Training How To’s
In our first blog earlier in April, we covered the fundamentals of training for foodservice staff reviewing the Who, What, When, Why, Where and How. In this posting, we will dive deeper into the How-To part. We know most Persons in Charge (PIC) of a foodservice know best practices related to food safety and sanitation. The challenge is in how to communicate this to staff in a way that 1) it will be heard, and 2) it will be acted upon!
There is a great deal of diversity among those who work in foodservice operations. In your operations, you may have staff with various cultural backgrounds, ages, and ways they best learn. Research has shown that including a variety of approaches when communicating with staff is effective, as this will increase the chances of best reaching all employees. Research has also shown that short segments (say 5 to 15 minutes) can be effective in retention. What is also clear is the repetition of information, followed with practice and reinforcement, so that the desired behavior becomes routine for the employee.
Think about hand washing. Signage that tells employees to wash hands (both when and how) is a good reinforcement of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). But helping it become a routine means making sure all the tools are easily available (for example, hand washing sink is close to work areas and accessible), and that staff truly get why they should wash hands. Telling the why is a key part of training – communicating the impact if the SOP is not followed. Impact can be communicated with visuals (say, the YUCK photos [that show amount of bacteria from unclear hands or surfaces), or a story telling of how an outbreak occurred that may have led to deaths of unsuspecting customers. Younger generations (or those permanently tied to their devices) could be encouraged to go online and see if any reported foodborne illnesses were due to improper hand washing, and then report results. The bottom line is that if staff realize they have a role to play in preventing an illness, most will be motivated to follow SOPs because then it is not “just because I said so” but because it truly makes a difference.
Beyond communicating impact, research on effective training (that is training that results in adoption of desired behaviors) strongly supports engagement of the trainees. We mentioned in the first blog the North Carolina Short Sets that use a “Know, Show, Do, and Coach” approach. With this style applied to hand washing, the trainer would first communicate the “what and why” of hand washing, as outlined in the organization’s SOP. The trainer would then show proper hand washing procedures and include impact either through use of a fluorescent lotion or other technique. Next, trainees would have a chance to practice proper hand washing (could use the fluorescent lotion), followed by an evaluation of whether their hand washing was effective (coaching). Coaching continues after the training session through monitoring and encouraging all staff to remind each other about hand washing if needed. Involving all team members in monitoring helps instill a safe food handling culture.
As indicated, this template can be customized to the particular group and setting. The key points are to keep the content short and sweet and to engage participants. Multiple sessions of shorter length are much better received by trainees than a full day “one and done” approach!
Remember, you don’t have to go it alone. Cooperative extension offices have many resources available, some online (free downloads!) or actual props (such as the fluorescent lotion and UV lights) available for use. FoodHandler has signage and videos to support training messages. Training is helping staff develop the knowledge and the attitude to follow safe food handling behaviors. And we all know, safe food handling behaviors reduce the risk of a foodborne illness stemming from your foodservice.
Risk Nothing!
A Little Poultry Safety Information
Chicken is the number one species of protein consumed by Americans – we eat about 80 pounds of it per year. Outbreaks of foodborne illness have long been associated with poultry and eggs usually by undercooking it or cross-contamination of other foods by raw poultry. Recent concerns about avian or bird flu put the direct focus on our fowl food with concerns about whether this awful disease can transfer from birds to humans.
The Basic Principles of Food Safety
Every food establishment uses, processes, and sells food in different ways. However, the general issues and key principles of food safety remain the same, whatever the style of the operation. All food safety training programs should contain the “big 3” factors that could cause food to become unsafe. Food must be kept out of harms way from human errors, but if you don’t train food workers what they are, they won’t know why these factors are so important to your operation. The basics can make us or break us in one or maybe two food handling mistakes.
Be Aware When You Prepare – Food Prep Tips
The subject of food preparation covers some very broad, basic principles within food safety, with many steps associated with “risk” in some recipes. Certainly, preparation steps are where the most mistakes have occurred if a foodborne illness should occur. Outbreaks usually happen when more than one mistake occurs during prep, but sometimes it only takes one. Cooking is the biggest risk for raw foods, but all foods become ready-to-eat foods at some point in final preparation steps and that’s where the most care is required.
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.
