As warmer weather and summer travel swing into full force, so do cases of foodborne illness, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The busy summer travel season can make it difficult for restaurant kitchen staff members to keep up with the many details of food safety — and a slip up in this area can compromise the health of customers, which in turn can lead to a big hit on a restaurant’s bottom line.
“Maintaining a sanitary environment, in both production and service of foods, is key to protecting the health of guests,” said Chef Steve Browe of Paul’s 5th Avenue in Grandview Heights, Ohio, just west of downtown Columbus. “A foodborne illness outbreak is the deepest nightmare of a restaurant operator. Ultimately, an outbreak can ruin a business, first by reducing the daily number of people who frequent the operation, and in time, by building a negative general impression through word of mouth.”
The summer months are especially important to restaurants. In fact, more than two-thirds of tableservice restaurant operators consider tourists important to their business, according to the National Restaurant Association. And they should, since according to the Travel Industry Association of America, dining out is the most popular activity planned by tourists once they reach their final destination.Continue Reading Summer Travel Season Increases Incidents of Foodborne Illness
Food doesn’t have to smell bad to be bad: Most bugs don’t change the appearance or change the taste of what you’re eating.
Herb Weisbaum of KOMO 1000 News reports that the microorganisms that spoil food are different from the bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause food poisoning.
“Most of these bugs don’t change the appearance or change the taste of what you’re eating,” says the Wellness Letter’s Dr. John Swartzberg.
Here’s something else a lot of people don’t know: Sometimes food poisoning happens very quickly – within a few hours – sometimes it takes a lot longer. So it may not be the last thing you ate that’s making you sick.Continue Reading Food doesn’t have to smell bad to be bad: Most bugs don’t change the appearance or change the taste of what you’re eating.
New food business law follows rash of sickness in Greenville
The Associated Press reports that a new law packing a $1,000 fine for anyone operating a for-profit food business without a license comes only weeks after a Stoneville caterer was granted a state permit soon after it served a luncheon in which dozens became ill.
The Clarion-Ledger, a Jackson newspaper, reported on the Greenville illnesses Monday as part of a series examining the Mississippi Department of Health. The newspaper said few people have heard about the outbreak of what agency officials think was Norwalk virus, an illness that causes diarrhea and vomiting and is spread through fecal to oral contact.Continue Reading New food business law follows rash of sickness in Greenville
Foodborne illness can be deadly
The Telegraph reports that you wouldn’t think it’s possible that three bites of a hamburger from a fast-food restaurant would be fatal or that ordering a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice could result in a miscarriage — but it has happened.
A 6-year-old California girl died several years ago when she ate a burger contaminated with E. coli bacteria. The orange juice made a Washington woman ill because it was not pasteurized.
Dining out is so commonplace — nearly one in two American adults eats out every day — and it’s an experience that often is taken for granted.Continue Reading Foodborne illness can be deadly
Prevent foodborne illnesses
The Cariboo Press reports that according to Health Canada, seniors are more vulnerable to foodborne illness.
As we age, our immune system tends to deteriorate. The immune system is one of the most important mechanisms for fighting disease and preserving health, so a decrease in the level of disease- fighting cells is a significant factor in the number of infections that may occur.
In addition, undergoing major surgery also affects the body’s ability to fight off infections. To counteract the effects of aging on the immune system, long-term regular exercise is important.Continue Reading Prevent foodborne illnesses
Food rules leave public at risk, warns medical officer
Brendan Wedley of the Peterborough Examiner (ON) reports that church suppers, service group dinners, strawberry socials and other community fundraising events would have been subject to stringent new regulations and inspections by public health inspectors.
Church suppers and other events have been exempt from Ontario’s food regulations.
Health Minister George Smitherman announced he will wait until at least the fall to regulate food sold at farmers’ markets and that the province will write regulations specifically for farmers’ markets.Continue Reading Food rules leave public at risk, warns medical officer
Let’s be frank about hot dogs
Suzanne Havala Hobbs of the News Observer reports that in the month of July alone – National Hot Dog Month – Americans can be counted on to eat more than 2 billion franks, according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.
Hot dogs are symbols of fun and summertime, and part of their appeal is that they’re so simple to buy, prepare and serve. They come precooked, so they take only minutes to grill or boil in a pan. Kids love them. You can hold a hot dog and bun in your hand, and there’s little to clean up afterwards.
There’s a lot to like about hot dogs.Continue Reading Let’s be frank about hot dogs
We can do better than government inspection of meat
E. C. Pasour, Jr. of The Foundation for Economic Education reports that last year’s news reports of tainted beef focused public attention on the safety of the meat supply. In August 1997, Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman forced Hudson Foods to recall 25 million pounds of hamburger meat produced at the firm’s state-of-the-art plant in Nebraska. The nation’s largest beef recall occurred after several Colorado consumers became sick from hamburgers linked to E. coli contamination.
Examples of illness rooted in unsafe meat are not isolated incidents. Bad or undercooked meat causes an estimated 4,000 deaths and 5 million illnesses annually, according to the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control.[1] Moreover, a single incident of contaminated meat has the potential to affect large numbers of people. In 1993, five hundred people became ill and four children died in the Pacific northwest as a result of eating tainted hamburgers.Continue Reading We can do better than government inspection of meat
Pregnancy and food no-nos
Julie Greene of the Herald Mail reports that there’s a long list of dos and don’ts for pregnant women. Consumer Reports recently recommending a new don’t – tuna of any kind.
Fish is an important source of protein that is low in saturated fat and high in nutrients such as omega 3 fatty acids. But some fish should be avoided by pregnant women due to their high mercury content, and other fish, with lower mercury levels, should be eaten in limited quantities.Continue Reading Pregnancy and food no-nos
Eating Out This Weekend? You Need to Read This
Steve Burger of 14 WFIE reports that there are about 950 retail food establishments in Vanderburgh County, with more being added almost weekly.
All that’s standing between you and the potential food borne illnesses possible at any of those restaurants, convenience stores and supermarket delis are three inspectors and one supervisor in the Food Section of the Vanderburgh County Health Department’s Environmental Division.
The workload for each of those inspectors is approximately one third higher than federal recommendations.
Some viruses that can cause food borne illness are so contagious that as few as ten particles can spread the disease.Continue Reading Eating Out This Weekend? You Need to Read This