Food Recalls: Another Important Reason to Have a Sound Traceability Program in your Foodservice Operation
Earlier in the month, I discussed a bit about the proposed traceability rules that may be coming out soon. One result of implementing the proposed rule and improving overall food traceability in your operation is the ability of those in the food chain to quickly identify and pull product involved in a food recall.
If you are in the food or foodservice industry, and have not been impacted by a recall, I would venture to say you have not been paying close attention. Just in the month of June, there have been 14 food-safety related recalls on products used for human consumption. These products ranged from cereal to ground spices.
Most recalls in the United States are voluntary; however, the Food Safety Modernization Act did grant a bit more power to the Food and Drug Administration to shut down an operation to avert a significant public health threat. However, most recalls are initiated by the manufacturer or distributor of the product. In some instances, the company discovers the issue on their own and recalls the product. Other products are recalled after their respective oversight agency (typically the FDA, which oversees 80% of the US food supply, or the United States Department of Agriculture for meat products) is alerted to the issue and contacts the company.
Food recalls are classified by the level of threat to the public, with a class I serving as the highest or medium risk to public health. This is typically where use of the product will likely cause serious, adverse health consequences or death. Class II recalls are classified as a low risk, where the product has a remote possibility of adverse health consequences. A class III recall is classified as marginal risk where use of the product will not cause adverse health effects. An example of a class III recall might be misbranding, where an ingredient, such as monosodium glutamate, may not be declared on the product label, but such an omission would not likely make someone ill.
Just as it only takes one employee to cause a foodborne illness outbreak in a foodservice operation, it only takes missing one recall notification for a product you have in-house to cause catastrophic damage to your operation’s reputation and brand.
[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As I mentioned before, if you have not had to respond to a food recall, you have not been in business very long or you have not been paying attention. Think about your response to a recall now and establish your plan of action. Do you use technology that can assist in your recall procedures and pulling product from inventory and production? Have you trained your staff to deal with a recall and how to handle sanitation procedures when recalled products are already in production?Think of the recall of cucumbers, which may have contained Salmonella. Your plans can change drastically if they are only in inventory versus if they have been in production. Worse yet, already served to a guest. If those cucumbers were in vegetable preparation being prepared for consumption, you not only have to ensure they are pulled from inventory and production, but perhaps a full and complete cleaning and sanitation of the kitchen to mitigate cross contamination, and you need to do so in a manner to protect the health of your employees. If those cucumbers have been served to guests, guest notification procedures must be considered, and public relations will become vital to protecting your brand.
Distributors, including USDA if you manage a school and receive commodities, are expected to notify foodservice operations about recalls as soon as possible; however, communication may not always be as fast as we would like or expect. Thus, it is incumbent upon you as a foodservice manager to stay informed. You can sign up to receive product recalls via email. Yes, you will get a lot of emails related to recalls. The majority of the notifications won’t apply to you. Delete them, but stay on the list are monitor notifications. Just as it only takes one employee to cause a foodborne illness outbreak in a foodservice operation, it only takes missing one recall notification for a product you have in-house to cause catastrophic damage to your operation’s reputation and brand.
Don’t forget to join us next week for our July SafeBites webinar where I will be presenting more information on traceability. It is scheduled for July 21 at 1:00 pm. Risk Nothing.
The Cold Chain in the Hot Summer Months
Keeping foods at proper cold holding temperatures (between 28°F and 41°F maximum or 0°F for frozen food) from the food manufacturers to your customers has to be one of our strongest links to safe food. Sometimes that is referred to in the food industry as “maintaining the COLD CHAIN”. Any slip ups in the cold chain, and we have a weak link. If you accept the food, you have greatly increased your foodborne illness risk and compromised your food quality.
Routes of Foodborne Illness & Germs
From your sniffling coworker to the raw chicken on your kitchen cutting board, everyday life is full of potential infectious hazards. With germs so common and seemingly everywhere, knowing how germs spread is vital to preventing infection and foodborne illness. There are seven possible ways for the transmission of bacteria and viruses to take place. Although some of these microorganisms in our environment are good for us and protect us, disease causing pathogens are the germs or bad guys.
Handling Leafy Green Salad
We have had several produce outbreaks of foodborne disease from our lettuce, spinach, and other greens in the last several years that have been devastating to the produce growers and distributors, retail grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers.
Food Packaging Safety in a Vacuum
Extending the shelf life of fresh foods has come a long way in the food industry since curing meats with salt and sugar or canning vegetables with heat processing. The food service and consumer markets needed some better visual packages to draw the eye to the freshness factor and the technology of food packaging has filled our dinner plate. Vacuum packaging and modified atmosphere packaging, shortened to “MAP”, are the terms used for the method of food packaging used every time we choose convenience over more complex scratch meal preparation. According to industry statistics, billions of packages of vacuum and MAP-packaged foods flood the marketplace today. In both modified-atmosphere and vacuum packaging, food is packaged in a pouch made of barrier film.