A break from listeria: Don’t clean up barf and then head straight into the kitchen

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This week’s food safety infosheet focuses on a norovirus outbreak linked to a North Carolina BBQ restaurant in Lexington, NC.  Health authorities have been reported as saying that they believe a food handler, who was not displaying symptoms of a norovirus infection, brought the virus into the kitchen after caring for a family member who was ill. 

Message is: If you are looking after someone who has diarrhea or has been vomiting, it’s really important to not introduce the pathogen into a food preparation or handling setting.  Wash your hands and make sure there aren’t any virus aerosols on your clothes (that happens when you vomit with noro; maybe change them before you head into the kitchen).

You can download the infosheet here.

This entry was posted in Food Safety Policy, Norovirus and tagged , by Ben Chapman. Bookmark the permalink.

About Ben Chapman

Dr. Ben Chapman is a professor and food safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University. As a teenager, a Saturday afternoon viewing of the classic cable movie, Outbreak, sparked his interest in pathogens and public health. With the goal of less foodborne illness, his group designs, implements, and evaluates food safety strategies, messages, and media from farm-to-fork. Through reality-based research, Chapman investigates behaviors and creates interventions aimed at amateur and professional food handlers, managers, and organizational decision-makers; the gate keepers of safe food. Ben co-hosts a biweekly podcast called Food Safety Talk and tries to further engage folks online through Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and, maybe not surprisingly, Pinterest. Follow on Twitter @benjaminchapman.