Foodborne illness: those words can strike fear into food service companies everywhere. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, estimate that foodborne diseases cause approximately 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the United States each year.
The costs of foodborne illness can be dramatic. According to the CDC, there are more than 200 known diseases that are transmitted through food. The symptoms of foodborne illness range from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening neurologic, hepatic and renal syndromes.
It has been estimated that the cost of medical care and lost productivity due to acute disease in the U.S. is estimated between $5 billion and $7 billion. This does not include other factors such as the cost of respiratory symptoms or chronic disease, death, or industry costs such as lost business, product recalls, destruction on contaminated goods, and litigation. In an article in Food Safety, John Farquharson, president of the International Food Safety Council, warned food service professionals of the dangers, noting, "just one incidence of foodborne illness can put a company out of business, so they had better take it seriously and be committed to educating employees."
The Concessions Industry
These are sobering statistics, and ones that cannot be ignored. The concessions industry is not immune to food safety issues and concerns. All the equipment and supplies behind the concessions counter —food and bun warmers, hotdog makers, corn poppers, fryers, sinks, floor mats, grills, pizza ovens, food prep tables, utensils, soda/beverage machines, beer taps, reach-in and walk-in refrigerators and freezers, microwave ovens, plastic gloves, display cases and more — need to be used and maintained sanitarily to eliminate outbreaks and costly problems.
In addition, the increase in menu size and the forays into catering and group sales has made food safety even more vital for the concessions industry. More preparation, handling and transportation means more opportunities for bacteria. Operators of periodic or seasonal venues also need to be particularly diligent about the shelf life of the food being used.
Practices & Procedures
From proper hand-washing procedures and the use of plastic gloves to food prep, cooking, holding, receiving and storage, personal hygiene, pest control, cross contamination, chemical cleansers, and machine maintenance, the gauntlet of potential dangers employees need to be taught can be downright daunting. Proper training from the start can help make the continuing education of food safety less intimidating.
Poor food safety practices can carry with them dire consequences not just for customers, but for the operator as well. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), foodservice operators are obligated to serve "wholesome" food by exercising "reasonable care in food handling." An operator can be held liable for breaking an "implied promise" to serve food "fit for consumption."
The first and most important step in ensuring good food safety and sanitation practices in concessions is to provide solid and ongoing training and education for workers. Proven, widely used sanitation programs like those offered by the NRA, American Hotel & Motel Association (AHMA) or International Food Safety Council are the best bets. Your local health department also has resources available to you. "Every concession manager should take a food safety/sanitation course and become certified," advises NAC Director of Education Shelley Feldman. "He or she should then teach the concessions staff and send them to basic food safety courses."
That said, here’s a brief review of many of the areas that training must cover in depth:
Food: Purchase it only from approved, licensed purveyors. Many foodservice operators check processing plants and transportation procedures to ensure wholesome food.
Receiving: Check delivery trucks to see temperatures have been maintained. Check labels for dates. Reject torn or opened packages and bent or rusted cans. Learn to recognize the signs of pest infestation, spoilage and temperature violation. Use standard or infrared thermometers to check product temperatures. Reject foods that don’t meet the proper criteria. Store foods quickly in proper storage areas in order to minimize the time the food spends in the danger zone (41 degrees F to 140 degrees F). Make sure storage areas are clean and holding temperatures. Remembering to rotate stock.
Food Handling: Make sure food-handling employees maintain the highest levels of personal hygiene. Send employees with runny noses, diarrhea, or poor hygienic practices home. Discuss the importance of personal hygiene during staff meetings. Don’t be afraid to ask personal questions relating to hygiene. Check uniforms, shoes, hair and nails. Ban all hanging jewelry and rings.
Handwashing: Have employees wash hands after touching unclean objects, handling raw food, touching potentially unclean parts of their bodies, sneezing or coughing, eating or drinking, cleaning, taking out garbage, or smoking. Post signs in rest rooms reminding them to wash their hands thoroughly. Select a soap that lathers well. Wash water should be warm but not to hot to use for at least 60 seconds. Let water run while reaching for paper towels, and use them to turn the water off and turn the doorknob to go out. New technologies are now available to help employees wash thoroughly and even record the process.
Gloves: Use them in concert with proper handwashing procedures, but never in place of them. The standard recommendation is that gloves be changed no less frequently than ever four hours or as needed (moving from raw to finished product, touching objects like refrigerator doors and equipment). Hands should be washed before putting on a new pair. Be alert to the danger of latex allergies, which have become more prevalent. They can cause employees or even customers to itch, have trouble breathing or go into shock.
Cutting boards: Traditional wooden cutting boards are a breeding ground for bacteria; newer plastic boards are far better. Color-coded boards for different types of foods help prevent cross contamination. When cleaning, soak boards in bleach, and toss badly nicked ones out.
Safety: A major part of sanitation is making sure employees can work safely. A strong emphasis should be placed on training designed to avoid burns, cuts, slips, falls and lifting injuries. Posters, instruction booklets, videos, and of course verbal reminders should all play a role.
Slippery floors account for the lion’s share of accidents. Proper non-slip matting and footwear help solve that problem. Spills should be cleaned immediately, and Wet Floor signs or cones used. Employees should be taught not to try to catch falling knives, or to pass them to other employees not handle first, but by placing them down on tables. Cutting boards should be anchored by wet towels underneath. Heavy-duty Kevlar gloves should be used when slicing meats or cheeses. Appliances should always be unplugged before cleaning.
Cleaning: The least favorite part of the job, it is among the most important. Mops should never be left in filled buckets or on the floor; instead, they should be washed, rinsed and sanitized at shift’s end and stored mop-side up. Employees should sweep and mop under cabinets daily.
Failure to do so invites pests. Soda machines - trays, valve heads and plastic guards - should be wiped and sanitized. Popcorn machines and hotdog rollers must be raised and cleaned underneath to get grease and food particles. Store rooms must also be cleaned regularly, and empty boxes stacked. Where coffee is served, condiments like lemons and liquid cleaners should be changed frequently, and containers washed. Display cases and condiment squeeze bottles should be wiped down regularly.
Working With Chemicals: A Material Safety Data Sheet for each chemical product (acids, caustics, irritants) on premise should be readily available to employees. Among other things, they identify the cleaning agent’s name, hazardous components, reactivity date, procedures in case of leaks or spills, information on health hazards posed, first aid procedures in case of injury, and protective measures. Cleaners should naturally be stored away from food prep areas, and carry a label. When placed into new containers, new labels should be drawn up and attached. Warn employees against mixing chemical components and to always follow labels’ instructions.
Food Storage: The first in, first out method should be used at all times. Dry storage areas must be kept cool and ventilated. Food items should be placed on shelves at least six inches above the ground, never on the floor, and if possible in original packages. Refrigerators and freezers should have attached thermometers, which should be checked often. Avoid overloading refrigerators. Self-closing doors are preferred.
Separate cooked and raw products to avoid cross contamination, and always place finished foods, such as salads, above raw ones to avoid contamination through dripping. Food should never be left uncovered. Labels should show all use-by dates. Shelving that allows air to flow through it is preferred, and metal shelves transmit cold better than plastic. If separate storage units are not available, items that need to be kept at different temperatures, such as dairy, fish and meat, and should be stored in the coldest area. Thermometers should be calibrated regularly.
Garbage: Trash containers should be covered and well maintained at all times, and the areas around them policed frequently.