Mancini speaks: Central Atlantic States Association of Food and Drug Officials 101 Annual Educational and Training Seminar

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Ben Chapman

Our resident non-aging television personality and food safety dude, Rob Mancini, writes that he’ll be speaking at the CASA Educational Conference on May 2nd, 2017 in Saratoga Springs, NY regarding his research on alternate modes of food safety training.

The importance of training food handlers is critical to effective food hygiene; however, there have been limited studies on the effectiveness of such training.

Food safety training courses are administered worldwide in attempts to reduce outbreaks in food service, retail and temporary food service establishments. However, food handlers often exhibit a poor understanding of microbial or chemical contamination of food and the measures necessary to correct them.

Studies suggest that the provision of a hands-on format of training would be more beneficial than traditional classroom-based programs. The delivery of such a program may assist in changing ones’ food safety behaviours and aid in the retention of knowledge that are necessary to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.

Rob Mancini: Restaurant inspections a snap shot in time

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Public health inspections are carried out to determine compliance with regulations. They also serve as a means of informing operators on proper food safety practices. However, health inspections are snap shots in time and are typically performed once to three times a year, primarily due to a lack of resources.

The importance lies in what happens when the inspector is not present. Is there a food safety culture within the establishment or is the operator just out to make a buck? Everyone is different and everyone responds differently to certain stimuli. The folks who keep insisting that they haven’t caused a foodborne illness in over 30 years may require a stringent approach. Others may respond differently. Does the operator have food safety training and if so, what kind? I am an advocate of a hands-on approach to food safety training by actually demonstrating food safety practices with operators in their restaurant. In this regard, operators can focus on what they need to do to ensure food safety in their own environment. Does a restaurant operator really need to know what temperatures inactivate parasites in fish if the only things they serve are burgers?

Phil’s Pantry in Pontypool was fined after a health inspection for hygiene breach. According to the South Wales Argus:

A Pontypool delicatessen was fined after cooked foods were stored below raw meat.

A hygiene inspection in Phil’s Pantry in Pontypool Indoor Market also found there were no towels to dry hands.

The inspection also discovered cooked foods in a fridge stored next to and below raw meat.

Food safety records suggested food safety checks had been carried out on foods which had not been delivered and towels for hand drying were available when they were not.

The owner, Philip Jolliffe, pleaded guilty, and was fined £225 with £200 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

Rob Mancini, a MS graduate of Kansas State University, is a health inspector with the Manitoba Department of Health.

Mancini speaks: new effort in food safety training

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Douglas Powell

In 2010, the Russian pavilion at Folklorama in Winnipeg (or, as the Guess Who were always introduced, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada), was implicated in a foodborne outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 that caused 37 illnesses and 18 hospitalizations.

The ethnic nature and diversity of foods prepared within each pavilion presents a unique problem for food inspectors, as each culture prepares food in their own unique way.

The Manitoba Department of Health and Folklorama Board of Directors realized a need to implement a food safety information delivery program that would be more effective than a 2-h food safety course delivered via PowerPoint slides. The food operators and event coordinators of five randomly chosen pavilions selling potentially hazardous food were trained on-site, in their work environment, focusing on critical control points specific to their menu. A control group (five pavilions) did not receive on-site food safety training and were assessed concurrently. Public health inspections for all 10 pavilions were performed by Certified Public Health Inspectors employed with Manitoba Health. Critical infractions were assessed by means of standardized food protection inspection reports.

Rob Mancini, a MS graduate of Kansas State University, a health inspector with the Manitoba Department of Health, and someone who seems perpetually young with cinematic good looks (bit of a man-crush) led a study of how to improve food safety at Folklorama and the results were published in the Oct. 2012 issue of the Journal of Food Protection.

He’s at it again, and will be reporting on follow-up research he subsequently conducted with almost no help from me and Chapman at the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspector Conference in Winnipeg, on June 24th, 2013.

New food safety training techniques required; with Kevin McDonald

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Douglas Powell

I don’t know Kevin McDonald but I’ve laughed with him for 20 years as one of the founders of the popular Canadian comedy troupe, Kids in the Hall.

I also regularly insert his videos into barfblog.com, and say catchlines to Amy like, How the Hell Could I Know, or I Can’t Help Blaming Myself, but I Also Can’t Help Not Caring, Slipped My Mind, and There’s Nothing Like Clean Sheets (and a rock hard alibi).

So who knew I’d have a grad student that knew Kevin.

But this is really about that graduate student, Rob Mancini, who got his research published.

It’s not a TV show, but for science nerds, it’s the credibility that counts.

New methods of food safety training need to be developed and health inspections do help correct unsafe food preparation practices, according to new research from Kansas State University.

Rob Mancini, a MS graduate of Kansas State and a health inspector with the Manitoba Department of Health, led a study of how to improve food safety at Folklorama in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a 14-day temporary food service event that explores the many different cultural realms of food, food preparation, and entertainment.

The results were published in the Oct. issue of the Journal of Food Protection.

In 2010, the Russian pavilion at Folklorama was implicated in a foodborne outbreak of Escherichia coli O157 that caused 37 illnesses and 18 hospitalizations. The ethnic nature and diversity of foods prepared within each pavilion presents a unique problem for food inspectors, as each culture prepares food in their own unique way.

The results suggested no statistically significant difference in food inspection scores between the trained and control groups. However, it was found that inspection report results increased for both the control and trained groups from the first inspection to the second, implying that public health inspections are necessary in correcting unsafe food safety practices. The results further show that in this case, the 2 hour food safety course delivered via slides was sufficient to pass public health inspections. Further evaluations of alternative food safety training approaches are warranted.

“Rob was an outstanding graduate student and his research highlights the value of reality research,” said supervisor Dr. Douglas Powell, a professor of food safety in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology at Kansas State University. “The research was done in the field, Rob took all his courses by distance, but we communicated regularly using electronic tools.

Other authors include Dr. Leigh Murray of the Dept. of Statistics at Kansas State, and Dr. Ben Chapman, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University.

A video highlighting the results of the research featuring Mancini and Kevin McDonald is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLlrv-3266o&feature=youtu.be.

Investigating the potential benefits of on-site food safety training for Folklorama, a temporary food service event

01.oct.12

Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 75, Number 10, October 2012 , pp. 1829-1834(6)

Mancini, Roberto; Murray, Leigh; Chapman, Benjamin J.; Powell, Douglas A.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2012/00000075/00000010/art00014

Mancini knows cross-contamination

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Douglas Powell

Actors may not know cross-contamination, but former TV heartthrob, about to be famous scientific author (more about that later), Kansas State MS grad and Winnipeg health inspector Rob Mancini proved he knows his stuff as he hammered home the importance of cross-contamination on CityTV the other day.

The video is at:

http://video.citytv.com/video/detail/1877249789001.000000/thanksgiving-food-preperation/

Health inspectors get own Food Network series; when will they have Rob Mancini on?

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Douglas Powell

The Braiser is reporting that the Food Network’s newest series, Health Inspectors, got enough pilot ratings to be an actual television series, especially given how this is probably the restaurant industry’s version of Hoarders or Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

In each episode, all titled unpleasant names (for example, “Rats in the Cellar” or “Slugs in the Walk-In”), former chef Ben Vaughan will attempt to save each restaurant from being shut down by health inspectors. If there’s one thing that probable inspiration Gordon Ramsay can tell you, it’s pretty hard: for example, there are rats in the cellar and slugs in the walk-in. (Thank you for being so blatant, episode titles. At the same time, we really don’t want to know what “A Game Of Chicken” entails.)

Health Inspectors premieres at Friday, October 26that 10:30pm ET/PT, which will give you plenty of time to either get your vomit bags prepared, sue the Food Network for putting graphic images on the television, or complain to Michael Bloomberg about the health grading system.

ROB MANCINI: The scary looking turkey

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Douglas Powell

My wife and I enjoyed a wonderful meal last evening at the Mancini household as my mother cooked up some pasta and turkey, absolutely delicious.

The turkey, however, reminded me of a past complaint I received at work (health inspections). The family was complaining of a nasty looking abscesses deep within the muscles of the turkey.

Though not a bacterial infection, it is certainly not the prettiest thing one would want to have on the dinner plate. The most probable diagnosis is deep pectoral myopathy of turkeys as suggested by my veterinarian friend.

These deep pectoral muscles assist in elevating the wings and after prolonged flapping, the muscle swells and becomes necrotic. Ugly to look at, but not a health concern. Still, I wouldn’t have eaten it. A good review on this type of pathology was done by: Siller WG. Deep pectoral myopathy: a penalty of successful selection for muscle growth. Poult Sci. 1985 Aug; 64(8):1591-5.

ROB MANCINI: Top 10 Kitchen Crimes

Posted on January 24, 2009 by Douglas Powell

During the production of Kitchen Crimes, a television series that dealt with food safety in the home as opposed to restaurants, there were a number of reoccurring themes that kept popping up. So I developed my top 10 list of Kitchen Crimes to reflect my observations from the television show.

Tops was a severe lack of handwashing or inadequate handwashing. Handwashing typically involved a quick 2 second rinse with water and drying with a dirty tea towel. Family members would pet their dogs, cats, and even in one case a pet turtle, then go and prepare food without handwashing. So, number one on my list is:

1. Wash hands thoroughly before and after preparing food. Lather with soap and water for at least 15 seconds. Rinse well and dry with a clean towel.

A number of families were aware that their refrigerator should be kept at 4-5°C, but it was never checked. Families were questioned on why they should maintain this temperature and the typical answer was that it would kill bacteria. The “danger zone” (4°C- 60°C) is conducive to rapid bacterial multiplication and at 4°C, bacterial multiplication is reduced, not stopped.

2. Invest in a fridge thermometer to ensure your fridge is at the right temperature. Cold foods should be kept below 4°C. Hot foods should be at a temperature greater than 60°C.

Throughout the filming of the series, families did not use thermometers to ensure food was properly cooked. Visual inspection seemed to suffice.

3. Invest in a digital, tip-sensitive thermometer to ensure food is properly cooked.

It always bugs me when I see open packages of meat dripping bacterial laden juices on ready to eat foods, like vegetables or fruit.

4. In your refrigerator, meats should always be placed on the bottom shelves or in meat drawers in case of leakage and vegetables should be kept above to prevent cross contamination. All open or partially consumed foods should be packaged in airtight plastic storage containers.

In one episode, I dressed up in some sort of a space suit equipped with facial gear and so on (more for effect than anything else), but it was to prove a point. Mice like to eat food so if food is left on the floor, uncovered, mice will be there.

5. All dry goods need to be stored off the floor and sealed properly to prevent entry of rodents or insects.

To ensure food is adequately cooled in the fridge,

6. Do not over-pack the refrigerator or freezer. This restricts proper air flow and prevents the appliances from functioning efficiently.

This next one always gives me a headache, happens very frequently in restaurants. Vegetables and fruit typically do not undergo a subsequent cooking process which leads me to number

7 on my list: Prevent cross-contamination when preparing food by designating one cutting board for raw meats and another for vegetables or any ready-to-eat foods.

8. When cleaning surfaces, wash first with soap and water then sanitize with a mild solution of chlorine bleach and water.

If one is looking for the highest bacterial counts in the household, look no further.

9. Replace dishcloths and sponges on a daily basis.

10. After dishwashing, all utensils and dishware should be air dried to prevent cross-contamination from towels.

ROB MANCINI: It’s Environmental Public Health Week in Canada – this week

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Douglas Powell

Public health inspector and Kansas State graduate student Robert Mancini of Winnipeg (former co-host of the television series Kitchen Crimes, right, pretty much as shown), writes that Environmental Public Health (EPH) Professionals such as Public Health Inspectors and Environmental Health Officers are empowered under legislation to protect the health of the public.

In carrying out their duties, EPH Professionals interact directly with the public, industry, and various agencies to ensure that Canadians are protected from health risks such as: infectious diseases, chemical contaminants, and physical hazards. EPH duties include inspections, consultations, health education, surveys and research, complaint investigations, risk assessment, risk management and enforcement work. EPH Professionals safeguard the environment and health of Canadians by providing services in the following areas:

-water quality,
-air quality,
-food safety assurance,
-communicable disease control,
-housing standards/conditions,
-recreational facilities,
-disease injury and prevention,
-waste water management systems,
-emergency planning and response,
-land remediation and development issues,
-institutions and care facilities,
-public policy development,
-occupational health and safety,
-pollution control and solid waste management,
-tobacco control,
-quality control/assurance

Rob Mancini: Use a thermometer, and use it right

Posted on November 14, 2008 by Douglas Powell

“A concierge is the Winnipeg equivalent of a geisha.”

I thought that line was so good on the television show, The Office, last night –when a few of the staff took a business trip to Winnipeg, Canada — that I wrote it down for future use.

So when telegenic public health inspector Robert Mancini of Winnipeg (former co-host of the television series Kitchen Crimes, right, pretty much as shown) e-mailed me about something he saw, I had my excuse to use the Winnipeg line.

Rob writes:

“Yesterday, upon walking into a restaurant kitchen to perform a routine inspection, the chef was actually using a metal stem thermometer to determine doneness of a hamburger patty. Naturally, this excited me until I asked the chef what temperature he was aiming for. He said 130?? F. Lovely.

“Just because a chef has a thermometer and uses it once in a while doesn’t really mean anything, they need to be aware of proper cooking temperatures. The chef, assuming that I was a health inspector (I guess all my fancy gadgets gave that away) used the thermometer to impress me and perhaps gain some extra bonus points. It almost did as I scurried over, maybe too excitedly, but sadly left disappointed. Let’s get people talking about food safety.”

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