumes, and glow powders with black lights are a few ideas,” he suggests.

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Fridge temperature (iStockphoto)

(Editor’s Note: This is an online-only article attributed to the April/May 2018 issue.)

According to a 2017 report by the National Restaurant Association, turnover in the hospitality industry—sometimes referred to as the “quits rate”—topped 70 percent for the second consecutive year. This means that restaurant staffers, both in the front and the back of the house, must be replaced about every six to eight months.

There was a significant decline in the turnover rate during the Great Recession. The reasons for this were likely because there were fewer jobs in the industry overall and those who were lucky enough to have a job kept it.

But times are different now. Because the economy is doing much better, many staffers keep their eyes open for new opportunities and are quick to jump ship when they find them. Further, restaurants hire a significant number of teenagers and students. Invariably, many of these employees work on a temporary basis, due to school and other factors.

Don’t forget that seasonal staffing is common in the restaurant industry. A resort-area restaurant in Michigan, for example, may be bustling during the summer months, but have few customers in the winter. Obviously, this will impact how many employees are working at the property throughout the year.

Whatever the reasons, turnover creates challenges for restaurant owners and managers. And, one of the most significant challenges that must stay at the top of the list is food safety.

When a whole new crew comes on board, all must often be taught some fundamental food safety rules, whether the employees stay for six months or six years. And many of the most critical safety concerns, especially if workers are involved with food handling and preparation, revolve around food temperatures: freezing, chilling, unfreezing, and cooling food after it has been cooked, all in an attempt to prevent bacteria growth.

The following are some of the most important of these temperature safety rules that “newbies” should be aware of.

Fridge Temperatures

The U.S. FDA mandates that refrigerated products be kept at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder and frozen foods at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Staff should also know that chilled food should be placed in the fridge or freezer as soon as it is delivered. If the temperature of chilled food tops 40 degrees Fahrenheit, known as the “danger zone,” or frozen food is allowed to thaw before being placed in the freezer, food-poisoning bacteria may grow.

Pathogenic Bacteria

Food contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms usually looks fine, may taste great, and can smell very inviting. However, pathogenic bacteria in food can cause various health risks, from mild indigestion to severe food poisoning. In many cases, this type of bacteria develops when food is left out too long to cool and reaches temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cold-Loving Bacteria

What may come as a surprise to many new staffers is that certain types of bacteria thrive in cold temperatures. Referred to as psychrophilic (cold-loving) bacteria, these microorganisms can grow slowly at very cold temperatures. This usually does not result in food spoilage.

However, once food that has been contaminated with psychrophilic microorganisms is left out to unfreeze for cooking, the bacteria can begin to grow, and grow very fast. The best way to prevent this growth is to allow the food to unfreeze in the refrigerator, instead of on a counter, and keep continuous tabs on the food’s temperature while it is unfreezing.

Storage Issues

Ready-to-eat food may be delivered to a commercial kitchen fresh but could become contaminated when it is placed in the fridge or freezer. What your staff needs to know is that these food items should be wrapped and placed in a separate area in the freezer/fridge to avoid contamination. Additionally, the food should be date-coded to make sure it is used within the recommended period.

Power Failures

One of the most important concerns when it comes to food temperatures is what to do if there is a power failure. When the power first goes out, do not open the freezer. Usually, the food will remain safe in the freezer for up to 48 hours. However, here are some guidelines staff should know:

• If the food is still frozen, leave it in the freezer or look for an alternative freezer;
• If the food has begun to defrost, allow it to continue, and then cook it as soon as possible;
• Fully defrosted or thawed food, such as raw meat, fish, or poultry, should be cooked immediately—then it can be re-frozen; and
• Food that has thawed, if not cooked, must be discarded.

Most of these issues can be addressed, ensuring food is safe and healthy, if food temperatures are regularly monitored. Traditionally, this has been accomplished by manually checking fridge/freezer temperatures or the temperatures of food that has been left out to unfreeze or cool after cooking. These checks should then be followed by a staffer who prepares hand-recorded logs.

However, because monitoring food temperatures is so crucial, it may not be a good idea to turn this responsibility over to a new employee. It can be automated for both new and long-term staffers. Systems that continuously monitors food temperature using temperature probes are ideal. These systems can deliver results to a monitor or dashboard and be recorded and logged. Alerts for irregularities (such as when food left out for unfreezing has entered the danger zone) can be emailed to kitchen staffers.

Restaurant and food service business owners and managers are well-aware of the importance of food safety. This importance must be stressed to new workers during training. Unfortunately, due to high worker turnover, this education is an ongoing effort. Food temperature issues are just too important to be ignored.

Sharek is category manager of facility-employee safety at DayMark Safety Systems. Reach him at esharek@cmcgp.com.

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(Editor’s Note: This is an online-only article attributed to the February/March 2018 issue.)

Recent severe outbreaks of illness from tainted packaged food have been traced to everything from Listeria in frozen vegetables, packaged salads, and ice cream, to E. coli in cookie dough, botulism in pasteurized carrot juice, and Salmonella in peanut butter. And the human toll of these outbreaks is devastating.

The CDC estimates that tainted food sickens 48 million consumers a year, sends 128,000 to the hospital, and causes the death of 3,000.

The financial effect on individuals and the nation’s economy is equally substantial. As noted in Fortune magazine in May 2016, the annual cost of medical treatment, lost productivity, and illness-related mortality due to contaminated food is $55.5 billion annually. That’s according to a 2015 study by Robert Scharff, an associate professor at The Ohio State University.

The impact on the health of businesses is also extreme. In 2011, the Grocery Manufacturers Association surveyed three dozen companies to measure the impact of food recalls caused by unsafe food practices. More than half reported being impacted by a recall in the previous five years. Cost of these recalls ranged from $30 million to $100 million. Along with the direct costs came reputational damage, which can’t be precisely quantified but inevitably raised the price tag of recalls substantially.

Signed into law in 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was created to reduce these human, financial, and reputational costs. Reliable exam and certification programs are now required to assess the knowledge of the industry’s workforce to help do so.

Testing and Assessment

Professionals in the food industry should be well versed in food safety certification and licensure programs, which are of vital importance to operations and to the public.

As Holly Dance, vice president for food safety testing and assessment solutions at Prometric, points out, “Time and time again the importance of reliable testing has shown how it can assess both the effectiveness of your training and the knowledge your employees have retained from that training. Being able to apply food safety learnings to keep the public safe is one of the most critical measures that will contribute to your long-term business success.”

Workers who handle food should be able to demonstrate their knowledge and qualifications accurately, while employers should be assured that their employees have the skills to do the job they have been hired to do. Overall, those who work in the food, restaurant, and retail industries need to be active participants in the safeguarding of public health and safety.

A Successful Testing Program

There are three key components that are critical to the success of a testing program for food safety certification.

First, a company or organization must work with a quality-driven food safety assessment provider. That provider should: collaborate with subject matter experts (SMEs) to ensure currency and relevancy; stay in constant touch with the particular segment of the food industry; meet the industry’s standards; maintain a deep and proven pool of talent; and invest in continuous evaluation.

Second, the provider must deliver reliable and relatable exam content. That content must: be responsive to market needs; be inclusive of varied professional interests; adhere to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for consumer protection when accrediting job skills analysis and existing specifications; accurately reflect FDA Food Code and food safety guidelines; use a rigorous exam creation cycle; and continuously evaluate exams to correlate with market needs and trends.

Third, the provider must deliver exams that properly and securely assess the workforce. These exams must be created by actively soliciting industry input, incorporating interactive scenarios that mirror real workplace situations, and giving test takers the opportunity to provide feedback. That feedback should be used to enhance the exams and make adaptations to assure they remain relevant to the workforce and the industry.

Of all these elements of excellence, the most critical to success, from the standpoint of the assessment provider, is working with SMEs from the food safety industry to shape the methodology of creating exams. SMEs have in-depth experience in food safety and provide invaluable insights into the various industry sectors that must be devoted to food safety. Working with SMEs when creating exams helps ensure that assessments are relevant, rigorous, and accurately reflect the test taker’s ability to perform in the workplace.

As content updates to exams and certification programs occur on a regular basis, working with SMEs also results in higher-quality question sets, as well as quicker turnaround when updates are required.

Prometric’s Certified Professional Food Manager program, for example, is accredited by both ANSI and the Conference for Food Protection. Covering both retail and restaurant environments, it has been designed to mirror real-life situations that lead to the understanding of critical food safety principles and the ability to apply that knowledge at work. And for those who handle food, or work indirectly with food items in food preparation or serving areas, Prometric developed the Professional Food Handler Certificate. This program helps test takers demonstrate that they know how to: implement food safety practices to prevent illness, contamination, and pest infestation; properly clean and sanitize food prep and serving areas; identify appropriate personal hygiene protocols; manage time and temperature control; and recognize allergens and symptoms of allergic reactions.

Ever since the Pure Food and Drug act passed Congress in 1906, the food industry has made continual progress in delivering safe, wholesome groceries and meals to the American public. But as the statistics at the beginning of this article make clear, that commitment to progress must always be top of mind for restaurants, groceries, and other institutions. Through participation in exams, assessments, and certification programs, the industry can fulfill this commitment.

Williams is senior vice president of test development solutions at Prometric, a provider of food assessment solutions. Reach him at Stephen.williams@prometric.com.

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As one of the largest employing industries in the U.S., the restaurant industry currently provides jobs for 14.7 million people across the country, and the need for restaurant workers shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. In fact, analysts predict an additional 1.6 million jobs will be created over the next decade.

Still, this workforce is headed for a significant shift. Although the restaurant industry already has a higher concentration of foreign-born workers than any other sector in the country (more than 23 percent of individuals employed at restaurants are foreign-born, versus 18.5 percent for the overall economy, according to QSR Magazine), that number will continue to grow astronomically, as many of these new jobs will be filled by foreign-born employees and their immigrant children. The skills gap that currently exists for many of these workers who are not proficient in English will also grow, especially in cities such as Miami and Orlando, which are expected to receive an influx of workers coming from the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico looking to build new lives and find work following the aftermath of recent hurricanes. Now, more than ever, it is critical that the industry take action to give its workforce the tools and resources it needs to communicate effectively.

Dominating nearly every part of retail food service, foreign-born workers hold jobs as cooks, waiters, bussers, dishwashers, kitchen staff, food prep staff, frontline food workers, service and maintenance workers, and hosts. In fact, the National Restaurant Association found that “a full 43 percent of restaurant chefs are foreign-born.”

While it is undeniable that these workers are a vital part of the food service industry, it cannot be ignored that many of them possess limited proficiency in English, referred to as LEP, a staggering factor that can negatively impact profits of food service restaurants and the professional confidence of the employee. Lacking basic English communication skills, LEP workers often unknowingly put themselves, fellow food service workers, and customers at risk.

For example, a Massachusetts family is suing Panera Bread after their 6-year-old daughter suffered a violent reaction and had to be hospitalized after eating a grilled cheese sandwich containing peanut butter—despite warnings from the parents about their child’s peanut allergy when they had placed the order. According to the Boston Globe, the manager of the Panera Bread franchise outlet “blamed the incident on a ‘language’ issue…conceivably [by] an employee with limited English.” Less than one month later, a different family experienced a similar incident at another Panera Bread location.

These incidents show firsthand how detrimental miscommunication within the food service industry can be, even leading to potentially life-threatening mishaps. While usual tactics such as food allergen training are often a part of food safety training, what’s intended to be a clear lesson on handling food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities isn’t so clear when it gets lost in translation. The truth is that instances similar to the ones that occurred at Panera Bread are highly likely to occur time and time again when language training is left out of the equation.

The good news is that employers can take proactive action to help prevent these mistakes and help their teams grow and develop at the same time.

An Essential Element

Implementing a language training program has become a common practice with many food service businesses and should be implemented as an integral part of food safety training. Treating it as an important building block within the foundation is critical, because without it, communication can have crippling effects.

As a complex industry made up of many moving parts, language barriers pose a large safety problem for food service managers and owners in particular, including the following.

High risk of litigation. LEP workers with an inadequate grasp of safety or food prep protocols open restaurants and food service outlets to a higher incidence of lawsuits. A Chili’s Grill & Bar, Charlotte, N.C., was cited by the county health department when an employee was unable to explain proper healthy policy, while a man brought a suit against an Oregon steakhouse after going into anaphylactic shock after his food order was prepared incorrectly.

Jeopardizing other employees. LEP workers who don’t have a clear comprehension of evolving safety guidelines, store policies, and job protocols put fellow employees at a higher risk for injury.

Increased safety risk to themselves. Trends show a disturbing rise in problems for LEP workers. A 2016 report from the Food Chain Workers Alliance and Solidarity Research Cooperative found that “non-fatal rates of injury and illness in food production jumped from 4.6 cases per hundred workers in 2010 to 5.5 in 2014.”

Increased workplace fatality rate. SafetySkills, a safety training company, found that “Hispanic and Latino workers have the highest workplace fatality rate of any group, nearly 50 percent higher than the overall rate…largely attributed to language barriers…”

Major impediment to food safety. One report from Journal of Extension estimates that “59 percent of the foodborne illnesses originate from retail food service establishments.” LEP workers only compound the problem.

Solo Not the Solution

Since LEP workers play such an integral role within food service, each of the consequences outlined above can greatly jeopardize the productivity and profitability of the industry. It’s crucial for managers and operators to come to the table with proactive solutions before these risks become a reality and threaten the future of the establishment. Many LEP workers want to improve their language skills, and as many as 31 percent have noted the desire to participate in learning opportunities but have not been able to according to the National Skills Coalition, and learning on their own tends to be a challenge due to obstacles they face. This is where managers and operators need to come in and offer language training for their employees to solve the existing skills gap and better protect their customers, workers, and overall business.

Common obstacles that LEP workers face with language training on their own include the following.

Lack of financial resources. The unpredictability of income earned by LEP workers in the food service sector and scant monetary assets create a major impediment. An analysis by the National Skills Coalition found that a whopping 84 percent of service sector workers enrolled in formal degree or certificate programs received no financial support from their employers.

Lack of time. LEP workers are squeezed for time, perhaps more than other classes of workers. Child care and family responsibilities consume a big chunk of whatever “free” time workers have, according to the National Skills Coalition.

Inconveniently scheduled programs. The time and location of adult education classes were often incompatible with the work schedules of LEP workers, according to a Brookings Institution report.

Long waiting lists. Adult education classes historically have had lengthy waiting lists for registration, but the situation seems to have gotten worse. For example, Los Angeles had a waiting list of 16,000 people for adult education classes in 2016, “especially the English as a Second Language programs.”

A Good Investment

In order for LEP workers to improve their English language skills most effectively, their employers must play a role. However, not only will employers be enhancing the abilities of their staff by implementing onsite language learning, they’ll also be ensuring the future success of their establishments.

By investing in language training programs for employees, managers, and operators would gain substantial advantages across their businesses and beyond, including the following.

Skillful customer assistance. According to Food Chain Workers Alliance, as “82 percent of food chain workers are in frontline positions,” LEP workers with a competent command of English can provide better customer service and ensure a higher rate of returning customers.

Lower risk of accidents. As a report in the Journal of Extension makes clear: “…it is expected that food handling behaviors will improve due to improved knowledge and result in safe food handling practices, thus reducing the incidence of foodborne illness.”

Customized training. Managers will be in charge of designing their own onsite language training program, determining the kind of content—such as job-specific language comprehension—that they want their LEP workers to learn.

Thanks to technology, there are many digital language learning programs available for businesses to help meet their training needs and that allow their employees to learn at home or on the go. Panda Restaurant Group, for example, offers Rosetta Stone’s Catalyst program as an employee benefit to its workers, many of which are English Language Learners. The company has seen a tremendous interest from its workforce, with 275 workers signing up to take on the courses in an attempt to improve their English skills. As a result, Alvin Tang, coordinator of the learning and development department at Panda Restaurant Group, told PCMag.com that he saw those same employees begin “to provide better customer service, more natural casual customer interactions, and safer exchanges with co-workers.”

Tang put it best, “there are so many barriers in careers as is. We don’t believe language should be one of them.” The company has also seen the added benefit of an increase of nearly 20 percent in employee retention at the locations with the highest usage of the Rosetta Stone language program. Tang can’t directly tie this back to the language program but he believes providing employees with the tool “helped them feel a sense of belonging,” which encouraged them to stay at the company.

As with any new initiative, comprehensive language training requires an upfront commitment of time and money on the part of the food service organization. There’s no question that it will take time for workers to sharpen their language skills and additional funds to set up the program, but what you put in, you get out. If food service owners and managers provide their employees with the specific tools they need to succeed, there’s a much higher chance they’ll do just that.

Don’t overlook a language strategy when looking at your overall business plans. It will likely save you in the long run.

Brotherson is senior director, enterprise sales, for Rosetta Stone. Reach him at cbrotherson@rosettastone.com.

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In the U.S., educational/training interventions have been widely used to decrease foodborne disease in food service operations with most interventions focusing on improving worker knowledge of safe food handling. The limitation of this approach is that knowledge alone does not influence the adoption of safe food handling practices. And with the CDC estimating that 48 million people get sick from foodborne illness each year, it’s important to understand the significance of a proper sanitation program and how to best develop and execute one in any food service operation.

Understanding the risk factors and levels of cleanliness needed to prevent contamination of food and kitchen equipment is the first step when implementing a thorough food safety program. Identify the types of soils and surfaces in your establishment to determine the proper cleaning and sanitation products to use, how often cleaning must be done to achieve the desired results, and the training needed for your staff from management on down.

Create a Proper Cleaning Plan

Working with your cleaning supplier is a great way to put a highly effective sanitation plan together. A cleaning supplier can help identify any contamination risks within your facility by conducting a cleanliness audit, inspecting everything from the floors and drains, to kitchen equipment and food contact surfaces, among other areas. They can also help ensure your cleaning program is working by measuring trace ATP and surface proteins through regular testing.

Once the risks have been identified, facility managers can create a Master Cleaning Plan, outlining what should be cleaned, how it should be cleaned, when to clean, and who should do the cleaning. This plan should also include details on which cleaning products to use to remove various soil types found on the different surfaces in any food service operation, as well as training procedures and schedules for staff at every level.

Common Cleaning Guidelines

Any sanitation program should include cleaning procedures for the common, and sometimes overlooked, areas found around any commercial kitchen.

Countertops. In a commercial kitchen, countertops are at the heart of the action. Protect against food cross-contamination with regular disinfection and maintenance that can help prevent foodborne illnesses.

Cutting boards. Cutting boards need to be cleaned frequently, including before use, before changing from one food type to another and after food handling is complete. Since these surfaces tend to be scored and scratched, they can harbor food that can lead to bacterial growth.

Dishes, pots, and pans. A main ingredient to a spotless kitchen is the right dish cleaning product. Get your dishes virtually spotless and remove stubborn grease by using a dependable product you can trust.

Floor drains. Bacteria can often be found feeding on food residues in floor drains. These food sources can also attract other unwanted pests. Regular drain cleaning can help keep this in check.

New equipment. Consider the ease of cleaning when purchasing new kitchen equipment, such as ice machines. The more difficult it is to clean, the less likely it will be cleaned consistently or correctly.

The Right Products and Tools

Using the right cleaning products and tools is also imperative when it comes to achieving food safety goals. Multipurpose products can clean a broad range of soils and surfaces, making cleaning easier by reducing the number of products needed and minimizing rework. Multipurpose products also help save time by reducing the complexity of the job, making staff training easier, and simplifying inventory management.

With employee labor accounting for up to 80 percent of cleaning costs, operators can reduce the amount of time and cost to clean a restaurant by using effective cleaning products and putting efficient cleaning processes into place.

Additionally, facility managers should have procedures in place to properly clean and sanitize cleaning tools regularly since scouring pads, brushes, and mops can be sources of cross-contamination.

Importance of Cleaning and Disinfecting

To fully understand why a proper cleaning program is important, employees need to recognize the difference between cleaning and disinfecting and why each step is essential to ensure guests (and employees) stay safe and healthy in your facility.

To start, employees need to be able to identify the difference between cleaning—the removal of soil or dirt from a surface—and disinfecting—the killing or reduction of microorganisms that cause disease, odors, and spoilage—and understand that both steps of the process are necessary.

Most disinfectants do not effectively remove soil, if at all, but cleaning well allows disinfecting agents to work more effectively because the soil is removed and cannot protect the germs. Multipurpose products that clean and disinfect in a single step are the best value for operators by limiting inventory needs, reducing rework, and simplifying training.

The Value of Training

Employee education and training are the keys to success for any sanitation program. Incorrect cleaning methods can spread dirt and bacteria around instead of cleaning them, and not using cleaning products the way they’re intended can reduce or eliminate their efficacy, putting guests and staff in harm’s way. Training should be ongoing and provided to each new employee and each time there is a new piece of equipment or new cleaning supply introduced.

Properly training employees, at every level, can help eliminate these risks and give employees a clear understanding of why thorough cleaning is vital, and how to make sure their efforts meet the most rigorous of cleanliness standards. Proper training can also increase employee safety by ensuring that products are being used correctly and reducing rewash (exposure to chemicals) and miscalculation with mixing.

To achieve the highest levels of content retention, training programs should be developed with content that is highly visual, auditory, and tactile like videos that show and tell employees how to complete a task, including the opportunity to learn by doing. P&G Professional and Clemson University recently completed a study to determine the effect of a multi-phase, motivation-based educational intervention to improve the cleanliness of surfaces in a commercial kitchen. Validating that the trainees understood the content during the initial training sessions was one of the most important outcomes of the study, and this goal was achieved through use of multiple choice questions that were graded and documented in real time. Knowing they would be graded, trainees paid more attention to the content.

There are a variety of training tools that can be successful in reaching food service employees, including using Active Managerial Controls to help improve managers’ ability to train and sustain a cleaning program and individual training for food safety/compliant cleaning. On-demand tools that offer written procedures or training videos are also ideal. For example, P&G Professional’s online University site regularly monitors and records knowledge intake.

Self-Monitoring and Feedback

Implementation of routine and documented checks can help improve overall cleanliness and can be used for retraining, which is also an important step in ensuring information retention. The checks system should not be overwhelming to implement and should take no longer than 10 minutes of a manager’s time. Measures can primarily be sensory (visual, touch, and smell) with established checkpoints such as tables and chairs (not sticky and visually clean). Additionally, when issues are noted, the manger should retrain employees on proper procedures using demonstrations, as well as visual and auditory training materials and techniques. Your cleaning supplier can help develop a self-monitoring program that makes sense for your business.

An End-to-End Approach

Food safety requires an end-to-end cleaning and sanitation regimen that is continually monitored, and where constant feedback is provided to achieve the overall goals of the program. By evaluating your facility and equipment needs, with an eye toward safety and ease of cleaning, and selecting the most effective sanitizing and disinfecting products, you can have a dramatic impact on food safety, as well as productivity.

Dr. Anderson is a food safety and sanitation consultant for P&G Professional, the away-from-home division of Procter & Gamble. Dr. Pettigrew is a principal scientist at P&G, where he provides technical leadership in the Global Microbiology Organization and Systems Biology Programs. They can both be reached at buchanan.rd@pg.com.

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“Illnesses at Connecticut hotel, convention center under investigation”

“Bride suing hotel after norovirus outbreak at wedding reception”

“Report: Hotel chef ‘most likely’ source of norovirus outbreak”

Each of these is an actual news headline from recent years.

Today, travelers expect the hotels they choose to offer food, whether it’s a full-service hotel with restaurants and banquet services, or a limited service hotel that offers snacks and microwaveable meals. To customers, the responsibility of ensuring that these food items are safe falls to you; and failing to ensure that standard operating procedures (SOPs), staff, and vendors are all adhering to food safety standards could leave your hotel at the center of headlines like these.

But with a myriad of services offered by hotels today, food safety often goes beyond the obvious risks. Every operation is unique, and risks can vary depending upon the food services provided. Even the smallest slip in one area could result in a serious food safety crisis for a property, or create ramifications for the entire brand if it’s a franchised or corporate-owned location of a larger chain.
While the risks are serious, there are a number of actionable steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of an incident at your hotels.

1. Conduct a thorough gap analysis to identify areas of potential risk. When considering a food safety program, you need to assess risks throughout the facility. Kitchens may initially seem like the only area of real risk, but the truth is there may be dozens of other opportunities for potential foodborne risks. Does your hotel offer room service? Serve food poolside? Have an in-room gift service that may leave food sitting out? Do you regularly check food pantry, snack areas, or mini-bars for potential issues with refrigeration or pest infestation? Are all of your food handlers and servers fully versed on food safety practices? Do you have an allergen awareness program? Are your cleaning SOPs for food service equipment followed and enforced? Do you have a receiving policy in place for food items? Do your vendors know your food safety standards? Are you partnering with any food delivery services that provide guests with meals? These are the types of questions you or a food safety partner should ask during a gap analysis.

2. Ensure that all staff members have enough training to know the risks. Kitchen workers, bartenders, and food handlers should all receive in-depth food safety training in order to be prepared to handle a variety of circumstances—the food safety risks for a buffet will differ from those for table service. Hotels that host meetings and special events also serve guests in high volume, which requires knowledge of food safety risks that occur in these situations, including temperature controls for high volume foods.

Food handlers and servers should know key food allergens, understand where potential allergy risks exist in menu items, and be able to answer customer questions about them. Food allergies don’t just cause discomfort—for some guests, they can be life-threatening. In addition to initial on-boarding, conduct regular training to not only keep staff up to speed on changes in operation, your menu, and food regulation, but also to continually remind them of proper food safety practices.

Signage can also help serve your team as a continual reminder about important food safety practices. That said, be aware that any sign in place long enough can become “part of the environment” for food workers and be overlooked. If using signage, keep it fresh so that employees don’t become “sign blind.”

Beyond staff that directly work with food, be sure that all of your staff members—from front desk to housekeeping—have a basic understanding of food safety and know where to go for help or assistance in an emergency. For example, housekeepers may play a role in delivering food gifts to rooms—but do they understand why it is dangerous for food to remain unrefrigerated for longer than four hours? Is there a policy in place to ensure checks on these deliveries? Or, if a guest were to complain about becoming sick from food, would the front desk staff know the proper procedures to follow? If someone becomes sick in the buffet area, does the janitorial staff know the proper procedures to take for cleanup to prevent others from becoming ill? These are all food safety-related practices that could protect your brand from a serious illness incident.

3. Enforce a workplace illness policy, especially for food handlers. In recent years, many foodborne illness outbreaks linked to hotels have been identified as starting with a food handler who worked while ill. Norovirus, which is highly contagious, can be spread easily when food workers who are sick handle food and beverages. A food handler with Hepatitis A can also put people at risk; and anyone exposed to Hepatitis A may require a course of vaccination. These foodborne illness incidents put guests at risk, open properties up to liability, and could expose your brand to negative publicity.

Be sure that the staff understands the risk that an ill food handler poses to the operation. It can be very impactful to talk to them about the human costs of the decision to work while ill. Beyond sickening customers, they could also sicken co-workers, causing them to be out of work, and leaving your team short-staffed. A foodborne illness incident could put the hotel’s food operations or entire property in danger of being closed by the health department or regulatory agency, which could result in many people being out of work for a period of time—lasting days or even weeks. In that same vein, a foodborne illness incident could create the opportunity for lawsuits, which, if severe enough, could put the hotel out of business.

This is an especially important discussion to have with workers who do not have the opportunity to earn paid sick leave. Often, these workers come to work ill because they can’t afford to take the time off, not realizing that their sickness could be putting so much more in jeopardy.

4. Utilize third-party auditors as an ally for your business. Partnering with a third-party auditing company can help ensure that brand and regulatory food safety practices are being adhered to in every location. Third-party assessments provide an objective viewpoint to spot any potential risks early on and recommend a corrective action plan. The best third-party companies also have their fingers on the pulse of the overall hospitality industry and can provide constructive insights into how your business is performing in food safety when compared with other hospitality industry benchmarks.

It’s no secret that many health departments are stretched thin. You might say, “I get inspected by the health department periodically, isn’t that sufficient?” These inspections may not actually be frequent enough to really identify problems and make organizational change. Three or four third-party assessments a year can help track progress and drive long-term behavior change for your entire team.

Third-party assessments can also complement the training demand that many hospitality operations find themselves under. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016, turnover in the hospitality sector is nearly 73 percent—highlighting how most operations are hiring new staff members regularly. Thorough third-party auditors can help coach team members new and old on company’s standards and critical food safety practices, serving to reinforce training already conducted.

Some third-party assessment companies can even extend their assessments to evaluate operational elements of the property as well—the pool, spa, lobby, parking lot, meeting rooms, etc.—to judge items such as cleanliness, safety, staff interactions, and more.

With the hotel guest experience continually evolving, the number of areas in which hotels are exposed to food safety risks will only increase. Training and attention to food safety risks can no longer be isolated to the kitchen. Anywhere, any person, and any equipment that is along the path food travels in your operation allows for potential incursion of foodborne pathogens or an opportunity for food to become compromised. To safeguard your business, consider implementing a robust food safety program that includes a gap analysis, staff training, a well-developed and enforced illness policy, and third-party assessments. By taking these proactive steps, your hotel is setup for success to ensure guests have a stay that is memorable for all the right reasons.

Sutton is the president of Steritech, a provider of food safety and service assessments. Reach him at doug.sutton@steritech.com.

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Image credit: PFSE

With the arrival of autumn comes preparations for one of America’s most beloved holidays, Thanksgiving. Because it is so widely celebrated, however, Thanksgiving presents a huge set of food safety problems. While exploding deep-fried turkeys held the attention of the news cycle for a while, the risk of turkey combustion is nothing compared to the risk inherent in not taking precautions when dealing with raw poultry—and many other foods enjoyed over the holidays. For that reason, the Arlington, Va.–based non-profit Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) is launching a consumer food-safety program this fall entitled The Story of Your Dinner to educate Americans about how to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner that the whole family can enjoy—safely, without risk of foodborne illness.

“For years we have seen increased interest in home food safety around the Thanksgiving holiday,” says Shelley Feist, executive director, PFSE. “So this seemed a natural time to present The Story of Your Dinner and to provide fun new formats for consumer food safety information.”

Building on a longstanding partnership with Publix, the PFSE has also partnered with Cargill, Nestlé, and the Frozen Food Foundation in presenting The Story of Your Dinner as a pilot project in the southeast U.S. this fall, with plans to expand it nationwide in 2017. In order to grab the attention of the public, the campaign will be designed to be interactive and attractive to consumers of all ages. They hope that social media users will share content such as the upcoming “Story of Your Dinner” animated video, but they’re also preparing a collection of holiday recipes from southeast bloggers that will have food safety steps included as part of the preparation instructions. In addition to relying on the PFSE’s network of 13,000 health- and food-safety educators to publicize the campaign, the PFSE will also be running a sweepstakes and releasing kid-friendly activity placemats.

“I think consumers will respond well to thinking about food safety as a commitment of many people,” Feist says, “and of home safe food handling as a critical part of the chain of prevention. We want consumers to keep top-of-mind during the holidays the important practices of Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. These ‘Core Four’ practices are the basis of reducing risk of foodborne illness at home.”

This message is underlined by partner organizations, like Coca-Cola and Cargill. Pete Stoddart, media relations director at Cargill, hails the clarity of the “Core Four” message and notes that it goes far beyond the holidays into helping consumers develop food safety habits that will keep their kitchens and families safe from foodborne illness long into the future.

“We see this a great way to inform and remind consumers about simple steps they can easily take as they prepare their family meals,” Stoddart says. “The messages of the campaign are shared in an easy-to-understand manner that we think will resonate with consumers across the country.”

For many Americans, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holiday meals will include a variety of frozen foods, from the turkey main course down to the individual fixings—and thawing and cooking frozen foods presents consumers with a variety of challenges. For that reason, participation by the Frozen Food Foundation was important, says Adrienne M. Seiling, the Foundation’s executive director.

“Given the variety of frozen foods, each package contains validated cooking instructions,” says Seiling. “Through the Story of Your Dinner Campaign, the Frozen Food Foundation will remind consumers to always read and follow the package cooking instructions to achieve a temperature necessary to ensure a safe and wholesome food.”

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Training was a hot topic at this year’s IAFP in St. Louis. Posters sessions, roundtables, symposiums, and exhibitions all emphasized the necessity of food safety training.

Sure, the food industry realizes the importance of training; but 
how effective is the training that you or your employees receive? Not implementing proper food safety training programs can have serious consequences. Food companies’ executives, managers, and employees can be charged with a crime even if they didn’t know that a food safety violation was happening under their roof.

Alchemy Systems, in partnership with the Campden BRI, SQF Institute, British Retail Consortium, SGS, and TSI released the 2016 results of a global survey of 25,000 food companies about their food safety training practices and challenges. The Global Food Safety Training Survey found that companies are devoting significant time to training: about 75 percent of employees get four or more hours of training per year; and 50 percent of supervisors and managers get nine or more hours of training per year.

However, many companies struggle to translate that commitment to actual employee behavior on the plant floor. In the survey, 62 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “Despite our efforts in food safety classroom training, we still have employees not following our food safety program on the plant floor.”

The survey found a “lack of refresher training” for frontline workers. It uncovered that 75 percent of respondents believe that if food safety programs were consistently applied, employee productivity would increase.

“Closing the gap between a company’s commitment to food safety and the frontline’s actual behaviors requires new thinking and approaches,” says Je Eastman, CEO of Alchemy Systems. “Companies need to devise interactive and relevant training pro- grams that will engage employees with real-world safety scenarios and team activities so they make the right food safety decisions on the plant floor.”

From harvesting to processing to service, training programs for food industry workers at every level need to emphasize the gravity of the responsibility being put on employees’ shoulders. Their shortcomings could expose people nationwide with serious illness and may even cause death. Only when employees grasp the seriousness of their job can food safety training be successful.

—Marian Zboraj
From The Editor

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