and emphasizing their importance on a
daily basis. Unfortunately, we cannot
follow up and ensure that employees
are doing the best job possible—this is
the responsibility of the management.
Improper Holding/
Time and Temperature
Studies have shown that almost 30%
of retail inspections find improper
holding times or holding temperatures,
“The Invisible Challenge” that covers
the basics of food safety. The areas cov-
ered are Personal Health and Hygiene,
Proper Temperature and Time Control,
Prevention of Cross-Contamination
and Food Allergen Control and Aware-
ness, as featured in the 2009 FDA Food
Code. This provides an inexpensive,
easy way for employees to access train-
ing. Employees can watch the DVD,
and learning can be verified using ques-
“It is imperative that their employees use food
safety processes and procedures accurately,
without taking shortcuts.”
refrigeration that is broken or old refrigeration that was designed when the
maximum cold holding temperature
was 45 °F. Equipment can be readjusted
for temperature, depending on the type
of case, for a minimal cost. However,
other cases may need to be replaced at a
greater expense.
Other concerns are the lack of
knowledge about cooling paddles, the
lack of desire to spend the money to
purchase these items and mass storage
of product that should have been broken down into smaller portions to allow
more surface area to disperse the heat.
Inspections have also found large quantities of food raising the temperature of
other products above or around the
food that is being cooled.
While shopping, have you ever seen
condensation on the lid of what was
supposed to be a properly cooled food?
That is a sure sign that the food was too
hot when it was packaged. It is surpris-
ing that we do not have more out-
breaks. In 2007, Clostridium perfringens
affected 126 inmates that was believed
to be caused by improper reheating and
holding of the food served. The two
major reasons given for not following
prescribed cooling methods were “em-
ployee turnover” and “the staff was too
busy to do it correctly.” Some retail
managers also state it takes too much
time or it is too expensive to train work-
ers. FMI has a 45-minute DVD called
tionnaires provided with the DVD. On-
the-job training can continue from
there, and the business will benefit
from the employees’ increased aware-
ness of food safety principles.
Employee Training
While I was researching material for
this article, Pennsylvania State University
Co-operative Extension food safety
classes were in session. Instructors
handed out a general survey at the end
of the class. This survey helps to evaluate
teaching quality, what students found
important and relevant to their particu-
lar retail facility, which tasks were usually
performed at their specific facility, what
has been an area of increased awareness
and what has not been part of the nor-
mal tasks performed at their facility but
will now be implemented due to their
additional knowledge and understanding
of food safety. The top three areas noted
for improvement were Personal Hygiene,
Cleaning and Sanitizing and Time/
Temperature.
