Confronting Food & Beverage Quality Failures with Analytical Chemistry

5/8/2014· Food & Beverage

Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread of Foodborne Disease. Part 7. Barriers To Reduce Contamination of Food by Workers

By: Dr. Ewen Todd

Contamination of food and individuals by food workers has been identified as an important contributing factor during foodborne illness investigations. Physical and chemical barriers to prevent microbial contamination of food are hurdles that block or reduce the transfer of pathogens to the food surface from the hands of a food worker, from other foods, or from the environment. In food service operations, direct contact of food by hands should be prevented by the use of barriers, especially when gloves are not worn. Although these barriers have been used for decades in food processing and food service operations, their effectiveness is sometimes questioned or their use may be ignored. Physical barriers include properly engineered building walls and doors to minimize the flow of outside particles and pests to food storage and food preparation areas; food shields to prevent aerosol contamination of displayed food by customers and workers; work clothing designated strictly for work (clothing worn outdoors can carry undesirable microorganisms, including pathogens from infected family members, into the work environment); and utensils such as spoons, tongs, and deli papers to prevent direct contact between hands and the food being prepared or served. Money and ready-to-eat foods should be handled as two separate operations, preferably by two workers.

8/23/2018· Food & Beverage

Due Diligence - Safety First: Beware What Dangers Lurk Behind Your Kitchen Door

By: Jeff Nelken

It's easy to slip into a false sense of security because you've covered the basics of food safety with your kitchen staff. However, there are many other hazards that impact your bottom line. For example, slip and fall accidents are at the top of the list of safety concerns. There are many other dangers that must be considered.

1/27/2014· Food & Beverage

Outbreaks Where Food Workers Have Been Implicated in the Spread of Foodborne Disease. Part 4. Infective Doses and Pathogen Carriage

By: Dr. Ewen Todd

In this article, the fourth in a series reviewing the role of food workers in foodborne outbreaks, background information on the presence of enteric pathogens in the community, the numbers of organisms required to initiate an infection, and the length of carriage are presented. Although workers have been implicated in outbreaks, they were not always aware of their infections, either because they were in the prodromic phase before symptoms began or because they were asymptomatic carriers.