Friday, July 27, 2012

Survey Spotlights Public Perceptions of Food Safety


From the get-go food safety has been all about food handling and food preparation. But in case some didn’t get the memo, the International Food Information Council Foundation in 2006 endeavoured to track food-safety practices in the U.S. population amid growing food-safety incidents and outbreaks of foodborne illnesses.

Because proper food and food-product handling is essential in preventing foodborne illness outbreaks, many restaurant owners now require a food handler certification or a food safety certification as a hiring requisite. Unfortunately, weak links still remain in the human food-supply chain.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food contamination causes 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year in the United States. Yearly also, food contamination results in about a thousand foodborne disease outbreaks across America.


The landmark national study was initiated to understand how Americans view important food-safety, nutrition, and health-related topics. The overriding goal was to assemble good data to equip food-safety authorities to educate people on how to stay safe from foodborne illnesses such as E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella.

"Because only safe food can be nutritious food, this research is an important part of the applied research needed to ensure a wholesome food supply for the United States," said an article on the foundation's Food and Health Survey, 2006-2010, as quoted by foodsafetynews.com. The survey appears in the June 2012 issue of the peer-reviewed Food Protection Trends.

Among the unexpected findings of the study is the significant decline between 2006 and 1010 in the following key food-safety practices: hand washing, separating raw meat and poultry from ready-to-eat food products, washing cutting boards, cooking to required temperatures, properly storing leftovers, and following microwave cooking instructions. 

TABC Made Apps to Lessen Excessive, Underage Drinking


Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) is set to put a damper on traditional alcohol-fueled revelry on Texas beaches this spring break, but parents and the public in general aren’t complaining. The potential showstoppers (for college students, at least) are two apps being developed for the TABC: an app that will help alcohol-imbibing users to gauge their motor skills; and an app that will allow anyone to file a complaint with the TABC against an establishment suspected either of serving alcohol to a minor or of over-serving alcohol.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Bolstering Food Safety Effort, GMA Strengthens its Own Food-Safety Campaign

From the get-go food safety has been all about food handling and food preparation. But in case some didn’t get the memo, the International Food Information Council Foundation in 2006 endeavoured to track food-safety practices in the U.S. population amid growing food-safety incidents and outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.

Because proper food and food-product handling is essential in preventing food-borne illness outbreaks, many restaurant owners now require a ISO 22000 Certification as a hiring requisite. Unfortunately, weak links still remain in the human food-supply chain.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Safe Dining for Moms-to-Be; TABC Applies Brakes on Spring Break

Eating out means eating right. In the midst of food recalls and multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks, the injunction has never been truer—especially for pregnant moms, who must be particularly careful of what they eat because of their compromised immune systems.

That is not to say of course that moms should stop going to Taco Bell or KFC (most restaurants now require a food safety certification or a food handler certification as an employment requirement) and make do with home cooking all nine months.

New Fire Safety Standards and Assessments Released by ISO

Fires often cause severe injuries, deaths, and very costly extensive building damage. It is important that the circumstances that can lead to a fire be managed correctly and preemptively. Recognizing this need, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recently released of a new standard for fire prevention and mitigation.

The new ISO standard, ISO 16732-1 (Fire safety engineering – Fire risk assessment – Part 1: General), is intended for fire-safety practitioners to help them evaluate fire risks of all kinds and choose from existing technologies and strategies the most effective in preventing fire.

Monday, June 18, 2012

MDP Budget to be Cut and New Salmonella Research May End Food Safety Problems


The federation of State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) is up in arms over federal plans to cut the Agriculture Department's whole budget of $5 million for the Microbiological Data Program (MDG), effectively eliminating the nation’s largest produce testing program. According to PIRG, MDG is responsible for screening high-risk fresh produce for pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, conducting about 15,000 random tests a year.

Friday, June 1, 2012

Lawsuit Filed Against North Carolina Restaurant as Salmonella Outbreak Expands

A lawsuit has been filed against a Charlotte, North Carolina restaurant, Toast of Dilworth, which served Eggs Benedict that apparently sickened 10 customers with Salmonella enteritidis infection. The formal complaint was made by Seattle food-safety law firm Marler Clark on behalf of Bryan McWherter, a Charlotte resident.

Because food safety depends to a large degree on proper food handling, many restaurant owners today have made a ISOcampus 22000 Training or a food safety certification an employment requirement. Much needs to be done, however, judging from the current frequency of foodborne illnesses.

Monday, May 21, 2012

ISO 16817: Standard for Building Environment Design and Safety

Help is on the way for architects, interior designers, builders, and even regulators who are looking to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of users of interior spaces. It comes in the form of a new ISO standard for indoor visual environments.

According to the ISO, indoor visual comfort means not just comfortable, healthy lighting conditions for carrying out a task. The new ISO standard—ISO 16817:2012 (Building environment design – Indoor environment – Design process for visual environment) –supplies a framework for the parameters that will shape and determine the indoor environment.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

New Test Kit to Hasten Salmonella Detection


To comply with the strict Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines on food safety, the FDA Food Code, North Carolina is expected to replace a dog-eared set of regulations it introduced almost a generation ago, in 1976. For the restaurant owner and workers the new, more stringent code means, for example, that restaurant employees who are sick will not be allowed to work and cooks will not be allowed to touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

What to Eat When You’re Pregnant


Eating out means eating right. In the midst of food recalls and multi-state foodborne illness outbreaks, the injunction has never been truer—especially for pregnant moms, who must be particularly careful of what they eat because of their compromised immune systems.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Cleanliness Helps Prevent Foodborne Illness

With all the outbreaks that has been in the news before till now I would say let's make a change and do something. I'd like to share you guys a file that'll be really helpful in our day to day lives. You can also check out Food Safety Training to start the course.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Food Handlers, Food Safety, and the Restaurant Inspector


In his blog piece “Rapid City Journal (SD) does a decent job covering restaurant inspections,” writer Ben Chapman points out the importance of hiring the right staff with the right stuff to pass mandatory restaurant inspections. The right food safety training and the right food safety culture should be present, he says, to pass muster when the restaurant inspector comes calling.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Food Safety During The Cold Winter


The forecast this winter: Extreme cold weather ahead. The food-and-beverage industry has been duly served warning and rightly is prepping for the cold snap. Among the major concerns of restaurants and other food establishments are food safety handling storage, food safety management, and food safety processing.

Of particular worry this winter is outage. The Centers for Diseases and Control recommends the following guidelines if the power is out for over two hours:
  • Be aware that a half-full freezer will hold food safely for up to 24 hours, a full freezer will hold food safely for 48 hours. To conserve the cold in the freezer, refrain from opening the freezer door unnecessarily.
  • Nest in ice in a cooler consumables such as milk and other dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, gravy, and spoilable leftovers.
  • Check food temperature (using a food thermometer) before food is cooked or served. Throw away any food that has a temperature of more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Don’t serve anything from a can that has been dented or damaged because it could already contain harmful pathogens like Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism.
The role of food handlers in food safety is crucial, particularly in less-than-ideal conditions, such as during inclement weather. At ISOcampus.com, a full line of online training programs in ISO 22000 Training that addresses the important concerns of food safety handling storage, food safety management, and food safety processing.

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Two Sides of ISO 14001: How Effective EMS Are


ISO 14001: Are you not familiar with this yet? Well, there are a lot of things as to what an ISO 14001 is, why should it be implemented and used, how is a certain body certified for ISO 14001, etc. ISO 14001 training courses are actually a set of environmental standards that are set to be used for those businesses and industries having their operation connected to environmental protection and awareness.