Food Bits 

Summer 2006

Hello again.  We thought that since we have your attention by sending your Permit, we would take the opportunity to mention a few items that you might find helpful.  Read on to find:  what to do if a Boil Water Notice is issued (both for municipal water and for private wells); some tidbits that have recently come up as questions; and some good food safety resources.

 Boil Water Notices 

Boil Water Notices are issued as the result of laboratory detection of coliform bacteria in drinking water.  This type of bacteria lives naturally in soil and also in the waste of warm-blooded animals.  Most coliform are not harmful, but do indicate the possible presence of other disease-causing microbes (viruses, harmful bacteria and parasites) that are often found in soil and feces. 

In the event that a Boil water Notice is issued affecting your establishment, follow the guidelines below to protect yourself, your employees and your customers from possibly becoming ill: 

ü       Inform the public by posting the DNR notice (available from local DNR offices), or the notice provided with the Boil Water Notice, at faucets and in other prominent locations instructing the public not to drink the water or use it for mixing baby formula. 

ü       Turn off drinking fountains

 ü       Dump ice if it was made on-site, purchase ice from a safe source, clean and sanitize ice machines after “all clear” has been issued

 ü       Provide SAFE water (see below) for drinking and preparing food, juice, other beverages and ice.  

            ¨       Commercially bottled water

¨       Packaged ice from an approved source

¨       Water that has been at a rolling boiled for 1 minute (CDC – Centers for Disease Control).  Although boiling will make water safe, the high volume of water used by public facilities may make it impractical to depend on boiled water to replace tap water.

¨       A public water supply system that is in compliance.  Please note that the transport vessel, whether it is a gallon jug or a tanker truck, must be clean and sanitized before filling with water in order to keep the water safe to drink.

 ü       Use only commercially bottled water for ingestion, washing ready to eat foods such as fruit and vegetables, making coffee, cooking, reconstituting juices, carbonated beverages or other drinks and any other use which might result in the ingestion of potentially contaminated tap water.

 ü       Turn off beverage vending machines using contaminated water supply

 ü       Wash utensils either manually or with a dishwasher.  Be sure the final rinse of the dishes is done with the proper strength of sanitizer, a bleach solution (one tablespoon of bleach in 2 gallons of cool water) or using 180-degree water. 

ü       Thoroughly wash hands as usual.  Wear gloves after hand washing and prior to handling ready to eat foods.

 These procedures must remain in effect until the municipality issues the “all clear” or your private well tests safe.  After you are notified that the water is safe, clean and sanitize the ice machine, beverage machines and any other piece of equipment that uses tap water prior to using.

 Just a few quick notes:

 Employee Illness 

Employees who are ill should not work with food.  Managers must provide training to new    employees regarding the symptoms of illness and specific diseases that must be reported to management.  Managers must exclude workers from handling food when they are ill. 

Signs and symptoms to report to management include: vomiting, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, jaundice (yellowing of skin or eyes) or infected wounds.

 Monitoring Refrigeration Temperatures

 Aahh…summer.  We humans might like the nice weather, but refrigeration equipment can sometimes have a real problem with the greater humidity and temperatures.  That’s one reason that having independent thermometers in all refrigeration units is not only good practice, but required by the Wisconsin Food Code.  However, those thermometers are pointless without monitoring.  Make sure that your food is cooled properly and your customers are safe by checking equipment thermometers regularly.  Also, do not overstock coolers - air flow is an important element in maintaining temperatures.   

Dishwashers

 One of the most important actions in protecting the health of your customers is sanitizing the food utensils before use.  Many establishments use a dishwasher to do this, but if the dishwasher is not dispensing sanitizer correctly or attaining proper temperature, your patrons are not being protected and you are risking a foodborne illness outbreak. 

Each chemical sanitizing dishwasher must have appropriate chemical test strips handy and the machine must be tested once per day (preferably at start-up.)  Chlorine sanitizing machines must reach 50 ppm, other chemical sanitizers have different concentrations, generally listed on the machine data plate or chemical container.

 Each hot water sanitizing dishwasher must have a means of testing water temperature.  Two methods to test the water temperature are temperature-sensitive tape (one source is:  www.paperthermometer.com) or a maximum recording dishwasher thermometer (at various retailers for $10-$20.) 

 Temperature-sensitive tape is applied to the surface of a utensil and turns color when the utensil reaches 160⁰ F – the Food Code requirement. 

 A maximum recording thermometer records the maximum water temperature reached in the dishwasher (final rinse water temperature must reach 160⁰ F by Code.) 

 Either testing method is acceptable.  However, the thermometer is probably more cost effective.  Whichever method is used, the machine must be tested at least once per day (preferably at start-up.)

 Food Manager Re-Certification

 Our department receives many calls about Certified Food Manager issues.  Each restaurant (and retail store conducting restaurant activities) is required to have a minimum of one Certified Food Manager who supervises the kitchen and is involved in the daily foodservice activities.* 

 Certification requires proof of passing a WI Department of Health and Family Services approved exam, a $10 fee and an application.  For information about available courses, call (608) 266-2835 or (608) 261-8361.  Contact your sanitarian or call (608) 266-2835 for an application form. 

Note: Re-certification must be completed within six months of certification expiration to avoid retaking the entire approved course. 

Information about certification or re-certification can also be found at: http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/fsrl/cert/index.htm . 

*When the Certified Food Manager is not onsite at an establishment, there must be a Person In Charge - someone who is responsible for the operation at the time of inspection and knowledgeable about food safety issues.

Resources 

WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection – Food Processing & Safety web page: http://datcp.state.wi.us/core/food/food.jsp . This website contains useful links to food safety publications, regulations and fact sheets to aid in complying with the Wisconsin Food Code. 

City of Madison Food Safety Training:  http://www.safefoodcrew.org . This website contains some useful training modules for keeping up to date with employee training and knowledge.

 The Wisconsin Food Code: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/hfs/hfs196_app.pdf .

 Who you gonna call?

 Your inspectors:

Doug Schaefer               (608) 785-9679               schaefer.doug@co.la-crosse.wi.us

Jim Steinhoff                  (608) 789-7816               steinhoff.jim@co.la-crosse.wi.us

Sam Welch                   (608) 785-9732               welch.sam@co.la-crosse.wi.us

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