Food Defense Plan Resources – at just the right price…

Earlier in the month, I discussed the importance of having a solid food defense plan in place for your foodservice operation. Even if the first version of your plan is not perfect, it is a start.  Having plans down on paper will force you to think through the process and ensure the vulnerable points where opportunities exist for possible contamination within the operation are mitigated.

Often, getting started is the hardest part of developing your food defense plan. So, I thought I would compile some resources for you to utilize. There are many good resources available online. However, I often find many of the resources are focused on larger-scale food processing facilities and only a few resources focus on the retail foodservice operation. When I do come across a resource developed for retail foodservice operations, it seems they often forget about, or perhaps maybe do not fully understand, the nuances of running a smaller retail foodservice operation. With this in mind, I have developed a list of resources you might find useful, with a brief description of the resource.

 

While these resources are not perfect and they certainly will not develop your food defense plan for you, they will give you the knowledge and tools necessary to get a good start on your plan.

 

  • A Biosecurity Checklist for School Foodservice Programs: Developing a Biosecurity Management Plan: Yes, this publication is developed for schools, but before those of you who manage restaurants fly over this one, be sure to check it out. While school meal production and restaurant cook-to-order production is quite different, they have similar back-of-house processes and thus the steps to developing your food defense plans can be very similar. The checklist included in the resource is usable by all foodservice operations and can provide a good roadmap to program development and implementation.
  • Food Defense Strategies for Food Service Operators: The New York State Department of Health has put this webpage together. While it was last updated in 2018 and it looks to be even a bit older than that, the information is still current. The page includes a Food Defense Strategies brochure and a Self-assessment Checklist that are easy to walk through and understand, even for someone who is just getting started with a food defense plan.
  • FDA Food Defense Plan Builder: The Food Defense Plan Builder is a very powerful and, somewhat user friendly, computer application that you download to your desktop/laptop and will help you build your food defense plan. Before you jump into using it, please note that it was designed for full-scale food processing facilities and not retail foodservice operations, such as restaurants and schools. However, with some creative uses of the tools included within the program, you can make it work for a foodservice operation.

While these resources are not perfect and they certainly will not develop your food defense plan for you, they will give you the knowledge and tools necessary to get a good start on your plan. If you think I overlooked a resource that you have found useful, be sure to email it to me and I will update this blog or provide a list of resources in a future blog.

As we are gearing up for summer, please plan to attend the next SafeBites Webinar on July 21, 2021 at 1:00 pm. We have not yet finalized the topic, so if you have ideas, don’t hesitate to email me and let me know. I’d love to include your suggestions and/or answer the food safety questions you have. Likewise, feel free to reach out to any food safety questions you have, and we will research the answer and get back to you. Risk Nothing. 

Proper Cooking Temperature: A Basic Food Safety Measure

Each summer, we see an increase in the incidence of foodborne illnesses. Perhaps this is because of the warmer temperatures making temperature control for Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food more difficult or perhaps it is the increased amount of people who are barbequing this time of year – it is National Picnic Month, after all!

Changing Climate: The Unseen Impact on Food Safety

In June, I was asked to participate in the Allinfoodz podcast, put on by a colleague, Dr. Amit Sharma, at Penn State University.  One of the points Dr. Sharma wanted to discuss was the impact of climate change on food safety, which is something I was certainly aware of, but not something I had done much research on.  However, when preparing for the interview and podcast, it was interesting to learn more about the relationship between the two.

Thawing Food with Food Safety in Mind

There comes a time in almost every foodservice operation where you must thaw food. Yes, I know there are those operations who have moved to fresh products only and don’t have a freezer in-house, but I am willing to bet that is more the exception than the norm. I am almost sure that anyone reading this blog who works in a foodservice operation can regurgitate what methods are acceptable to thaw food per the FDA Model Food Code. In case you don’t recall, I will discuss them briefly, but I wanted to spend some time covering these requirements a bit more in-depth – so you not only know WHAT to do, but the WHY we do it that way.

Addressing Major Food Recalls in Your Business

It seems like every year we have a large-scale food recall that reminds consumers and foodservice operators about the importance of food safety. Not that we need reminded, but it certainly puts the topic in the headlines again. Last year, it was the onion recall. This year, it may very well be the Jiff peanut butter recall, of which we are in the midst of.  At the time of the publishing, we are starting to learn more about a potential hepatitis A outbreak linked to strawberries.  If you have not been impacted by either of these recalls in your personal or business life, I would be surprised.