Score Big in Food Safety: Amp Up Your Food Safety Education Month
Tayler Greenwood2024-08-02T16:28:35+00:00It is mid-August and in just a few short weeks it will be that time of the year again. The time we wait for [...]
Temperature Checks: Safeguarding Your Foodservice Business with Every Delivery
Tayler Greenwood2024-08-02T16:23:26+00:00There is no mistake that for those of us in the Midwest, and much of the US, we are in the middle of summer, [...]
Food Defense Playbook
Emily Kinateder2018-10-15T14:42:48+00:00In the last blog, we raised the question of whether a defensive position is really needed for retail foodservices. I hope you were convinced that incorporating some defensive measures into daily practices will protect food inventory from risks--whether those risks are theft, spoilage, or intentional contamination. After all, food in inventory belongs to the operation so it makes sense to protect it from any risks while in your custody.
Food Defense—What is Your Game Plan?
Emily Kinateder2018-09-20T15:36:11+00:00We are into the season of Friday Night Lights and for many of you, this is a time when offensive and defensive strategies are discussed and rehashed during Monday morning quarterbacking sessions. Most of you working in foodservices have your “offensive” game under control with menu item and service strategies to ensure customer satisfaction--a big part of your play book. But, how is your “defensive” game? Do you have procedures in place to protect food from intentional contamination? In this blog, we will cover some background on food defense and discuss whether it really is a necessary strategy. In the second posting for this month, action steps for operations to consider will be presented.
Evaluating Food Safety
Emily Kinateder2018-09-01T00:21:10+00:00One of the suggestions I made in the last blog was to assess the food safety culture in your organization by observing the food handling techniques of workers. Let’s explore that some more. You can do an overall assessment or you can hone in on specific areas of the operation, such as production or cleaning practices. Remember, when the environmental health inspector visits your operation, he/she just gets a snapshot of what is going on in your operation on that particular day at that specific time. You are there nearly every day, so you have a much better understanding on what really happens in your operation.
September is National Food Safety Month: The Future of Food Safety
Emily Kinateder2018-09-06T17:14:13+00:00Each September we recognize the importance of food safety every day in our operations by celebrating National Food Safety Month. This year’s theme, The Future of Food Safety, emphasizes the changing environment in which foodservice operates. Each week of September has a unique focus:
September is Food Safety Education Month: The Culture of Food Safety
Emily Kinateder2018-09-01T00:19:33+00:00Developing a culture of food safety is important for any foodservice operation. You may be wondering--just what is a culture of food safety? Let’s start talking about it by first defining what is meant by culture. When you look culture up in the dictionary, you will see terms such as shared knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, and meanings; a way of life; patterns of behavior; learned behavior of a group of people; and transmitted from generation to generation. I think these descriptors provide good insight into the meaning of a culture of food safety. You can also think about where you grew up, and a vision of culture comes. For example, I grew up in rural Oklahoma, graduating in the 1970’s with a class of 24 students. My culture instilled in me an appreciation for rural life, hard work, and independence. As I grow older, I realize I haven’t changed very much from my early years, even though I have completed a PhD, lived a lot of places, and traveled throughout the world!
Produce Safety: Special Considerations
Emily Kinateder2018-08-24T17:22:46+00:00In our last blog, I talked about general produce safety. Today, I want to talk about some special products—melons, tomatoes, leafy greens, and sprouts. These are all foods that have a history of bacterial contamination leading to foodborne illness. I also want to discuss salad bars because they have some special risks.
Fresh and Tasty Produce, but are there Food Safety Concerns?
Emily Kinateder2021-08-04T20:03:22+00:00One of the best things about the middle of summer is the wonderful variety of tasty fresh produce that is available. I hope you are enjoying the fruits of the harvest because it has great flavor and provides us with a variety of important vitamins, minerals, and fiber needed to maintain good health.
SafeBites Time and Temperature Control: How To’s
Emily Kinateder2021-08-04T21:18:52+00:00Welcome back! In the last blog I gave the low down on temperature controlled for safety (TCS) foods and the temperature danger zone (TDZ). The focus of this blog is all about control of time and temperatures of foods in your operations. You might say we are discussing Control Issues! Kidding aside, knowing that temperature abuse is a leading cause of foodborne illness, it only makes sense to pay attention to the time that TCS foods are in the TDZ (remember, that is between 41° F and 135° F). FoodHandler® recently updated some useful time and temperature documentation tools.
