It’s almost Norovirus season!

Norovirus is the number one pathogen that causes foodborne illness in this country!  It is responsible for an estimated 20 million cases of each year.

Statistically more cases occur during the months of November – April.  No one really knows why other than possibly because we experience closer contact during the colder months.  But the facts are the facts and you should want to protect yourself, your customers and your family from getting sick.

Norovirus is often called the “stomach flu” but it is a virus.   You only need to consume a small number of cells to make you sick.  About 10-12 cells is all it takes.

Where does it come from? Human fecal matter.  That is right.  When you become sick from Norovirus you most likely consumed someone’s poop.  There is a possibility if you were near someone vomiting or cleaned up vomit or diarrhea you could have breathed it in.

Did you know that in retail food service facilities only about 30% of food handlers wash hands properly?  WHAT!

To make matters worse, Norovirus can survive on surfaces for up to 2 weeks and become a source of cross contamination.  When someone is sick with Norovirus and they feel better, it can still be in their fecal matter for as much as 2 weeks.   We are not talking about stuff you can see.  These are microscopic cells that cluster together.  When we consume it, we will most likely get sick!

What can you do to protect yourself and the food you serve?

  • Do not eat anything that was touched by unwashed hands and do not touch surfaces and put your hand in your mouth or other objects like pens.
  • Wash hands using soap, vigorously scrub all areas of the hands and exposed portion of the arm, rinse soap off and dry hands using a single use paper towel or air dryer. Use a paper towel to turn water off so you do not recontaminate hands.
  • Do not ever work when you have any diarrhea or vomiting.
  • Wash hands whenever they could have become contaminated. Like touching money, door handles, chairs, phones, before and after you touch a raw protein, after using the restroom and after entering the kitchen.
  • Do not touch ready to eat food like breads or ice without proper handwashing.
  • If someone in your home is sick, do not allow them in the kitchen. Throw out any food they may have touched. I know of a case where someone was eating out of a box of crackers, was later diagnosed with Norovirus and then a week after the person was better someone ate some of the crackers from the box and they became ill with Norovirus.  The contaminated cracker was the most likely source of the contamination.
  • Make sure you provide paper towels in the bathroom, even at home.
  • Clean and sanitize.
    • In your home, the CDC recommends “After you vomit or have diarrhea, immediately clean up the entire area using a bleach-based household cleaner as directed on the product label. If no such cleaning product is available, you can use a solution made with 5 tablespoons to 1.5 cups of household bleach per 1 gallon of water.” As a reminder if using on a food contact surface clean with detergent after the solution has dried.   The high concentration of chlorine can be toxic if consumed.
    • When cleaning and sanitizing surfaces in a retail food service facility you may want to use a disinfectant, however, remember if it is a food contact surface you must clean, rinse and sanitize before using them.

No one is immune from Norovirus, it can cause illness and even death.  Washing hands is the most important thing you can do to protect the food you and others consume.

As always, if you have a question, just ask!

Be food safe,

Sue Farace, CP-FS

Why do some restaurants succeed while most struggle ?

There are many factors that lead to the success of a restaurant.  You have heard the saying; location, location, location, but if the food is inconsistent and service subpar it will be hard to have long term success even in the best location.  You must have a combination of a good physical location that matches the food you are serving, an inviting and clean interior, consistent food quality, great customer service, a good marketing strategy that matches your brand and the funding to start and operate your new venture.

Often very hard working, ambitious people fail because they only focus on one or two aspects of what will create success.    One of the very first and most important tasks you need to tackle is your menu.  You may fine tune it as the process moves forward but you should have a good idea of what you type of foods you will be serving and the price point for each.  You must write a mission statement describing what your brand is about.  This should be two or three sentences.  If a friend asked what type of restaurant you are opening, this is what you would say.  Here is an example;

XYZ is a sit-down casual dining eatery that specializes in high quality made in house charcuterie, cheese and wine locally acquired and imported from around the world and artesian breads made in house fresh daily.  Sandwiches, soups and boards served in an artesian style of table service.  There is a small market area where customers can buy the offerings to take home.

I have a clear vision of what this facility will look like and what type of area it should be located.  It would be perfectly located in a walking area of a town, possibly where tourists frequent or near a theatrical venue.  At this time, we also should think about the equipment we would need to produce the menu items.  This is critical before signing a lease.  You must have the space to fit the equipment necessary and provide a kitchen that can prevent cross contamination.   One last thing before signing lease, make sure you have sufficient funding to build out the facility and operating capital to get started.

When the location is secure, you will need to contact an architect and plan out the facility layout.  You will need to submit drawings, the menu and in Maryland a HACCP plan to the local planning department.   There is much involved here and beyond the scope of this article, but we can help you wade through all the requirements.

When the plans are approved and construction is underway, you will have a lot of decisions to make.  From selecting finishes that match your branding, hiring upper management, securing contracts with food suppliers, pest management, refuse management, POS and credit processing, janitorial supplies, and the list goes on.

Before the facility opens the doors there is much to do.  Training the staff is critical. Not only should there be a certified manager on duty, you must train each and every team member.  Training should be job specific and ongoing.  When the facility is open, the person in charge (PIC) must be active and making sure that everyone is following procedures.

Finally, social media is an important aspect of any food service business.  Prospective customers will check customer review services like Yelp, Facebook and Google.   Any complaints must be addressed in a professional way.  Advertising should match your brand and be varied.  Some common mistakes are posting “stock” photos of food, incorrect information, getting into online arguments with customers and not addressing customer questions online.  The person handling your marketing can be a qualified in-house person or by hiring a marketing consultant.    The key is to be consistent with the brand established.

If you are thinking of starting a food facility, congratulations, it will be one of the most exciting times in your life.  We are here to offer our professional advice and walk through the process with you.  We have experience from conception through continuing operations.   We work with contractors and planning, menu planning, writing your HACCP plan, creating your food safety plan and training.  Do not hesitate to contact us at 410-687-1015.

 

About us;  Sue Farace, CP-FS has been in food service since 1997, before that she worked in the construction industry for 13 years.  She has owned several restaurants.  She provides training, HACCP plans and consulting and inspection services for over 10 years in Baltimore Metro Area.

Disclaimer: The information provided is intended to provide basic information that can increase your chance of being successful and does not guarantee success. Opening a restaurant is a risky venture. 

 

Employee Illness in retail food facilities

Why is it important to have a written policy and effective training for employee illness?

The cost of an outbreak is reported to be between $6,330 and $2.6 million dollars depending on type of retail facility and the severity of the illness. 3 An outbreak is classified as 2 or more people.  However, most illnesses related to foodborne illness go unreported and facilities are never implicated.  The thought of “We will most likely not be caught” should not be your policy on preventing foodborne illness.

 64% of outbreaks are from retail restaurants, 48% of those are from sit-down type facilities.1   58% of outbreaks 2 are from at least one employee being ill.  Only 47% of facilities implicated in outbreaks had a written policy on employee illness.

A study4 conducted that interviewed 491 workers from 391 randomly selected restaurants revealed some very important information about employee and management behaviors as it relates to employee illness.   59% of the employees surveyed reported working a shift while ill.  Out of those 59%, 63% of managers were aware of the illness!  81% of the time it was the employee that notified the manager, yet the employee was still allowed to work.  The reasons for continuing to work was;

  • 43% No paid sick leave or sick leave policy
  • 32% Understaffed or no one to cover shift
  • 30% Symptoms did not feel bad or not contagious and
  • 30% Felt obligated or strong work ethic.

Some indicated more than one reason.   This indicates that employees, not managers, were making decisions about when to work.  To make matter worse, of the ill employees that continued to work less than one third washed hands more frequently.

An FDA study published in 2004 found food establishments were frequently out of compliance with the Food Code requirements for proper and adequate handwashing. In the study, the percent of food establishments observed to be out of compliance with handwashing requirements ranged from 34% in hospitals and a whopping 73% in full-service establishments.

In my experience providing third party inspections, when I observed improper handwashing and explained the proper process, many had little to no understanding of how and when they should wash hands or they stated they didn’t have time.

This creates a perfect storm for transferring pathogens from hands of an ill employee to the surface of food.

What illnesses and medical conditions should management and employees be aware of?

There are certain illnesses, exposure to certain illnesses, or even infections that employees must report to management or the Person in Charge (PIC). The PIC must know what the next action should be.  This could be restricting the employee from working around exposed food, excluding the employee from facility and possibly reporting the diagnosis, illness or exposure to the authorities.   There are certain pathogens that employees must be made aware of.  These are called the Big 6.  They are;

  • Norovirus,
  • Hepatitis A virus,
  • Shigella spp.,
  • Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli,
  • Typhoid fever (caused by Salmonella Typhi) or
  • Salmonella (nontyphoidal).

Employees also should be made aware that they need to report excessive sneezing, coughing, general nasal discharge, skin cuts, lesions or infections and a sore throat with a fever. Vomiting and or Diarrhea, regardless of frequency.  Jaundice that is less than 7 days old must be reported as well.  Management and Employees should also understand the risks associated with Staphylococcus Aureus.

The person in charge should be most concerned with the following symptoms of foodborne illness;

  • Vomiting
  • Diarrhea
  • Jaundice (yellow skin or eyes)
  • Sore throat with fever
  • Infected cuts and burns with pus on hands and wrists

How are pathogens transferred to food and surfaces?

Transmission can happen in a variety of ways.  Hand to food contact, Hand to surface to food, surface to hand to food.   Water and oils in fecal matter can assist in the transfer of pathogens found in the feces.

How can the PIC prevent the spread of illness causing pathogens from ill employees?

  • Provide employee illness training to all staff members.
  • Be observant and inquire if employees appear to be ill.
  • Management must be informed of the specific circumstances that must be reported and when employees should be restricted from working around exposed food and when they should be excluded from facility.Details are available in the FDA food code subpart 2-201.11-13.
  • PIC must provide on-going and job specific training to all staff. Training should include;How easily pathogens like Norovirus can be transmitted, proper handwashing, proper glove use, and a reminder of all illnesses that must be reported.
  • Food handlers should be trained to not use bare hands to touch Ready to Eat (RTE) foods.
  • Provide a culture where reporting illness and missing shifts does not threaten employee hours or job security.
  • Create a culture of good hand care and reward staff for good practices.
  • Provide adequate supplies for proper hand care and tools for touching RTE foods.

Employee responsibilities and preventions

  • Reporting illnesses as required
  • Always, wash hands when required and using proper methods.
  • Report workers that are not reporting illness to PIC or are not properly washing hands.

It is important that the PIC be knowledgeable about employee illness, reporting, exclusion, and restricting of employees.  This is discussed briefly in the Food Manager Protection training (ServSafe).  Trained staff members must make sure the all staff are trained in employee illness as well.  If you would like assistance creating an employee illness training for your staff, please contact us.  We can provide decision trees, employee agreement forms and other training tools.

 

  1. https://www.cdc.gov/fdoss/pdf/2017_FoodBorneOutbreaks_508.pdf
  2. NORS and NEARS system, CDC
  3. https://www.qsrmagazine.com/outside-insights/tremendous-cost-foodborne-illnesses-and-what-do-about-it
  4. Carpenter, L. R., A. L. Green, D. M. Norton, R. Frick, M. TobinD’Angelo, D. W. Reimann, H. Blade, D.C. Nicholas, J. S. Egan, K. Everstine, L. G. Brown and B. Le. 2013 Food worker experience with and beliefs about working while ill. J. Food Prot. 76:2146-2154.