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The Pathogen Stops Here

By Carrie Landry and Terry Oh

Food safety is a shared responsibility between farmers, food processors, the food service industry, consumers and regulatory agencies. As authorities in the food service industry, chefs are in a unique position to contribute to the safety of foods served to their patrons. By adopting a strong food safety culture in their kitchens, chefs can help to reduce cases of foodborne illness without significantly changing their regular culinary processes.

Food can become contaminated with a variety of disease-causing foodborne micro-organisms called pathogens, including toxic E.coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria. These pathogens, if consumed, can cause serious foodborne illness, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. Children, the elderly, those with impaired immune systems and pregnant women are at risk of experiencing more serious complications, such as kidney failure, heart damage, arthritis and potentially death. Typically, pathogens multiply quickly in foods held in the danger zone – temperatures between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C (140°F). Foods such as meat, dairy and eggs cause many cases of foodborne illness; however, cases linked to fruits and vegetables are increasing, especially if they are improperly handled.

Basic food safety regulatory guidance is available to chefs in the Food Safety Act and the Food Premises Regulation under the Public Health Act. In particular, the Food Premises Regulation includes information on protecting foods from contamination, including proper processing, storage, employee hygiene, and equipment and utensil sanitation.

The regulation stipulates that operators of food service establishments must have a written food safety plan that identifies the steps taken when preparing menu items and ways to control potential sources of contamination. In addition, the regulation states that every operator of a food service establishment and at least one employee [i.e., when the operator is absent] must hold a FOODSAFE certificate or equivalent. The FOODSAFE program is recognized throughout B.C. and across Canada as meeting the requirements for food safety training for food service industry workers.

Chefs can promote a strong food safety culture in their kitchens by ensuring foods are not cross-contaminated. For example, chefs can reduce cases of foodborne illness by ensuring contact surfaces [e.g., cutting boards, utensils, plates] dedicated to high risk foods, like meat or ready-to-eat foods, are kept separate from contact surfaces used for fruits and vegetables. In addition, high and low risk foods should be stored in separate areas. For example, raw meat, poultry and seafood should be stored on the bottom shelf of coolers to ensure their juices do not drip into and contaminate other foods

To aid the food service industry, the BC Centre for Disease Control has developed a number of guidelines, including instructions for Ensuring food Safety – Writing Your Own Food Safety Plan – The HACCP Way (available on their website at www.bccdc.ca). This guideline offers practical advice on how to avoid the top five improper food-handling practices that cause more than 80 per cent of all foodborne illnesses, which are summarized below.

1. Improper Cooling [30%]: Some pathogens form heat resistant spores that can survive cooking temperatures. When the food begins cooling down and enters the danger zone, the spores begin multiplying. To lower the risk, food must be cooled from 60°C (140°F) to 20°C (70°F) in 2 hours or less, AND then from 20°C (70°F) to 4°C (40°F) in 4 hours or less. Large cuts of meat, whole poultry and large pots (4 litres or more) of soup, stews, gravy, etc. can be difficult to cool to 4°C (40°F) quickly. These should be divided into smaller portions to cool them quickly.

2. Advance Preparation [17%]: Pathogens can continue to multiply slowly in pre-cooked foods that are prepared well in advance of serving, even when the foods are kept refrigerated. Given enough time, pathogens can eventually reach numbers where they can make people sick.

3. Infected Person [13%]: Some pathogens, even at low numbers, can make people sick when transferred from an infected food handler [e.g., through sickness or unwashed hands] to foods. Ready-to-eat foods [e.g., smoked salmon, fruits/vegetables and cheese] are particularly dangerous as they are served without a cook step to kill the pathogens.

4. Inadequate Reheating for Hot Holding [11%]: Foods that travel through the danger zone twice or more, such as when they are repeatedly cooled, stored and reheated, must be rapidly reheated to 74°C (165°F) for at least 15 seconds before being placed in a hot hold unit to kill pathogens that may have multiplied during the "cool down" period.

5. Improper Hot Holding [9%]: Foods in hot hold units must be kept at 60°C (140°F) or hotter; otherwise, the hot hold unit will become a "Super" danger zone – temperatures between 20°C (70°F) and 49°C (120°F) at which pathogens multiply very quickly.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of reputation.

Carrie Landry, MBA is a food protection and policy specialist employed with the BC Ministry of Health, Health Protection Branch of the Population and Public Health Division. Terry Oh is a policy analyst employed with the BC Ministry of Health, Health Protection Branch of the Population and Public Health Division.