It was a food safety juxtaposition in Scottsdale, Arizona I couldn’t help but photograph.
Jimmy Johns and its sprout-laden subs, Chipotle and its mystery E. coli and Salmonella and Norovirus.
Jimmy Johns was empty; Chipotle, not so much.
If Chipotle Mexican Grill can convince Americans that a 1,000 calorie diarrhea burrito is healthy, and that their co-CEOs deserve $13 million each, they can pretty much do what they want.
Food safety regulator FSSAI has launched a mobile app through which consumers can raise their concerns related to quality of packaged food and the food served in ready-to-eat outlets.
Since most of the times the form of food consumed is either packed or serviced, the app provides food safety tips and food safety laws as prescribed by the regulator through its regulations, says the description of the mobile app launched by FSSAI.
“FSSAI App will allow consumers to raise their food safety related concerns. Whether it is a Packaged Food or a Food Service Establishment, now consumers are empowered to know about the food business operators and get informed about the food safety information,” according to the description.
The app for Android smartphone users has built-in functionalities to locate the consumer’s geographical location and consumers can raise any food incidents witnessed along with the captured pictures. The app also empowers consumers to check many parameters on which the food safety is compromised for both packaged foods and food served in ready-to-eat establishments.
For served food, the consumer is given an option to rate the Overall Hygiene of the food service establishment. It also has provision for consumers to enter FSSAI issued license/registration number if available will provide accurate information about the food business operator’s adherence to food safety requirements.
Food Safety Talk, a bi-weekly podcast for food safety nerds, by food safety nerds. The podcast is hosted by Ben Chapman and barfblog contributor Don Schaffner, Extension Specialist in Food Science and Professor at Rutgers University. 
Every two weeks or so, Ben and Don get together virtually and talk for about an hour.
Show notes so you can follow along at home:
I’m told by wiki that Towie – short for The Only Way is Essex – is the UK equivalent of The Hills and Jersey Shore.
I actually watched The Hills with one of my teenage daughters and a pregnant Amy when we were unexpectedly stranded in Florida as a hurricane approached.
The show was horrible.
But in the name of food safety, a Brentwood high street food outlet – once owned by former Towie star Charlie Sims – has been criticized in a food standards hygiene report.
Charlie’s Deli – which still holds the name of Charlie Sims who opened the eatery in 2014 but sold it at around Christmas – was given a score of just 1 during an inspection on January 18.
Among the work the inspector said was required was that food must be prepared properly.
A list of requirements was then handed to the eatery which read:
“Keep the rear door closed or fit pest-proof screens to the doorway.
“Do not cool food for longer than 90 minutes at room temperature.
“Provide suitable ventilation to the kitchen.
“Redecorate areas of worn paintwork to kitchen wall surfaces.
“Provide lids to kitchen bins or consider provision of waste bins.
“Provide soap and towels at kitchen wash basin.
“Provide soap at server wash basin.
“Gloss paint or varnish the unsealed wooden shelf above the kitchen wash hand basin.
“Thoroughly clean the work top fridge door handles and door handles.
“Gloss paint or varnish the wooden surface below the two microwave ovens.
“Replace the missing cover to the kitchen work top fridge motor.”
It’s all scripted for you, Charlie’s Deli, just like the reality shows.
The Southern Nevada Health District has teamed up with the University of Rochester to create an app just for health officials that tracks foodborne illnesses in Las Vegas.
At one time or another most people will have a bad experience at a restaurant. In today’s world, they are likely to take to social media to make their complaint known.
Soon the new Southern Nevada Health District app called Nemesis will be tracking your complaints about food.
“So if we find a bunch of people that got sick and they’re all at the same restaurant, we can identify that and then send out an inspector to see if there’s any particular problems at that restaurant,” said Brian Labus, epidemiologist and UNLV professor.
Nemesis is already tested and proven.
Last year, Nemesis monitored about 36,000 tweets per day. One thousand were from restaurants.
Ken King with Foodservice Consulting & Design LLC, writes in response to the front-page article about Restaurant 415 in Colorado. After more than 40 years in the restaurant industry, I must disagree with the presumption of the 415 owners that the system is broken. Upon inspection of their detailed health report, I would close down the restaurant (three consecutive “inadequate” ratings) based upon the dangers their operation poses to the dining public.
Not noted in the article was the cross-contamination of raw and cooked foods, dirty work surfaces, wiping cloths with inadequate sanitizing solutions, staff eating and drinking in the kitchen and, most damning, the holding of foods in the critical danger zones, allowing growth of pathogens. All of these are easily rectified and preventable with capable and engaged Management.
It is apparent that the owners/operators of Restaurant 415 either have not bothered, or (more likely due to their refutation of the health process) hold themselves above the established processes we all observe in order to keep our guests safe from food-borne illnesses. This is not cause to buck the system; rather it is powerful reason for guests to reject any dining establishment which cannot assure food safety.
It has been my personal experience that earning exceptional ratings from Health Department inspections department is easy, if one knows what one is doing. This is serious business.
It seems sorta dumb for Cambridge and the UK Food Standards Agency to ensure that Independent eateries “are getting the recognition we think they deserve,” when disclosure – those pretty stars – is voluntary in Britain.
Get a 2-stars-out-of-five? Put that placard away.
Another intrepid barfblog.com contributor passed this on about a semi-famous Atlanta steakhouse up in the Buckhead area, famous for the politicos who dine there.
“The Steakhouse” on Old Ivy Road failed its most recent health inspection.
The popular restaurant, that’s been in the area for more than 20 years, has a loyal clientele, and several customers were surprised by the score.
“I think a lot of people go there. They take clients. It’s kind of well-known for business dinners and things like that. So, I’m kind of shocked,” said Angie Miller, who ate at the restaurant for Valentine’s Day.
The report says an inspector found food being stored in the same ice used for drinks, a hand sink being used as an ice bin, steaks stored at improper temperatures, slime on the inside of the ice machine, live flies in the kitchen, food items uncovered (in a walk-in cooler) and no soap or paper towels at sinks inside of the building.
When Channel 2 Action News went into the restaurant, we saw a score of 100A still posted despite the recent inspection.
The restaurant says it disagrees with the inspector’s findings.
A manager sent Channel 2 Action News a statement, saying, “Our facilities have been inspected at least annually for 25 years and we have never received an unsatisfactory score. We respectfully disagree with the results of the inspection that occurred on February 29th, 2016 and are taking the appropriate steps to administratively appeal the report.”
And I don’t have a video, but if this Jimmy Buffett version of God’s Own Drunk is worth the 12 minutes.
According to the CSUF Food Facility Inspection Reports, conducted by the Department of Risk Management and Environmental Health & Safety, Inspector Justine Baldacci carried out the Feb. 24 inspection three days after students lodged complaints.
Baldacci also performed the Gastronome’s last inspection on July 28, 2015. The dining facility received a score of 95. The department scheduled a reinspection date for Nov. 20, 2015. However, no inspection report for November was filed on the CSUF Risk Management and Environmental Health & Safety website.
The most recent inspection report states that Baldacci inspected the facility following a report of allegedly undercooked chicken served to a customer.
The inspection found that “the processes, procedures and record keeping for batch cooking were reviewed with management and found to be adequate.”
The incident that caused the complaint took place Sunday, Feb. 21, when students said the chicken they were served for dinner was undercooked.
Elana Stein, 18, posted a picture of the chicken she said was undercooked on the Gastronome’s Facebook page and sent a complaint with the pictures of the alleged raw chicken to Rhonda Robinson, manager of the Gastronome.
Color is a lousy indicator of safety. Use a thermometer and stick it in.
The owner of a sweet factory in Coventry has been fined for failing to keep the premises clean.
Moeen Mughal, aged 45, owner of Khalistaza Foods Ltd, based at Unit 6 on the Lythalls Lane Industrial Estate in Foleshill, was charged with failing to keep the premises clean and maintained in good repair and condition, failing to protect food from risk of contamination and failing to put in place a documented food safety management system.
Indian sweets are manufactured at the premises, which are distributed throughout the UK.
Its website says: “We guarantee great food, prepared by dedicated staff, using the finest ingredients and a professional service.”
But at Nuneaton Magistrates Court on March 1, Mughal and Khalistaza Food Ltd pleaded guilty and were each ordered to pay a £1,540 fine, £599 costs and a £120 victim surcharge.
The court heard a routine food hygiene inspection was carried out at the premises on August 5 last year, where food hygiene officers noted that cleaning was poor throughout the building.
The floor was dirty, with grease built up on and around cooking equipment, including the controls, and at wall to floor junctions.
