The spotlights and microscopes are on Chipotle’s response to outbreaks of E. coli, salmonella and norovirus that continue to make national headlines. Early outbreaks led to the closing of affected stores, cleaning and employee training, and reopening. Continuing outbreaks have led to the company’s stock falling from highs over $700 per share to $400 over a three month period.
When The New York Times headline reads U.S. Makes Final Array of Rules on Food Safety, readers pay attention. And when Fox News promotes the same topic in its piece FDA issues final rules on produce safety, imported foods, readers expect they won’t be reading about Salmonella outbreaks linked to imported cucumbers such as the multi-state warning issued by the FDA.
Food service businesses are expected to improve the safety of food eaten by consumers with the introduction of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have released final rules addressing several food safety issues over the past few months, with a few of the outstanding rules being released in 2016. The question many businesses ask themselves is: “Do they apply to me?”
Barbecue smoking is an everyday warm-weather activity and is increasing in popularity at home and in restaurants. In restaurants, it can be a year-round activity. Temperature monitoring is essential no matter what the occasion or how exactly you are preparing to smoke. A great resource is the USDA’s guide for safe temperatures for cooking meat. The complexity of cooking different meats is vast and following...
What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger is no longer an attitude most can afford.
FSMA, the Food Safety Modernization Act is here. Signed into law in 2011, final and proposed rules are in place. The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) website has a convenient chart describing the timing of proposed and final rules.
Restaurants are fast paced and hectic on a normal day, but add a power outage into the mix and it can cause a lot of problems. It can be a challenge to keep up with the practices of food safety while in the middle of a power outage due to the amount of equipment that relies on electricity. A good way to focus on keeping up with the food safety protocols is to focus on the one main goal: making sure the frozen and...
