Two multistate Listeria outbreaks highlight the need for enhanced vigilance in retail food environments. Following are steps to take now to reduce the risk of contaminated food in your facility.
Dr. Al Baroudi, vice president of Food Safety and Quality Assurance of The Cheesecake Factory, and Christina Serino, senior director for Quality Assurance and Food Safety at P.F. Chang’s, have been recognized by the National Restaurant Association as outstanding leaders in food safety.
The FDA and CDC have signed a memorandum of understanding designed to help increase the consistency and capacity of retail food protection programs across the country, promote a general culture of food safety and facilitate continued communication between the FDA and CDC to assist state, tribal, local, territorial (SLTL) and industry partners.
The FDA advises consumers and retailers to not eat, sell or serve recalled Brie and Camembert soft cheese products from Old Europe Cheese, Inc. The products have been linked to a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak at the company’s Benton Harbor, Michigan facility.
September 29 is the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. In this article we look at resources as well as key strategies to help food businesses identify and reduce areas of food loss and waste.
A new study highlights the most effective strategies for combating norovirus in retail food establishments.
The CDC, public health and regulatory officials in several states, the FDA and the USDA-FSIS are collecting data to identify the food source of the outbreak and confirm whether romaine lettuce is the source.
Hourly employee (crew, kitchen manager, service manager) turnover is around 194% in our industry. Tracking the training for all these employees as they come and go is virtually impossible unless you have a reliable system. Pencil and paper will not suffice.
“With so many competing interests pursuing the same financial resources, it is important that we determine where the training dollars are needed most. This survey will look at the intersection between curricula and needs in the retail food regulatory community to identify the gaps in the integrated food safety system.”
“Listeria monocytogenes is hardy. It tolerates salt, grows in cold environments and is moderately resistant to acids. It is also ubiquitous. We find it in soil, water, silage, manure and sewage. We bring it in on our shoes. We can carry it on our clothes, and it can become a persistent pathogen in our retail spaces.”
