Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
factor (Neal et al.
2012
). Managers who are committed to improving food safety in
their stores can begin with the following fi ve strategies.
1 .
Temperature control of product in compliance with the Food Code
. The USA
FDA Food Code contains the primary regulatory guidelines for ensuring food
safety at retail. Key strategies to control
L. monocytogenes
growth include moni-
toring and maintaining deli service cases and walk-in cold storage rooms at tem-
peratures below 41 °F (<5 °C) (FMI
2008
,
2012
; USDA-FSIS and FDA
2013
).
While
L. monocytogenes
can grow at refrigeration temperatures, reduced
temperatures signifi cantly reduce its growth rate. Maintaining product at refrig-
eration temperatures is among the most effective strategies to prevent
L. mono-
cytogenes
from reaching high levels in foods and subsequently cases of foodborne
listeriosis (USDA-FSIS and FDA
2013
).
2 .
Prevent cross-contamination
. Observational studies, (e.g., Lubran et al.
2010
),
underscore the need to increase the frequency of hand washing. Hand washing is
a foundational component of a positive food safety culture. Aside from teaching
employees why hand washing is important, managers can develop product han-
dling strategies that minimize hand contact with NFCS and develop peer-to-peer
accountability systems to encourage hand washing. It is also important to con-
sider the fl ow of people and products near RTE foods (e.g., raw meat department,
produce department). Because
L. monocytogenes
can be present in raw products
(e.g., raw chicken), it is important to limit access to the deli to required depart-
mental employees only (FMI
2008
,
2012
). Color coding equipment is a good
practice to prevent cross-contamination between raw and RTE foods (e.g., cut
raw poultry on yellow cutting boards, fresh produce on green). Similarly, for
cleaning equipment, equipment intended for FCS should be labeled and reserved
for only these surfaces (e.g., buckets, brushes). Separate equipment should be
available for NFCS as these are more likely to harbor
L. monocytogenes
, e.g.,
1 in 4 fl oor drains is contaminated with
L. monocytogenes
(
Simmons et al.
unpublished
). Furthermore, the deli department should have its own cleaning
equipment and should not provide or borrow equipment from other departments
(e.g., brooms and hoses used in the raw meat department should not be shared
with deli, dairy, bakery, or produce).
3 .
Make the deli easier to clean and maintain
. Sanitation is a diffi cult, tedious, and
time-consuming job. While it is diffi cult to change some aspects of the process,
there are some obvious strategies to make it easier to do and more effective. It is
important to remove “clutter” from the area. This can include unused and/or
broken equipment, storage of chemicals below sinks, excess carts, old cleaning
equipment, milk crates, etc. In short, personnel should be equipped with the tools
and supplies needed to perform the job and the rest removed. Excess equipment
and clutter have to be cleaned and cleaned around which signifi cantly reduces (1)
the likelihood that an area will be cleaned well or (2) cleaned at all. There should
be designated space for cleaning equipment including hanging racks for brooms
and shelves for sanitizers and detergents. An excellent example of an area that is
typically challenging is under the single- and three-basin sink. This area is (1)
