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FOOD SAFETY DISASTERS

BY: ROCHELLY SERRANO

PREVENTING

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SPEAKERS

ROCHELLY SERRANOExecutive DirectorRSS Food Safety Consultants LLC

JEREMY MACDONALDChief Customer OfficerTempAlert

LE ZHANGFounder & CEOSquadle, Inc.

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QUESTION

What topic(s) are you most interested in learning more about?

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• Retail – Is Federal, State, Local and Tribal Dependent• Lack of uniformity through the Nation. New Food Code every 4 years

• Not all states have adopted (2013)• Dakota 1995

• Minnesota 1997

• Only seven states (2013)

• Delaware, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, S. Carolina, and Texas

• Benefits for adoption

• Promotes uniformity of standards

• Ensures most current SCIENCE!

• Provides effective controls

• Protects CONSUMERS SAFETY

• As an industry, we still haven’t learned our lesson!

WHY THIS TOPIC CONTINUES TO BE RELEVANT

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• Fast Food Restaurant – E. coli 0157:H7 (1982)• 2 outbreaks. 47 people sick in Oregon and

Michigan• CDC and USDA were aware that E. coli

transmission could happen though hamburgers• Restaurants associated with the outbreak,

immediately changed its cooking procedure

• Fast Food Restaurant – E. coli 0157:H7 (1993)• CDC didn’t list it as a reportable disease• Only 4 states tracked the pathogen• 750 children sick and 4 children dead in

Washington, Idaho, California and Nevada• March 11, 1992 Washington State Board of Health

adopted a new food service regulation (140ºF to 155ºF)

• Company stated that it lost approximately $160 million.

LESSONS FROM THE PAST• Manufacturing (2009)

• Over 4,000 products recalled• 700 people sick and 9 people dead after

consuming peanut butter products contaminated with Salmonella

• Kellogg’s reported loss of $65 million

• Manufacturing (2010)• Half a billion eggs recalled

• 2,000 people sick with Salmonella

• Manufacturing company agreed to pay $11.2 million

• Fruit Processor (2011)• 33 people dead after consuming Cantaloupes

contaminated with Listeria

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• Fast Food Restaurant – Mexican-style Food• Two separate foodborne outbreaks E. coli (STEC 026) with 55 people infected• Norovirus• Restaurant shares tumbled 47%• Improper food handling• Sick employees• CNN reported the chain lost $8 billion in value since stock peaked August 2016

MOST RECENT LESSON

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• 1 in 6 Americans WILL get sick from food poisoning this year. That is 48 million people. 125,000 hospitalized and 3,000 will die. “Most will recover however, there could be casualties”

• Why is that important to know?• It is not “if” it is “when”• Who said that there was no Return on

Investment (ROI) in food safety?

WHAT IS THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN?

• The consequences are many and costly!• Can cost an operation thousands of

dollars• May result in closure• Customers loose trust• More important than monetary costs are

the human costs• Lost work

• Illness

• Medical Cost

• Long-term disability

• Death

• Who will be next?

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• New Law 2011 FSMA

• “Local Regulators” – Follow Food Code

• Minimum Standards (Servsafe and Food Handlers Certification)

• More Advanced Programs (Retail SQF and HACCP)

FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

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• Did you know?• You might be subject to a mandatory HACCP plan if you are:

• Adding food additives or adding components such as vinegar as a method of food preservation (i.e. sushi rice)

• Using unpasteurized eggs (whole shell eggs) in highly susceptible populations

• Young, elderly, sick, and pregnant

• Reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) i.e. SousVide

• Custom processing animals

• Have a molluscan shellfish tank

• Smoking

• Curing

• Using time as a public health control

• Fresh squeeze juices

FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

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• Biological Hazards• Understanding what hazards you are dealing with is the first step • Better selection of suppliers and vendors• Understand the science behind food pathogens

• In Retail, pathogens are mostly controlled with:

• Time

• Temperature (freeze, cold hold and cooking)

• Cleaning and sanitizing

• Avoiding cross-contamination

BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Viruses Fungi

ParasitesBacteria

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• Buy chemicals from approved sources

• Ensure your chemicals are ”Food Grade”

• Follow manufacturer’s recommendations

• Have on file all Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

• Know your allergens • Peanuts, tree-nuts, dairy, fish, shellfish, eggs, soy, wheat

• Prevent cross-contact

CHEMICAL HAZARDS

Wheat

Fish

Shellfish

Tree Nuts

Dairy

Eggs

Peanuts

Soy

COMMON FOOD ALLERGIES

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• Supplier approval

• Include them in your product specifications

PHYSICAL HAZARDS

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• Do your homework• State and local regulations are intended to meet

only minimum requirements• Become your own food safety advocate• Incorporate food safety topics as part of your daily

conversations• Train, train, train, invest in your people

NOW WHAT?• Food Safety is not OPTIONAL

• Set the expectation

• Lead by example

• Hold people accountable

• Identify your areas of concern. Know your risks. • Conduct a Hazard Analysis

• Suppliers

• Internal practices

• Tools & equipment

• Employees

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• Be selective of your suppliers• Suppliers’ food safety practices must be a metric used to determine their viability just as much as price

• Invest time

• Get to know their capabilities

• Hold your suppliers accountable

• Be a Subject Matter Expert (SME)

• Validate supplier accreditations

SUPPLIERS

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• Establish effective Good Retail Practices (GRP)

• Conduct a GAP Analysis of your practices

• Target your weakest areas first

• Develop good handwashing practices• Monitor handwashing

• Explain “WHY”

INTERNAL PRACTICES• Request input from your employees

• Do not tolerate short-cuts

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• Provide adequate tools

• Ensure equipment is working as intended

• Properly train employees

• Have an effective preventive program

• Ensure tools and equipment are properly cleaned and sanitized • Have a master sanitation schedule. DON’T

NEGLECT ICE MACHINES!• Daily visual inspection is a must

TOOLS & EQUIPMENT• Provide effective chemicals that are

food grade or solicit the assistance of a chemical company

• Institute hazard prevention methods such as:• Thermometers, Thermocouples, Line

checks, Temperature monitoring devices, Intuitive Systems

• When possible, automate

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• Screen your employees

• Invest in their training

• Discuss food safety practices and establish metrics

• Monitor

• Create incentives, learn how to motivate your employees• We all are motivated in different ways

EMPLOYEES• Hold them accountable

• I know what you are thinking….. “I have no time for all that” My answer to you is...if you have no time to invest in your employees, then you better make time to be deal with a foodborne outbreak!

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• Once you have identified your hazards, the second part is controlling them• Automatic temperature collectors for:

• Walk-in

• Freezers

• Stand-alone refrigerators

• Receiving

• Cold chain/transportation

• Ovens

• Fryers

• Etc.

MAKE YOUR SYSTEMS AS FOOLPROOF AS POSSIBLE

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• Collecting all sorts of data is great but…

• Once you start collecting data/information• Have to do something with it• Don’t collect information for the sake of collecting information

• Could be a double-edge sword

• Be careful what to wish for

• Paralysis by data

• No longer responding to the emergencies

DATA

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• Retail has a habit of breaking down shipments and discarding cardboard boxes• Therefore loosing traceability of many items

• Incorporate a way of keeping that traceability

• Lot and batch numbers are important to know

• Perhaps suppliers can document it in the bill of lading

INVENTORY CONTROL

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• Growing herbs and produce

• Integration of additional global cuisine and practices

• New exotic produce, fruits, grains, fish, drinks, and spices• Not common to the US

• I.e. Koji-rice inoculated with koji mold

• Adding chlorophyll extract to yogurt

• Poke raw fish salad

• Ube-purple yam

• Fermented foods

• Exotic condiments

FOOD INDUSTRY TRENDS• Not aware of pathogens associated with

new items

• Greater procurement of organic as well as locally grown produce

• Increase use of non-pasteurized milks and cheeses

• Sausage manufacturing

• Know your RISKS!

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• Regulatory

• Academia

• Suppliers/Vendors

• Consultants

• Like Retail Facilities• Food Safety SHOULD not be considered a

competitive advantage• Once it affects one of us, it affects all of us

AVAILABLE RESOURCES• Conferences

• Commodity and Trade Associations

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• Need to create and encourage a food safety culture

• Create a system that works for you

• Create a mindset of prevention rather than reaction

• Be open to changes

• Don’t settle for “status quo”

• Maintain good records

• Once you know you can’t pretend you don’t know!

FINAL SUGGESTIONS

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Thank You

RSS FOOD SAFETY CONSULTANTSRochelly Serranorochelly.serrano@gmail.com(713) 614-5907

TEMPALERTJeremy Macdonaldjeremy@tempalert.com(866) 524-3540

SQUADLELe Zhangle@squadle.com(617) 870-4522