Cross Contamination and the Surfaces that go Unnoticed

In October, I ran across a new research study published in the Journal of Food Protection in early-September.  The article explored cross contamination in consumer kitchens during meal preparation. One of the authors was a previous SafeBites presenter, Dr. Ellen Shumaker, at North Carolina State University.  Although the setting was consumer kitchens and not the commercial kitchen many of you deal with daily, the findings were very applicable to what we often see in the foodservice setting.

The study invited 371 consumers into consumer kitchens to prepare a menu consisting of a ready -to-eat vegetable salad and ground turkey patties.  What consumers did not know was the ground turkey was inoculated with a non-pathogenic tracer organism, which allowed researchers to track cross contamination throughout the kitchen. When beginning the study, consumers believed they were simply trying new recipes, thus they were not aware of the food safety research being conducted.  At the conclusion of the meal preparation, consumers were informed of the purpose of the study and the researchers sampled specific areas of the kitchen to determine areas in which cross contamination had occurred.

The areas the researchers tested to determine if cross contamination had occurred included the counter, kitchen utensils, areas used for cleaning (such as the sink, dishcloth/sponge, faucet handle, and soap dispenses), the refrigerator handle, spice containers, and the trash can lid. Of all the areas explored, spice containers had a statistically higher concentration of their tracer organism than almost all the other areas – with the exception of the trash can lid and cutting boards.  As the authors noted in their study, few studies have reported that spice containers were a common form of cross contamination. Perhaps this is why the study caught my eye in the first place.

…it is those smaller items that are used frequently throughout the day that may go unnoticed at the end of the shift …that can cause just as much of a cross contamination issue as the work surfaces and cutting boards.

I thought this was an interesting study and really made me think of the common everyday items in our kitchens that could pose a risk for cross contamination.  For years, food safety training has included the common items that we must wash and sanitize appropriately and frequently – the work surfaces, cutting boards, knives, etc.  However, it is those smaller items that are used frequently throughout the day that may go unnoticed at the end of the shift when our staff go about their normal cleaning and sanitizing duties that can cause just as much of a cross contamination issue as the work surfaces and cutting boards. The spice containers, the stainless-steel film and foil dispensers, label dispensers, and even the Bluetooth speakers that our staff bring into the kitchen or dish areas during their shift could all pose a significant risk if not properly cleaned and sanitized.

Before we get into the rush of the holiday season, take the time to critically analyze your employees’ habits as they go throughout their day.  What are those items that we may need to include in our training that staff may overlook when cleaning and sanitizing?  Once you discover what they are, discuss these with your staff in training and/or pre-shift meetings.  Add them to your Standard Operating Procedures and be sure those small items in your kitchen don’t become a forgotten and overlooked item that becomes a big problem when it comes to cross contamination in your kitchen.

Later this month, we will be releasing our fourth and final SafeBites Webinar for the year, “A Foodservice Operators’ Guide to the Food Code”, presented by food safety specialist, Sara Kingland, who is recognized as a standardized food inspector.  If you have any topics you’d like her to address, please reach out and let me know and we will be sure she includes it in her talk.  Likewise, if you have any food safety questions, I’m are just a quick email away and am happy to help with whatever you might be wondering about.  Risk Nothing.   

Sanitation, Sanitation, Where Art Thou?

Continuing the theme I picked up on a few months ago, discussing common causes of foodborne illness, I’d like to focus this blog on cross contamination, more precisely sanitation. Sanitation is another issue that employees don’t often do at home, so they discount the importance of it in the food production environment. That is to say that they have never made someone sick at home because they only clean their countertops and they have likely never sanitized their kitchen, so why is it so important in a foodservice facility?

Is Implementing a Color-Coded Food Safety Plan Right for your Operation?

Foodborne pathogens are by far the most prevalent cause of foodborne illness in the United States and across the world.  There are 31 known agents that cause foodborne illnesses, and more that are unspecified or yet undiscovered – remember, E. Coli 0157:H7 wasn’t identified until the early-1980s. It is estimated each year, 48 million illnesses occur because of these known and unknown pathogens, resulting in over 3,000 deaths.

Maintaining your Equipment: Is it the Missing Ingredient in your Recipe for Food Safety?

Although I am no longer in day-to-day operations, between our students and foodservice lab at the university and my volunteer activities in my local church, I keep a close hand in food production. This past week, I had the opportunity to lead a group of men at our church in preparation of a luncheon for 100 women who were attending a spirituality retreat.  Over the course of the morning, I realized our main cooler in the kitchen was not functioning properly and was about 10˚F above the required temperature.  While we do have a commercial kitchen, we do not routinely log temperatures, so when the unit started to malfunction is questionable.  Even more concerning was not the lunch we were preparing for, but the dinner that was served the night before for 300+ families in the parish.