HACCP & Sanitation in Restaurants and Food Service Operations: A Practical Guide Based on the USDA Food Code

HACCP & Sanitation in Restaurants and Food Service Operations

A Practical Guide Based on the FDA Food Code

By Lora Arduser and Douglas Robert Brown

HACCP & Sanitation in Restaurants and Food Service Operations: A Practical Guide Based on the FDA Food CodE

By Lora Arduser and Douglas Robert Brown

Published by ATLANTIC PUBLISHING GROUP, INC

ATLANTIC PUBLISHING GROUP, INC • 1210 S.W. 23rd Place • Ocala, FL 34474-7014

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COPYRIGHT © 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information and retrieval system, without certified written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Arduser, Lora.

HACCP & sanitation in restaurants and food service operations : a practical guide based on the FDA food code with companion CD-ROM / by Lora Arduser and Douglas Robert Brown.

p. ; cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 0-910627-35-5 (alk. paper)

1. Food service--Sanitation. 2. Food service employees--Health and

hygiene. 3. Food handling. 4. Food service management. I. Title: HACCP

and sanitation in restaurants and food service operations. II. Brown,

Douglas Robert, 1960- III. Title.

TX911.3.S3A73 2005

363.72’96--dc22

2005002849

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

WARNING DISCLAIMER

This book is designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

It is not the purpose of this manual to reprint all the information that is otherwise available to the author and/or publisher but to complement, amplify and supplement other texts.

Every effort has been made to make this manual as complete and as accurate as possible. However, there may be mistakes, both typographical and in content. Therefore, this text should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of information.

The purpose of this manual is to educate and entertain. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: HAZARDS to FOOD SAFETY

Chapter 2: FACTORS AFFECTING Food-borne ILLNESS

CHAPTER 3: Food SAFETY Regulations

CHAPTER 4: Following the Flow of Food: Purchasing, Receiving and Storage

CHAPTER 5: Following the Flow of Food: Preparing, Holding, Serving and Reheating

CHAPTER 6: HACCP

CHAPTER 7: Facility Plan

Glossary

Appendix

HACCP Products Section

HACCP Test

Introduction

According to the FDA, it is estimated that up to 76 million people get a food-borne illness each year. Since people don’t go to the doctor for mild symptoms, the actual number of illnesses can’t be known, but 5,000 people a year die from food-borne illness in the United States and many others suffer long-term effects.

Almost all of this sickness and death could have been prevented with the proper ­procedures that are taught in this comprehensive book. If these numbers don’t upset you, realize that a food-borne outbreak in your establishment can put you out of business. If the business survives, it will be severely damaged, even after the lawsuits are resolved. If you do not have proper sanitation methods and a HACCP program in place, you need them today.

Take a look at this headline from CNN as an illustration of what can happen ­during a food-borne illness outbreak: Hepatitis Outbreak Spreads Fear, Saturday, November 15, 2003, Posted: 6:40 PM EST (2340 GMT)

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) – The nation’s biggest known outbreak of hepatitis A is causing such a panic that people are lining up by the thousands for antibody shots and no longer eating out. A third person died Friday and nearly 500 others who ate at a Chi-Chi’s Mexican restaurant have fallen ill in the outbreak that has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to send assistance.

Health investigators are focusing on whether contaminated produce—perhapsscallions—caused the outbreak at the restaurant in the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

We’re very concerned. It’s very serious and we’ve sent a team of people out there to assist, said CDC spokesman David Daigle.

Health officials Friday met with worried shoppers at the mall to try to squelch rumors that the virus was spreading out of control to other restaurants in the region. State Rep. Mike Veon attended a news conference at the mall and ate a sandwich he bought there.

Officials at the mall said sales at the food court were off by as much as 40 percent and sales throughout the mall were down up to 25 percent.

This book is based on the FDA Food Code and will teach food service managers and employees every aspect of food safety, HACCP and sanitation, from purchasing and receiving food to properly washing the dishes. They will learn time and temperature abuses; cross-contamination; personal hygiene practices; biological, chemical and physical hazards; proper cleaning and sanitizing; waste and pest management; and the basic principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points).

This book also explains what safe food is and how to provide it; and it covers bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites; various food-borne illnesses; safe food-handling techniques; purchasing and receiving food; storage; preparation and serving; sanitary equipment and facilities; cleaning and sanitizing of equipment and facilities; pest-management program; accident-prevention program; crisis management; and food safety and sanitation laws.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: HAZARDS to FOOD SAFETY

According to the Food Code, food-borne illness in the United States is a major cause of personal distress and preventable death and is an avoidable economic burden. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology estimated 6.5 to 33 million people become ill from microorganisms in food, resulting in as many as 9,000 needless deaths every year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have consistently stated that where reported, food-borne ­outbreaks were caused by mishandling of food; most of the time the mishandling occurred within the retail segment of the food industry where ready-to-eat food is prepared and provided to the public for consumption.

Because many foods are agricultural products and have started their journey to your door as animals and plants, raised in the environment, they may contain microscopic organisms. Many foods contain nutrients that make them a place where microorganisms can live and even grow. Some of these organisms are pathogens, which means that under the right conditions and in the right numbers, they can make someone who eats them ill. Raw animal foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs often carry bacteria, viruses or parasites that can be ­harmful to humans.

Because foods are from the environment, they can contain objects such as stones that could cause injury. Food may be contaminated naturally, for example, from the soil in which it is grown or because of harvest, storage or transportation practices. Some foods undergo further processing and at times, despite best efforts, become contaminated. These inherent hazards, along with the hazards that may occur in your establishment, such as metal fragments from grinding, can lead to injury, illness or death.

Food-borne illness is caused by eating contaminated food. A food-borne disease outbreak occurs when two or more people experience similar symptoms from eating the same food. There are many foods that can be culprits in a food-borne illness outbreak or occurrence. Some of the ones we are most familiar with are hamburgers, hot dogs, luncheon meats, chicken and oysters, but other foods can also harbor bacteria. Strawberries, green onions, ice cream and dry cereal can also cause food-borne illness if not properly processed and handled.

Food can be contaminated whether it is made from scratch or prepackaged. However, the main culprit of contamination is bacteria. It is estimated that bacteria is responsible for 90 percent of food contamination, viruses cause approximately 6 percent, chemicals are responsible for 3 percent, and parasites cause approximately 1 percent.

Anyone can fall a victim to food-borne illness, but some members of the population are more susceptible than others. These include pregnant women, the elderly, the very young, and people with impaired immune systems due to AIDS, cancer, diabetes or medications that suppress their immune function. Whereas the general population may recover from an incident in a few days, people in this group are much more likely to die from a food-borne illness.

The main symptoms of food-borne illness are:

• Headache

• Abdominal pain

• Diarrhea

• Fatigue

• Fever

• Vomiting

• Nausea

• Dehydration

Food-borne illnesses are generally classified as food-borne infections, intoxication or toxin-mediated infection. Infections are caused by eating food that contain living disease-causing organisms. Intoxication is caused by eating food that ­contains a harmful toxin or chemical produced by bacteria or another source, and toxin-mediated infection is caused by eating a food that contains harmful organisms that will produce a toxin once it has been consumed.

A food-borne hazard is a biological, chemical or physical hazard that can cause illness when it is consumed in food.

Food hazards include biological concerns such as:

• Bacterial, parasitic or viral contamination

• Bacterial growth

• Bacterial, parasitic or viral survival

• Bacterial toxin production

• Bacterial, parasitic or viral cross-contamination

Physical objects:

• Stones

• Glass

• Metal fragments

• Packaging materials

Chemical contamination:

• Nonfood-grade lubricants

• Cleaning compounds

• Food additives

• Insecticides

More information can be found on the FDA’s Web site at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html.

BACTERIA

Bacteria is everywhere: in the air, in all areas of the restaurant and all over one’s body. Most bacteria is microscopic and of no harm to people. Many forms of bacteria are actually beneficial, aiding in the production of such things as cheese, bread, butter, alcoholic beverages, etc. Only a small percentage of ­bacteria will cause food to spoil and can generate a form of food poisoning when consumed.

Bacteria exists in a vegetative state. The vegetative cells grow and reproduce like any other living organism. Some bacteria forms spores. The spores help the bacteria survive in less than ideal environments that may not have enough food or the right amount of moisture or ideal temperature. This spore structure allows the bacteria to survive stresses such as cooking, freezing and high-salt environments. In other words, cooking, freezing or curing will not kill these bacteria. The spores themselves are not harmful (except to babies; the spore Clostridium botuinlum, which can be found in honey, can cause infant botulism). However, if the environmental conditions become suitable for bacterial growth, the spore will turn into a vegetative cell, and this cell can multiply and cause illness.

Bacteria need several things in order to reproduce. Many food service managers refer to these items as F-A-T-T-O-M:

Food

Acid

Temperature

Time

Oxygen

Moisture

Food. Most bacteria prefer high-protein or high-carbohydrate foods like meats, poultry, seafood, cooked potatoes and dairy products.

Acid. Most foods have a pH less than 7.0. Very acidic food like limes and lemons normally do not support bacterial growth. While most bacteria prefer a neutral environment, they are capable of growing in foods that have pHs between 4.5 and 9.0.

The quality known as pH indicates how acidic or alkaline (basic) a food or other substance is. The pH scale ranges from 0.0 to 14.0—7.0 being exactly neutral. Distilled water, for example, has a neutral pH of 7.0. Bacteria grow best in foods that are neutral or slightly acidic, in the pH range of 4.6 to 7.0. Highly acidic foods, such as vinegar and most fresh fruits, inhibit bacterial growth. Meats and many other foods have an optimal pH for bacterial growth. On the other hand, some foods normally considered hazardous, such as mayonnaise and custard ­filling, can be safely stored at room temperature if their pH is below 4.6.

Lowering the pH of foods by adding acidic ingredients, such as making ­sauerkraut from cabbage or pickles from cucumbers, may render them non-potentially hazardous. This is not a foolproof prevention method, however. For example, although commercially prepared mayonnaise has a pH below 4.6, adding mayonnaise to a meat salad will not inhibit bacteria. The moisture in the meat and the meat’s pH are likely to raise the pH of the salad to a point where bacteria can multiply.

Temperature. Most disease-causing bacteria grow between the temperatures of 41˚ and 140˚F. This is called the temperature danger zone. Some bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that is often the culprit in food-borne illness related to processed luncheon meats, can grow at temperatures below 41˚F.

Time. Bacteria only need about four hours to reproduce enough cells to cause a food-borne illness. This time is the total time the food item spends in the temperature danger zone.

Oxygen. There are aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria, and these two types have different oxygen requirements. Aerobic bacteria must have oxygen in order to grow. Anaerobic bacteria, on the other hand, do not. These bacteria grow well in vacuum-packed or canned food items. Anaerobic conditions might also exist in the middle of large, cooked food masses, such as a large stockpot of stew or the middle of a large roast.

Moisture. The amount of water in a food that is available to support ­bacterial growth is called water activity. It is measured on a scale between 0.0 and 1.0; water activity must be greater than 0.85 to support bacterial growth. Dairy ­products, meats, fish, shellfish, poultry, egg, cut melons, pasta, steamed rice and sprouts all have water activity levels between 0.85 and 1.0.

Bacterial growth rate depends upon how favorable these six conditions are. Bacteria prefer to ingest moisture-saturated foods, such as meats, dairy products and produce. They will not grow as readily on dry foods such as cereals, sugar or flour.

Bacterial growth has four phases:

1. Lag phase – little or no growth occurs. This phase lasts a few hours at room temperature, but can be increased if foods are kept out of the temperature danger zone.

2. Log phase – bacteria double every 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Stationary phase – number of bacteria remains fixed because the new organisms being produced are equal to the number that are dying.

4. Death phase – bacteria die off rapidly because they lack the items necessary for their survival.

Bacteria will grow most rapidly when the temperature is between 85°F and 100°F. In most cases, the growth rate will slow down drastically if the temperature is hotter or colder than this. Thus, it is vitally important that perishable food items are refrigerated before bacteria have a chance to establish themselves and multiply. Certain bacteria can survive in extreme hot- and cold-temperature ranges. By placing these bacteria in severe temperatures, you will be slowing down their growth rate, but not necessarily killing them.

The greatest problem in controlling bacteria is their rapid reproduction cycle. Approximately every 15 minutes the bacteria count will double under optimal conditions. The more bacteria present, the greater the chance of bacterial infection. This is why food products that must be subjected to conditions favorable to bacteria are done so for the shortest period possible.

An important consideration when handling food products is that bacteria need several hours to adjust to a new environment before they are able to begin rapidly multiplying. Thus, if you had removed a food product from the walk-in refrigerator and had inadvertently introduced bacteria to it, advanced growth would not begin for several hours. If you had immediately placed the item back into the walk-in, the temperature would have killed the bacteria before it became established.

Bacterial forms do not have a means of transportation; they must be introduced to an area by some other vehicle. People are primarily responsible for transporting bacteria to new areas; the body temperature of 98.6°F is perfect for bacterial existence and proliferation.

A person coughing, sneezing or wiping their hands on a counter can introduce bacteria to an area. Bacteria may be transmitted also by insects, air, water and articles onto which they have attached themselves, such as boxes, blades, knives and cutting boards.

Dangerous Forms of Bacteria

An estimated 76 million cases of food-borne disease occur each year in the United States. The great majority of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, those who have an illness already that reduces their immune system function, and in healthy people exposed to a very high dose of an organism.

More precautions should be taken by high-risk groups such as:

• Pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe infections such as Listeria and should be particularly careful not to consume undercooked animal products. They should avoid soft French-style cheeses, pâtés, uncooked hot dogs and sliced deli meats, which have been sources of Listeria infections. Persons at high risk should also avoid alfalfa sprouts and unpasteurized juices.

• Persons with liver disease are susceptible to infections from a rare but dangerous microbe called Vibrio vulnificus, found in oysters. They should avoid eating raw oysters.

The most commonly recognized food-borne infections are those caused by the bacteria Campylobacter, Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7, and by a group of viruses called calicivirus, also known as the Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses.

Campylobacter is a bacterial pathogen that causes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. It is the most commonly identified bacterial cause of diarrheal illness in the world. These bacteria live in the intestines of healthy birds, and most raw poultry meat has Campylobacter on it. Eating undercooked chicken or other food that has been contaminated with juices dripping from raw chicken is the most frequent source of this infection.

Salmonella is also a bacterium that is widespread in the intestines of birds, reptiles and mammals. It can spread to humans via a variety of different foods of animal origin. The illness it causes, salmonellosis, typically includes fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, it can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

E. coli O157:H7 is a bacterial pathogen that has a reservoir in cattle and other similar animals. Human illness typically follows consumption of food or water that has been contaminated with microscopic amounts of cow feces. The illness it causes is often a severe and bloody diarrhea and painful abdominal cramps, without much fever. In 3 to 5 percent of cases, a complication called Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) can occur several weeks after the initial symptoms. This severe complication includes temporary anemia, profuse bleeding and ­kidney failure.

Calicivirus or Norwalk-like virus is an extremely common cause of food-borne illness, though it is rarely diagnosed because the laboratory test is not widely available. It causes an acute gastrointestinal illness, usually with more vomiting than diarrhea, that resolves within two days. Unlike many food-borne pathogens that have animal reservoirs, it is believed that Norwalk-like viruses spread primarily from one infected person to another. Infected kitchen workers can contaminate a salad or sandwich as they prepare it if they have the virus on their hands. Infected fishermen have contaminated oysters as they harvested them.

Some common diseases are occasionally food-borne, even though they are usually transmitted by other routes. These include infections caused by Shigella, hepatitis A and the parasites Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidia. Even strep throats have been transmitted occasionally through food.

In addition to disease caused by direct infection, some food-borne diseases are caused by the presence of a toxin in the food that was produced by a microbe in the food. For example, the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus can grow in some foods and produce a toxin that causes intense vomiting. The rare but deadly disease botulism occurs when the bacterium Clostridium botulinum grows and produces a powerful paralytic toxin in foods. These toxins can produce illness even if the microbes that produced them are no longer there.

Other toxins and poisonous chemicals can cause food-borne illness. People can become ill if a pesticide is inadvertently added to a food or if naturally poisonous substances are used to prepare a meal. People have become ill after mistaking poisonous mushrooms for safe species or after eating poisonous reef fishes.

More information can be found on the FDA’s Web site at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html.

The following charts list many food-borne illness, symptoms and prevention.