If there's one word that should strike fear into the heart of anyone who works in a commercial kitchen, it's salmonella.
The CDC estimates that Salmonella bacteria cause around 1.35 million infections in the United States and 420 deaths each year. A salmonella outbreak can destroy a restaurant's reputation forever.
It's vital that everyone working in a commercial kitchen knows how to prevent salmonella. Here are five key tips to you avoid a potentially fatal outbreak.
What Is Salmonella?
Salmonella is a bacterium that causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Most people contract it from eating contaminated food. The symptoms include:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Stomach cramps
- Headache
- Blood in stool
The symptoms usually develop a few hours after eating food contaminated with the bacteria. The symptoms usually last for a few days or up to a week. People aged approximately 5 and below or approximately 65 and over and those with weakened immune systems are at risk of severe infection.
Salmonella infection is preventable when food safety standards are followed.
1. Wash Your Hands and Surfaces Regularly
Bacteria can quickly spread via our hands or food preparation surfaces.
Thoroughly wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after handling each type of food. Wash them with soap and water.
Before using utensils, cutting boards, or countertops for another food item, wash them with hot, soapy water. This should be followed by sanitizing with an approved sanitizer and air drying.
Also, clean your fruit and vegetable under running water before preparing them.
2. Recognize Danger Foods
It's possible for many foods to contain salmonella. However, certain foods present a higher risk. Therefore, be careful when obtaining:
- Eggs
- Vegetables
- Meat - especially pork and chicken
- Fish and seafood
- Certain processed foods
It's not possible to identify the presence of salmonella from the way food smells or looks. Therefore, it's important to work with trusted suppliers that follow salmonella prevention protocols.
3. Separate Foods
Store raw meat, seafood, and eggs separately from raw vegetables and prepared foods. Ready-to-eat foods (non-raw foods) should be stored on top. Raw chicken would be stored on the bottom. Storage follows the cooking temperatures. On top, 135°F followed by 145°F, 155°F and 165°F on the bottom.
Use different cutting boards for each type of food. Make sure everyone in the kitchen is familiar with the system to prevent cross-contamination.
4. Cook Food Thoroughly
A food thermometer is essential for salmonella prevention.
You can kill salmonella by cooking food to the correct temperature. The only way to know if it is cooked to the right temperature is with a food thermometer. Make sure that you stick this into the thickest part of the meat and immediately wash it before using it again.
According to the FDA Model Food Code, key temperatures to memorize are:
- Whole Meat cuts, fish - 145°F or higher
- Ground meat and fish - 155°F or higher
- Poultry, Leftovers - 165°F or higher
It's a good idea to display a detailed chart in the kitchen with all the safe temperatures for cooks to refer to.
5. Chill Food Properly
The fridge is your friend in preventing salmonella infections.
The danger zone for bacteria multiplication is 41°F - 135°F. Your refrigerator can keep food below this temperature, but only if you put it in there promptly after preparation or receipt.
Every member of the team should know how long they can safely leave food out before putting it away in the refrigerator to cool down. This should never exceed 4 hours.
How to Prevent Salmonella
The only way to prevent salmonella is through proper training of all personnel working in commercial kitchens. Food safety training helps every worker to recognize their personal responsibility to keep the kitchen clean and handle food correctly.
At Cenza, Inc. we provide food safety training courses for employees, managers, and trainers. This includes the Certified Professional of Food Safety (CP-FS) qualification.
Click here to learn more about our range of food safety courses today.
Be Smart!