Tag Archives: safe food handling

World Food Safety Day 2023

Celebrating World Food Safety Day

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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World Food Safety Day 2023

Wednesday, June 7 is World Food Safety Day. The annual event was established in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness and inspire action to help prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks.

This year’s theme is “Food Standards Save Lives,” which highlights the role of established food safety practices and standards to ensure food safety and quality.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on countries, companies, and educational institutions to further adoption of safe food practices. Following are this year’s calls to action:

Policy makers

Make safe food an easy choice by shaping public support for programs, such as food aid, school feeding and other publicly owned food outlets.

Focus on establishing a robust national food safety system and ensure it complies with food safety standards.

Encourage and engage in multisectoral collaboration at the local, national, regional, and global levels.

Food businesses

Engage employees, suppliers and other stakeholders to grow and develop a food safety culture.

Comply with national and international food standards.

Educational institutions and workplaces

Promote safe food handling.

Engage with families and involve them in food safety activities.

Support food safety education.

 

How Safe is Consumer Handling of Raw Poultry Products at Home?

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Between 1998 and 2008, 20 percent of Salmonella and 16 percent of Campylobacter foodborne disease outbreaks were associated with food prepared inside the home.

Salmonella and Campylobacter cause an estimated combined total of 1.8 million foodborne infections each year in the United States. Most cases of salmonellosis and campylobacteriosis are associated with eating raw or undercooked poultry or with cross-contamination.

Between 1998 and 2008, 20 percent of Salmonella and 16 percent of Campylobacter foodborne disease outbreaks were associated with food prepared inside the home.

A nationally representative Web survey of 1,504 U.S. adult grocery shoppers was conducted to estimate the percentage of consumers who follow recommended food safety practices when handling raw poultry at home.

The survey results identified areas of low adherence to current recommended food safety practices: Not washing raw poultry before cooking, proper refrigerator storage of raw poultry, use of a food thermometer to determine doneness, and proper thawing of raw poultry in cold water.

Nearly 70 percent of consumers reported washing or rinsing raw poultry before cooking it, a potentially unsafe practice because “splashing” of contaminated water may lead to the transfer of pathogens to other foods and other kitchen surfaces.

Only 17.5 percent of consumers reported correctly storing raw poultry in the refrigerator. Sixty-two percent of consumers own a food thermometer, and of these, 26 percent or fewer reported using one to check the internal temperature of smaller cuts of poultry and ground poultry. Only 11% of consumers who thaw raw poultry in cold water reported doing so correctly.

The study results, coupled with other research findings, will inform the development of science-based consumer education materials that can help reduce foodborne illness from Salmonella and Campylobacter.

Journal of Food Protection, Number 1, January 2015, pp. 4-234, pp. 180-186(7) Kosa, Katherine M.; Cates, Sheryl C.; Bradley, Samantha; Chambers IV, Edgar; Godwin, Sandria. 

NYC Food Vendors Don’t Change Gloves Enough

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A recent study noted that 57 percent of 1,804 customer transactions observed did not involve the vendor changing gloves in between handling money and the next person’s order.

The majority of New York City mobile food vendors don’t change their gloves after exchanging money and before serving the next customer, as required by law, a new study has found.

Researchers from William Paterson University in New Jersey studied 10 food carts within 10 densely populated areas of Manhattan, a total of 100 carts. They found that 57 percent of 1,804 customer transactions observed did not involve the vendor changing gloves in between handling money and the next person’s order.

Study author Corey Basch describes the results as “eye-opening from a public health perspective” because of foodborne illness risk. “Being observant to the glove-changing behaviors of the vendors as well as overall hygiene is prudent and can reveal a great deal in a short time,” she said.

The New York City Health Code 81.13 requires that food vendors change gloves “after handling raw foods, performing tasks that do not involve food preparation or processing, handling garbage, or any other work where the gloves may have become soiled or contaminated.”