The Second Wave: Food Safety Myths That Deserve Your Attention
Walk into any commercial kitchen, and you’ll find hardworking staff following protocols they have learned over the years. Many are correct, but others are dangerously wrong. In our last blog, we started exploring these myths, and once I started, I couldn’t stop!
- Myth #5: Sanitizer Works Instantly
Sometimes our staff see sanitizer as a quick fix: spray, wipe, and move on. In a busy kitchen where speed matters, the assumption is that chemical contact equals instant sanitation. And while we should be happy when employees are using the sanitizer, it takes time for it to be effective.
Each type of sanitizer: chlorine-based, quaternary ammonium compounds, and iodine-based solutions, needs time in contact with the surface to be effective. Contact time will depend on the concentration of the solution. Too weak, and it’s ineffective; too strong, and it leaves toxic residues.
It is also vital to remember that sanitizers only work on clean surfaces, as soil, grease, and food debris can shield bacteria from chemical contact, thereby reducing the overall efficacy of the sanitizer.
…proper cooking can’t undo what happened when food sat in the danger zone for too long…
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· Myth #6: Food Is Safe Once It Reaches the Right Temperature
End-point cooking temperatures are heavily emphasized in food safety training, leading to the belief that hitting 165°F (or other required temperatures) is the endpoint of safety.
Proper cooking can’t undo what happened when food sat in the danger zone. Reaching the correct internal temperature kills pathogens present at that moment, but it doesn’t reverse toxin production that has already occurred due to temperature abuse. For example, Staphylococcus aureus produces heat-stable toxins when food sits in the danger zone. When cooked, the cooking process can kill the bacteria, but doesn’t destroy the toxins, which can still cause severe vomiting and illness. Similarly, Bacillus cereus forms heat-resistant spores that survive cooking. If contaminated rice sits at room temperature after cooking, spores germinate and produce toxins; reheating won’t make it safe. Proper temperature control throughout the entire food flow is critical, not just at the cooking step.
· Myth #7: Buffets and Salad Bars Are Inherently Risky but Unavoidable
Self-service operations carry an elevated risk due to customer handling, extended display times, and potential contamination from one customer to the next. Many operators simply accept violations as part of the business, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
While buffets and salad bars present challenges, proper controls make them as safe as other service styles. The primary risks include time-temperature abuse, cross-contamination from customers, and environmental contamination. The FDA Food Code outlines specific requirements for self-service operations, which, when followed, help mitigate these risks. Operators who dismiss buffet safety as impossible to control create liability and help to perpetuate this myth.
· Myth #8: You Should Wash All Produce, even if it is Pre-Washed
Some employees perpetuate the myth that you should always wash produce, even if it is pre-washed. I think this may harken back to the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality.
However, if the produce packaging notes that the product is “pre-washed,” “triple-washed,” or “ready-to-eat”, please don’t feel the need to re-wash it! If pathogens survive commercial washing during processing, your employees and processes will not reduce pathogens to safe levels through additional washing. In fact, rewashing in your operation creates a greater risk of cross-contamination than using the product straight from the package.
Food safety myths are dangerous precisely because they seem sophisticated or are accepted as “standards” in some businesses. By supporting a food-safe culture, you encourage your employees to challenge every assumption, require evidence-based practices, and never accept “we’ve always done it this way” as justification. Your operation’s success depends on eliminating not just the obvious mistakes, but also the subtle ones that hide in plain sight.
Have you observed some of these myths shared among your colleagues, or do you have stories to tell of your own? We would love to hear them! Drop me a note at foodsafety@foodhandler.com and share them with us. With your permission, I may be able to use them in a future blog. Risk Nothing.
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Food Gloves & Latex Allergy Education
Politicians joke about the endless stretch of rubber chicken dinners they may consume in an election year. For people with a latex allergy, such a prospect may be no laughing matter. While latex serves as an effective barrier glove material and has the best fit because of its elasticity, the risks associated should not be ignored. The solution is not simple and many options are available for operators today. It should always be mentioned that handwashing (before putting on gloves) is always the primary barrier to contamination and gloves are considered a good secondary barrier.
Foodborne Illness Myths & Facts
“It must have been something I ate.” That’s the typical statement when a person develops some relatively minor symptoms from food. Maybe not severe enough to go to the doctor so you choose to tough it out without medical care. Sudden onset of flu-like symptoms such as onset of stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and fever could possibly mean you are the victim of a foodborne illness. The illness is sometimes referred to as “food poisoning”, but it’s often misdiagnosed.
Don’t Compromise: Clean and Sanitize
The subject is cleaning and sanitizing. Chefs, food service directors, managers and staff try to practice safe food-handling at every turn in the kitchen. Don’t let that effort go down the drain by slacking off on the many aspects of sanitation. That includes dish and ware-washing techniques (pots, pans, equipment), and cleaning all the areas that give us that “neat as a pin” appearance in your customers eyes. Customers seldom fail to bring that soiled silverware or glass with lipstick on it to the attention of the manager or wait staff. Improperly cleaning and sanitizing of food contact equipment does allow transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to food and ultimately our customer.
The Route to Safer Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Although fruits and vegetables are one of the healthiest foods sources in our diet, we continue to have foodborne disease outbreaks of significance from produce, sometimes affecting large groups of people in multiple states because of their wide distribution. The CDC estimates that fresh produce now causes a huge number of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States. Produce needs our continued food safety efforts at the restaurant level as well as at the stages in agricultural production. Occasionally, fresh fruits and vegetables can become contaminated with harmful bacteria or viruses, such as Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Norovirus, and Hepatitis A. This contamination can occur at any point from the field to our table. If eaten, contaminated fruits and vegetables can cause foodborne illness.
