Yearly Archives: 2015

Indian state makes food safety a priority, conducts raids

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As many as 1,766 food safety raids have been carried out across Kerala and nine shops have been closed for selling adulterated food articles during Onam season, Health Minister V S Sivakumar said. 

keralaThe drives were conducted as part of ‘Operation Ruchi,’ the state-wide food safety initiative launched by the Health Department to restrict the use of chemicals and other harmful ingredients in food articles. Sivakumar said the initiative was a big success during Onam season and raids would be continued in the coming days.

“A total of 1,766 raids have been carried out under the drive during Onam period. Raids are continuing at eateries, vegetable stalls and check posts,” he said here.  The minister said the government’s efforts to ensure the availability of unadulterated food articles, complying with the food safety standards, during the festival season met with success.

‘Systematic disgrace’: Directors convicted, fined $70K for unhygienic Chinese restaurant in Melbourne

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Four directors and their company have been convicted and fined a total of $70,000 for the unhygienic and unclean state last year of their Chinese restaurant in Kew that a magistrate has described as a “systematic disgrace.”

san.choiA Melbourne court heard that the manager of San Choi on Kew voluntarily shut the premises for two days after Boroondara council officers found multiple contraventions of the Food Act and Food Standards Code in two inspections.

Prosecutor Stephanie Bower told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday that a mandatory inspection of the premises in High Street on August 11 found accumulated dirt, food scraps and other “visible matter” on the kitchen floors, under wok equipment and food preparation benches.

Ms Bower said food – oysters, diced chicken, pork and dumplings – was not stored in a way to protect it from the likelihood of contamination.

She said oysters were stored in a cool room and underbench fridges in “uncovered and exposed plastic tubs and bowls”, diced chicken was uncovered in a plastic tub on a kitchen bench and pork was stored uncovered on trays on kitchen shelving.

Ms Bower told magistrate Carolene Gwynn also that dumplings were kept in a walk-in freezer on an uncovered metal tray while other food was “stored in an outdoor cage area amongst cleaning chemicals and other equipment”.

She detailed how food, including pork shoulders and diced chicken, was stored outside of temperature control and had been for at least two hours.

Defence barrister Belinda Franjic said her clients, who had no prior convictions, were hardworking friends of 20 years from a “blameless existence” who were “equally to blame for the state of the restaurant”. Ms Franjic said only one had had daily involvement in the restaurant, which has operated since 2006, and that the circumstances of the offences had caused them shame and humiliation.

NYC landmark soul food restaurant in Harlem shut down by health inspector

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DNAinfo reports that health inspectors shut down one of the neighborhood’s most popular soul food eateries Thursday after finding flies in the Manna’s Restaurant at Frederick Douglass Boulevard.

manna'sInspectors also found that cold food items were held above the required temperature, and food contact surface was not properly sanitized at the eatery at 2353 Frederick Douglass Blvd.,according to the Department of Health.

The restaurant remained closed Monday. 

A sign outside the restaurant read, “Sorry but we will be closed … until Tuesday.” An “A” rating was still posted on the window.

Jeni’s ice cream back after Listeria positives, changes

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Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams LLC is reopening its production kitchen, but it no longer will be making its ice cream.

jenis-ice-creamThe Columbus-based ice cream maker’s facility at 909 Michigan Ave. will now be used to handle and prepare ingredients, but final production of its products will continue to be done by Orrville-based Smith Dairy, which has been making the company’s ice cream since the production kitchen closed for a second time back in June.

The company declined to answer questions about its new production process at this time.

(Note to self: building trust requires transparency).

Ingredients from farms will be processed in a kitchen separate from the production facility. Produce will not move into the production kitchen until it has been cleaned, peeled, shucked or hulled in that first kitchen.

The production kitchen will still prepare certain ingredients because it has the specialized equipment to do so.

Ingredients then will be transported to Smith Diary, which supplies Jeni’s with its grass-grazed milk and cream, and will be mixed with dairy and frozen into ice cream there.

Every batch will be tested for listeria and other bacteria before going to the public.

The company will continue to handle all of its own research and development and ingredient sourcing, as it was doing prior to the shutdowns.

US school lunches safe

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The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases boneless and ground beef for distribution to recipients through federal nutrition assistance programs, including the National School Lunch Program, which represents 93% of the overall volume.

lunchlady.simpsonsApproximately every 2,000 lb (ca. 907 kg) of boneless beef and 10,000 lb (ca. 4,535 kg) of ground beef are designated a “lot” and tested for Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella, standard plate count organisms (SPCs), E. coli, and coliforms. Any lot of beef positive for E. coli O157:H7 or for Salmonella, or any beef with concentrations of organisms exceeding critical limits for SPCs (100,000 CFU g–1), E. coli (500 CFU g–1), or coliforms (1,000 CFU g–1) is rejected for purchase by AMS and must be diverted from federal nutrition assistance programs. From July 2011 through June 2014, 537,478,212 lb (ca. 243,795,996 kg) of boneless beef and 428,130,984 lb (ca. 194,196,932 kg) of ground beef were produced for federal nutrition assistance programs.

Of the 230,359 boneless beef samples collected over this period, 82 (0.04%) were positive for E. coli O157:H7, 924 (0.40%) were positive for Salmonella, 222 (0.10%) exceeded the critical limit for SPCs, 69 (0.03%) exceeded the critical limit for E. coli, and 123 (0.05%) exceeded the critical limit for coliforms. Of the 46,527 ground beef samples collected over this period, 30 (0.06%) were positive for E. coli O157:H7, 360 (0.77%) were positive for Salmonella, 20 (0.04%) exceeded the critical limit for SPCs, 22 (0.05%) exceeded the critical limit for E. coli, and 17 (0.04%) exceeded the critical limit for coliforms.

Cumulatively, these data suggest beef produced for the AMS National School Lunch Program is done so under an adequate food safety system, as indicated by the low percentage of lots that were pathogen positive or exceeded critical limits for indicator organisms.

Microbiological testing results of boneless and ground beef purchased for the national school lunch program, 2011 to 2014

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 9, September 2015, pp. 1624-1769

Doerscher, Darin R.; Lutz, Terry L.; Whisenant, Stephen J.; Smith, Kerry R.; Morris, Craig A.; Schroeder, Carl M.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2015/00000078/00000009/art00005

Not much E. coli on Romaine at retail

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A total of 720 whole, romaine lettuce heads were purchased from retail locations in the Upper Midwest and assessed for coliform and Escherichia coli contamination and for the presence of E. coli O157:H7.

Romaine-Lettuce-PhotosDuring a 16-month period (August 2010 through December 2011), coliform and E. coli counts were enumerated on Petrifilm, and the presence of E. coli O157:H7 and the virulence gene eae was evaluated by real-time PCR (qPCR). Over half (400 of 720) of the lettuce samples were processed with an immunomagnetic separation step before the qPCR assay. All retail lettuce samples were negative for E. coli O157:H7 when tested with the R.A.P.I.D. LT qPCR targeting a region of the O-antigen, and only two (0.28%) were positive for the eae gene when tested with LightCycler qPCR.

On Petrifilm, coliform counts of most lettuce samples (96.4%) were between <101 and 103 CFU/g, and E. coli counts for nearly all lettuce samples (98.2%) were <101 CFU/g. No seasonal trend in coliform and E. coli counts was observed throughout the examination period nor was a difference in coliform counts observed between packaged and nonpackaged lettuce heads.

These results contribute to the limited recorded data and understanding of microbial contamination of whole romaine lettuce heads purchased from retail locations, specifically revealing the absence of E. coli O157:H7 and low levels of contamination with coliforms and other E. coli strains.

 Occurrence of coliform and Escherichia coli contamination and absence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on romaine lettuce from retail stores in the Upper Midwest

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 9, September 2015, pp. 1624-1769

Greve, Josephine D.; Zietlow, Mark S.; Miller, Kevin M.; Ellingson, Jay L. E.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2015/00000078/00000009/art00013

Peel produce rather than brush to reduce pathogens

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Consumers are being advised to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables to reduce their risk of chronic disease.

carrot.peelerHowever, to achieve that goal, consumers must be able to implement protocols in their kitchens to reduce their risk of consuming contaminated produce.

To address this issue, a study was conducted to monitor the fate of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on produce (cantaloupe, honeydew melon, carrots, and celery) that were subjected to brushing or peeling using common kitchen utensils.

Removal of similar levels of Salmonella from carrots was accomplished by peeling and by brushing, but significantly greater removal of E. coli O157:H7 from carrots was accomplished by peeling than by brushing under running water (P < 0.05). Brushing removed significantly fewer pathogens from contaminated cantaloupes than from other produce items (P < 0.05), suggesting that the netted rind provided sites where the pathogen cells could evade the brush bristles. A Sparta polyester brush was less effective than a scouring pad for removing Salmonella from carrots (P < 0.05). In all cases, brushing and peeling failed to eliminate the pathogens from the produce items, which may be the result of contamination of the utensil during use. High incidences of contamination (77 to 92%) were found among peelers used on carrots or celery, the Sparta brush used on carrots, and the scouring pad used on carrots and cantaloupe. Of the utensils investigated, the nylon brush had the lowest incidence of pathogen transference from contaminated produce (0 to 12%). Transfer of pathogens from a potentially contaminated Sparta brush or peeler to uncontaminated carrots did not occur or occurred only on the first of seven carrots processed with the utensil. Therefore, risk of cross-contamination from contaminated utensils to uncontaminated produce may be limited.

Role of brushes and peelers in removal of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella from produce in domestic kitchens

Journal of Food Protection®, Number 9, September 2015, pp. 1624-1769

Erickson, Marilyn C.; Liao, Jean; Cannon, Jennifer L.; Ortega, Ynes R.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2015/00000078/00000009/art00001

How Hawaii’s restaurants have fared after one year of the placard rating system

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It’s been about a year since the Hawaii Department of Health started issuing placards to restaurants as part of its food safety program.

hawaii-restaurant-placardyellow*304xx1035-1553-83-0The color coded system gives everyone a clear look at just how safe a restaurant is.

A green card means it passed inspection. A yellow card means two or more major violations and a follow-up inspection is needed. And red means the place is shut down because of health risks.

One of the first restaurants to get a green placard was Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop in Chinatown.

“I feel the placard system makes restaurants feel accountable for their sanitation, their health issues, their kitchen, how they manage their food,” said Brian Chan, Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop owner.

In the first year of the program, July 2014 – July 2015, health inspectors handed out 8,546 placards, amounting to about 84% of all food establishments in the state.

Of those placards given out, 6,744 received green ones, 1,802 received yellow, and no one got a red placard.

KHON2 asked health officials what the response has been from restaurants that received yellow placards.

“They understand what we’re doing. Before we started to roll out this program, we made a point to visit every single one of our 10,000 establishments to explain at length exactly what our inspectors would be looking for. So I think it’s not really much of a shock to them. They understand the idea to get the green placard is rapid corrections of the violations,” replied Department of Health Sanitation Branch manager Peter Oshiro.

 

There’s a camera everywhere: NY rat-in-kitchen photo leads health department to shut down Prosperity Dumpling in Chinatown

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A popular dumpling restaurant in Manhattan has been shut down after a photo of a rat in the kitchen surfaced online, prompting the health department to do a surprise inspection.

The New York City Department of Health closed Prosperity Dumpling on Eldridge Street in Chinatown Thursday night.

An anonymous tipster sent a photo to the website, gothamist.com, of a back alley area where food is prepared at the restaurant. In the shot, a rat can be clearly seen on the ground. The person who took the photo said it was taken Sunday evening and that the photo had been sent to the health department.

The restaurant received an “A” grade in its most recent inspection on May 28, although the restaurant inspection cites “live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” as one of its sanitary violations.

I said I quit, but really didn’t: Nevada health type walks out amid tensions over restaurant inspections

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Disagreement over how restaurants are being regulated boiled over at a Southern Nevada Health District board meeting Thursday with an official offering her resignation and walking out after she was criticized by her staff.

Jacqueline Reszetar'sSouthern Nevada Health District Director of Environmental Health Jacqueline Reszetar’s staff thinks the department is too business friendly in its approach to restaurant inspections, according to Brian Shepherd, chief of staff for Service Employees International Union local 1107, which represents health district workers.

Reszetar also was criticized for making culturally insensitive comments, though it wasn’t clear what she is accused of saying.

“Excuse me, but today I will give you my resignation, today. You’re safe,” Reszetar said to her employees, according to a recording of the meeting. “You can go back to the environmental health that you feel comfortable with. I’m done today. Thank you very much.”

After the meeting, Reszetar said she had not quit. Dr. Joseph Iser, chief medical officer for the district, said resignations can only be submitted in writing.

Shepherd said employees in the restaurant inspection division have very little confidence in management, and Reszetar’s conduct emphasizes how difficult the work environment is.