A focus on non-food-contact surfaces High-touch surfaces are often an enemy of wellness. Colds, flu and norovirus are among the most common pathogens acquired by unsuspecting staff and their guests. These contaminated surfaces are a major driver in staff absenteeism as well as other negative outcomes from a casual touch and transfer. Recurring situations drive […]
The Incentivized Handwash
New technologies provide simple answers to age-old handwashing issues. The Pay: A performance-rewarding pay package is THE answer to solving the industry’s appalling handwashing compliance rates. New technologies provide measurement standards and serve as performance monitoring tools. Identify and implement a monthly incentive level worth working for. Here is a sample where an entry level […]
Designing Kitchens for Brand Protection
Reality beyond the Plan Review Consultants who design kitchens are increasingly searching for business-sustainable solutions that benefit their clients well beyond the Plan Review. This service is highly valued as costs to establish strong consumer brands are running high and taking years to establish. Outbreaks can kill a brand with a single incident. The evolution […]
Inadequate Handwashing Cited
Legal action underway Last summer’s Salmonella outbreak at Brent’s Deli in Westlake Village, California, sent 8 people to the hospital. The Ventura County Environmental Health Division conducted inspections at the restaurant, finding inadequate employee hand-washing along with other violations. Poor hand hygiene, poor handwashing, remains the #1 contributing factor cited in outbreak investigations. The risk […]
Don’t Let Perfection Be The Enemy Of Good: The Case for Frequency Over Thoroughness
The risk of a looming foodborne outbreak due to a missed hand wash or the cleaning of a high-touch surface will never be zero. That reality compromises many a food safety program as operators specify thorough cleaning with lofty label-claim products over frequent lighter duty cleaning of both hands and high-touch surfaces. For hand cleanliness, […]
Quality Assurance, Food Safety & Operations: Handwashing for Today and for 2020
An operator’s food safety risk is managed by a focused team of professionals with specific skills, objectives and measurements for success. Each works within a different time frame. The prep-line and wait staff are closest to the food and those served. Their skills and languages may differ but they share a primary objective – service. […]
A Perfect Stormy Virus Season
Norovirus, H3N2 Flu, Colds, Enterovirus 68 and Ebola … Norovirus rates are picking up in a variety of environments as the winter deepens, but this year, it shares the stage with H3N2 flu, Ebola and Enterovirus 68. These four, along with the common cold, are spread everywhere folks gather, calling for added away-from-home hand and […]
Handwash Methodology
Situations drive operator choices “Over here, Ray debones raw chicken. Later in the shift, he works at the counter.” Handwash protocols in foodservice are dictated by the situation. Situations are defined and grouped by the operator and training begins. This sequence hardly ever happens. Why? It credits the operator with caring, knowing the risks of […]
Boil-Water Advisory
Should it close restaurants and all foodservice? Mercer Island Washington announced a boil-water advisory and closed foodservice establishments. How do you close a nursing home? Are you going to close schools and hospitals? Why close restaurants and then advise households that: Dishwashers can be used if run with the sanitizing/heat cycle and commercial dishwashing detergent. […]
Outbreaks are Paved With Good Intentions
Our current work on electronic handwashing compliance in restaurants clearly documents the industry’s poor hand hygiene reality. It is encouraging to watch how monitoring and keeping score changes the game. It is the foundation for motivating behavior change and raising the bar for handwash frequency and food safety. New behaviors are formed but it takes […]
