Emergency Preparedness: The Not-so Calm After the Storm

If you and your foodservice operation have been hit by an emergency or other disaster, what comes next and how do you move forward? Much of the answer to this is predicated on the actual disaster that you are dealing with – a flood is certainly a much different than a fire, but some of the food safety considerations remain the same if your business has been left intact and has not been damaged by the disaster.

Before I cover some areas to consider, I did want to note that in almost all cases, you should not reopen unless you have visited with the local health department in your jurisdiction and have the green light from them to reopen.

…in almost all cases, you should not reopen unless you have visited with the local health department in your jurisdiction and have the green light… 

Requirements for reopening will depend on the type of disaster you are dealing with, but common among them are the following considerations:

  • Water Supply. Make sure the water supply you are using is safe. While this may seem like a silly thing to say, in a disaster setting, the municipal water supply may have been impacted and communication from the town or local authorities may be sparse at first. If you operate on a well, there is a chance, especially in a flood, that it has been contaminated and will need to be disinfected after the flood waters recede from the local area. When it doubt, boil it or use bottled water for your water needs until such time that you can verify the safety of the water supply.
  • Food supplies. Of course, it goes without saying that leftover perishable food should be discarded if it has not been held at proper temperatures. But canned food can be sanitized and kept. To sanitize, remove the labels and discard.  Then, wash the cans and dip them in a bleach water solution of 8 oz of household (5.25%) bleach for every 5 gallons of water and allow the cans to air dry. Re-label the cans with a printed label or magic marker noting the type of product and an expiration date.
  • Sanitize food contact surfaces. Thoroughly wash, rinse, and sanitize any food contact surface. This might include pots, pans, countertops, cutting boards, knives, and utensils. To do this, the FDA recommends soaking in a concentration of 1 tablespoon household (5.25%) bleach mixed with 1 gallon of potable water for 15 minutes, then air dry.  In the case of stationary items, such as countertops, spray or wipe the solution onto the countertop and let sit for the prescribed time.
  • Cleaning non-food contact surfaces. Thoroughly wash all floors, walls, and ceilings within the interior of the building with potable water and a detergent. Be sure to follow all recommended instructions on the detergent and rinse to be sure there is no residue left behind. If mold is present, seek a professional who would help abate the mold issue.  Don’t forget to clean and inspect your ventilation systems.  Again, consult professional service when necessary to make sure it is safe to use.
  • Employee Health and Safety. Last, but certainly not least is making sure employees are able to return to work before you open. It is quite possible their lives have been disrupted, too. Simply things like being able to wash clothes in order to wear clean clothes to work should be explored. Make sure they have access to soap and running potable water to wash their hands and follow the food safety training they did prior to the disaster. Don’t make a situation worse by forgetting the basics and causing more panic within your community with a foodborne illness outbreak.

If you have any questions about re-opening your foodservice operations, please feel free to reach out via email, we are happy to help. Be on the lookout for our last SafeBites Webinar, which will be coming online within the next month.  If you have any topics, you’d like to see us cover for the 2024 SafeBites webinars, please reach out. Risk Nothing.

Evaluating Food Safety

One 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 Food Safety Education Month: The Culture of Food Safety

Developing 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

In 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.