Recent recalls of produce across the country are making the public nervous.  What is going on with the food supply and can we really trust it?  Why are there so many reports of tainted foods, and now we can’t even trust the familiar healthy fruit, cantaloupes.   Bacteria can get into fruits and vegetables in several ways… from the water supply, soil that naturally contains bacteria, animals wandering onto the fields that are carriers of Listeria bacteria, field workers’ unclean hands, and contaminated equipment.  Apparently the contaminated melons have been removed from the markets across the country, but if you are not sure, you should ask your store manager if the melons came from the Rocky Ford batch that was part of the recall.   Wash hands, sanitize counter, refrigerator shelves and surfaces with a mixture of 1 TBLSP bleach/1 gallon water, if you did have them in your home.

There seem to be so many reports of illness from certain foods and recalls, and one reason for this may be the increased testing and surveillance of the food supply more than ever before.  Since the E.coli outbreak from spinach and lettuce in 2006, there have been some programs put in place, meant to help protect the food supply. The California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement put in place controls against hazards on the farm.  CDC is able to better track reports of foodborne illness, which may also account for the seeming increase in illnesses associated with foods. And the Food Safety Modernization Act also puts in place additional measures to help detect problems in processing viagra and on the farm before an outbreak occurs.    I was at the Topsfield Fair the other day passing out educational materials to the public, and one woman said to my cynically, “the government is ruining our foods” as if they were responsible for the recent problem with the melons.   I would argue quite the contrary, but that they are putting controls in place to help protect the public.   The Salmonella discovered in grape tomatoes recently was detected by routine testing on imports.  The Listeria in the spinach dip in Florida was detected by routine testing by the supermarket. The Listeria contaminated Romain Lettuce was recalled after routine testing of product and was recalled promptly upon discovery.       There are some things that may not be easy to control, environmental factors such as birds, animals, bacteria that lie dormant for years before surfacing and causing illness in foods.   But the public also has to meet the public health officials half way and take responsibility to educate themselves in the areas that they can control.    More to come on this later…   Be well.    Cindy

The Boston Public Schools were in the news recently because of expired frozen products found on some kitchen shelves and this has brought up a most confusing issue… “Use by,” “Best if used- by,”"Sell by,”" Expiration dates.”    Let’s look at the different date-marking terms used on packages, and what they tell us about the quality and safety of the foods inside.

• Use-by date  (or discard date) refers to the date that foods can be safely used by, and is often the date stamped onto refrigerated meats, poultry, prepared foods by supermarkets and stores.   After this date, the bacteria that normally live in foods have probably grown to high levels and the food is not safe to eat, even if it has been in the refrigerator. 

• Best if used by date  is not really the “drop dead” date for food safety, but foods should be consumed before this date for the best product quality-e.g.,  taste, texture, color.  This is often the date seen on dry packaged foods and canned goods.  Foods that have passed this date are generally safe to eat, even if they may taste a little stale or have reduced quality.

• Sell by date  is often used for dairy products and fresh meats, and is the date by which the products should be sold by stores for safety as well as quality reasons.  Products are usually “good” for 3 or 4 days past this “sell-by date.”   The “spoilage bacteria” in milk, meats and other products make them discolor, smell or taste bad over time, and these  indicators tell us it’s time to discard the product, for quality and safety reasons.  

What about frozen foods?   Freezing suspends bacterial growth, so expiration dates are generally not applicable, except for quality reasons.  Understanding dates marked on products can help you sell and consume foods at their peak of freshness and safety.  Eat well and be healthy!

Our businesses are more profitable, and customers more satisfied, when we are being proactive and keeping on top of soft-flavoured.htm’>good food safety practices at work.  Please feel free to download this Self- Assessment Checklist so that you can assess how your staff and operation are running, with regard to food safety practices everyday.  Contact us if you have any questions about using this tool.

       Cindy    Self Assessment Checklist – Food Safety pdf