Search Results

#4 : TOXINS Common sources include plants, mushrooms and seafood (like fish). Toxins naturally occur in some types of fish Histamine is a type of toxin produced by the pathogens on the fish when it is time-temperature abused. Prevention of Toxin-Related Foodborne Illness: Control for time and temperature Limit the amount of time that a good is spent in the temperature danger zone Keep TCS foods out of the temperature danger zone (41°F to 135°F) Bacteria grow even more rapidly at 70°F to 125°F Purchase food from approved, reputable sources

A.L.E.R.T. (tool created by the FDA) Assure Purchase food from approved, reputable suppliers that practice food defense Supervise deliveries Request delivery trucks to be locked to prevent contamination Look Limit access to kitchen Lock storage areas Create a system for handling all damaged products Store chemicals appropriately Train staff to monitor for signs on deliberate contamination Employees Limit access to kitchen Identify all visitors and verify their credentials Conduct background checks on all staff members Reports Keep a record of all information related to food defense Includes receiving logs, staff files, random food defense self-inspections, etc. Threats Hold any product suspected of contamination Contact your regulatory authority as soon as possible Maintain an emergency contact list ​

#3 : PARASITES Require a living host to grow (human beings or animals) Common sources include seafood, wild game, contaminated water and foods that are processed using contaminated water, such as produce Prevention of Parasite-Related Foodborne Illness: Purchase food from approved, reputable sources Use appropriate food preparation and storage techniques Cook food to the required minimum internal temperatures Ensure proper receiving and storage of foods, specially seafood that will be served raw or undercooked

Chemical Contaminants Sources of Chemical Contamination: Cleaners, delimers, dishwashing detergents, first-aid kits, hair spray, ink, lotions, machine lubricants, pesticides, polishes, sanitizers. Equipment and cookware made from pewter, copper, and some types of painted pottery. Avoid using these items with acidic foods and salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc. Call 911 and Poison Control if chemical contamination is suspected. Symptoms of Chemical Contamination: Vomiting Diarrhea Onset of Chemical Contamination: Within minutes Prevention of Chemical Contamination: Use chemicals approved for food service establishments Purchase chemicals from approved, reputable sources Store chemicals away from prep, storage and service areas Chemicals can NEVER be stored above food or food-contact surfaces. Follow directions on the chemicals and only use them as directed on the label Discard chemicals appropriately ​ Physical Contamination ​Sources of Physical Contamination: Common physical contaminants include plastic, wood, fingernails, metal shavings from cans, stables, band-aids, jewelry, dirt, etc. Naturally occurring objects can also be considered physical contaminants Bones, fruit pits and seeds, etc. Symptoms of Chemical Contamination: Choking Cuts Dental damage Bleeding Mouth pain Prevention: Purchase food from approved, reputable sources Inspect food during receiving Practice proper personal hygiene ​ Deliberate Contamination Who Would Want to do it? Activists or terrorists Competitors who want your business Former staff that is disgruntled with management Vendors that have lost a contract or an employee of a vendor that may lose their job due to losing an account These people may want to tamper with your food using biological, chemical or physical contamination

Food Allergens A protein in a food or ingredient that some people are sensitive to.​ Allergic Response ‐ Hypersensitivity that occurs within 2 days. Allergic Tendencies ‐ Inherited, may lack enzyme to digest food. Symptoms can be right after a food or hours later. Nausea, wheezing, shortness breath, hives/rashes, swelling body parts, vomiting/diarrhea, abdominal pain. If a customer is having an allergic reaction, call the emergency number in your area and inform them. Facts: < 1 % of adults have true food allergies. Most allergies come from food additives, food poisoning, food intolerances or penicillin. True food allergies can result in anaphylactic shock (drop in blood pressure/difficulty breathing) and will need a epinephrine syringe (Ana‐Kit or Epipen) to decreases the severity of the reaction. Bracelets can be a good form of medical identification. Children normally outgrow allergies by age 6. Add 1 food allergen to children’s diets at a time. The Big 8 Allergens Over 160 foods can cause allergic reactions, but there are 8 main foods that make up 90% of reactions: 1. Milk Artificial Butter Flavor • Bread, Cake • Casein • Chocolate • Cream • Custard • Half & half • Margarine • Non-Dairy Creamer • Nougat • Pudding • Sauces/Gravies • Whey 2. Eggs Albumin • Baked Goods • Custard • Dressings • Egg: Whites, Yolks, Dried, Powdered, Solids • Fried Rice • Mayonnaise • Meringue • Pasta 3. Soy Cereal • Crackers • Edamame • Gravies/Sauces • Shoyu Sauce • Snack Bars • Soy Sauce • Tamari • Tempeh • Tofu • TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) 4. Wheat Baked Goods • Bran • Bulgur • Couscous • Enriched Flour • Farina • Luncheon Meats • Pasta • Snack Foods • Seitan • Semolina • Soy Sauce • Spelt • Whole Wheat Berries • Whole Wheat Flour 5. Fish Anchovies • Asian Dishes • Caesar Dressing • Caponata • Caviar • Clams • Fish Sticks • Fish Tacos • Fumet • Mahi Mahi • Mussels • Perch • Salmon • Surimi • Sushi • Tilapia • Worcestershire Sauce® 6 Shellfish Bisques/Bouillabaisse • Chowders • Crab/Crab Cakes • Crawfish • Crayfish • Gumbo • Imitation Crab/Seafood • Lobster • Oysters • Prawns • Scallops • Shrimp • Surimi 7. Peanuts African & Asian Dishes • Baked Goods • Beer Nuts, Nu-Nuts • Chili • Chocolate Candy, Nougat • Peanut Oil • Ground Nuts, Mixed Nuts • Mandelonas • Peanut Butter • Peanut Flour 8. Tree Nuts Almonds • Artificial Nuts • Baked Goods • Brazil Nuts • Cashews • Filberts/Hazelnuts • Hickory Nuts • Macadamia Nuts • Marzipan • Mortadella • Natural Extracts • Nut Oils - Unrefined, Crude • Pecans • Pine Nuts • Pistachios • Walnuts ​ Prevention Read and Understand Food Labels Service Staff Describe dishes Identify ingredients Make suggestions Identify allergens in special orders Deliver food with caution/separately Kitchen Staff Avoid Cross-Contamination

Grapefruit Grapefruit contains furanocoumarins - a chemical that can interfere with how your body breaks down drugs before they enter the bloodstream. Note: It is important to read drug labels! Fatalities/overdoses have occurred Can cause severe side effects like: kidney failure muscle breakdown difficulty with breathing blood clots heart-rhythm problems Blood levels should be monitored, as they may decrease No proven interaction when given perenterally Talk with your Physician

Try these strategies to encourage healthy eating: Use smaller plates, bowls and serving spoons to prevent overeating. Keep treats and snack foods out of sight and out of mind. Seal in non‐transparent containers and place on top shelves of the pantry. Place healthy, low‐energy foods at the front of the pantry and fridge. Use tall, slim glasses rather than short, wide tumblers. Make snacking inconvenient. Put snack and treat foods somewhere you have to get up and walk to, or better yet, don’t have them in the house at all, so if you want a treat, you have to go out to get it. Repackage foods from large boxes into smaller zip‐lock bags. Hide spare packets at the back of the cupboard. Avoid temptation and develop a plan to avoid weaknesses. Example: Replace the cookie jar with a bowl of fruit. Make eating ‘seconds’ inconvenient. Leave serving dishes in the kitchen (the walk from the table deters overeating) or try putting the leftovers in the fridge once you’ve dished up. Save money by using your leftovers for future meals. Don’t eat in front of the TV, computer, or while reading. Eat at the dinner table and on a plate. Eat in the same place for all meals. Designate a room where all eating will occur. Plan your shopping. Bring a limited amount of money with you to the store, so you won’t be tempted to spend more. Make a shopping list and stick to it. Do not beat yourself up if you slip up. Everyone overeats at times. Live by the philosophy “everything in moderation.” Choose healthier replacements. If you crave biscuits, try whole wheat bread, if you crave candy, try dried fruit, if you crave ice cream, try flavored yogurt, and if you crave chips, try unsalted popcorn. Accept food cravings as a normal part of living in a food-oriented society. Food is all around us. You sometimes can’t control the craving, but you can control your reaction. Try to understand your cravings in relation to your mood or situation. Look at cravings as suggestions, not commands, to overindulge. When you feel a craving, decide how you want to deal with it. You can choose to eat a little, a lot, or none. Cravings will pass, they are not hunger, and they usually go away with distractions Aim for moderation instead of abstinence. Your favorite foods may make you feel great, so enjoy them occasionally. Deal with emotions, such as anger or sadness, in a way that doesn’t involve food. Stay active. Moving is a great way to keep you from eating, and it is essential for good health. Practice mindful eating. Drink more WATER!!

TIPS Pay attention to eating. Do not do any other activities while you’re eating. Watching television distracts your mind. This means you will eat more food because your brain isn’t fully aware of the amount it is receiving. Eating at the table forces you to pay attention to the food in front of you. Taste your food. Slow down. Digestion starts in your mouth. Tasting your food is part of the experience. Chew your food 30 times, each mouthful. You should not be able to identify the chewed food before you swallow. Try slowing down by putting your fork down while you chew and fully swallow before you take another mouthful. Feel satisfied. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to become aware of the food in your stomach. If it senses that you have eaten too much, your body receives negative signals, which include feeling tired and feeling tension in your stomach. Aim to feel satisfied. Eat only what you enjoy. You may often eat simply because “it’s there.” Have you ever eaten the last cookie on the tray, even when you didn’t really like the flavor? Eating foods you don’t like is a waste of calories and enjoyment. Enjoy whatever you eat. Savor every mouthful as if it were your last. Enjoying food is part of the experience of eating. If you feel guilty or angry about what you eat, you will not feel satisfied. If you are trying to achieve a healthy weight, you may already be aware of some basic healthy eating principles. These include eating appropriate portions, cutting back on fats and sugars, and exercising. But, there are many other factors that make it difficult to control your weight. Humans spend a lot of time thinking, gathering, preparing, and eating food, which means eating is personal.

Mindful Eating Mindful eating means “Allowing your body and mind to fully experience the entire eating process.” When we haven’t had the experience of eating, we don’t feel satisfied. This is the heart of healthy eating. No matter what your struggles are, you can benefit from practicing mindful eating. Try using these strategies to help you be more mindful around food: Feel hunger. Physical hunger appears slowly after a meal. Hunger involves a rumbly, empty stomach. The feeling disappears after eating. Eat only when you are hungry. Prepare your food. Cooking assists your body with the experience of eating, it lets you have more control over what goes into your body, and healthy meals can be assembled from simple convenience foods (whole wheat rolls, microwave chicken, frozen vegetables, salad in a bag, etc). The 5 D’s: Delay: Wait 10 minutes. Distract: Concentrate on something else. Distance: Make yourself leave your environment to get the food. Determine: Think about how badly you really want it. Decide: Know how much to eat. If you choose to eat something you crave, remember to enjoy it.

Reasons to avoid ‘Diets’ Dieting can be dangerous (impact medical labs, etc). Diets can be expensive. Dieting can zap energy and strength. Diet results typically only show temporary ‘results. Dieting can disrupt normal eating and causes binging, overeating, and chaotic eating. Dieting can cause unnecessary stress and thinking about food too often. Dieting can decrease self‐esteem. Dieting can stunt mental and physical growth in young people.

Stimulus Control The word “stimulus” refers to the things that encourage you to eat. They stimulate eating. There are two different types of stimuli: Internal: These come from inside of you. The main internal types of eating stimuli are cravings and habits. External: These come from outside of you. It is the place you live and the people you are with that stimulate eating. Internal Stimulus: Cravings People sometimes have strong desires for particular foods. Food cravings happen for a variety of reasons. First, your body may physically need a certain nutrient. For example, you may crave sweets when you are tired because your body physically needs carbohydrates (quick energy). Second, your brain may be addicted to a certain nutrient. A common nutrient addiction is alcohol, but your brain can also experience addictions to fats and carbohydrates. Third, your cravings may be emotional. If a craving has an emotional base, food generally does not address the craving. You will eat and still feel hungry. The craving must be addressed by dealing with your emotions. Try these strategies to help you gain control over your cravings: Eat at least three well‐balanced meals a day. Do not skip meals. You will just make yourself more hungry for the next meal, most likely causing you to overeat. Stop labeling foods as “bad.” It is not the food that is the problem, it is the quantity you choose to consume food. Allow yourself a little of you favorite foods once in a while. Internal Stimulus: Habits These are the behaviors you are most comfortable doing right now. In fact, you are so comfortable doing them that you don’t even have to think about it because it happens automatically. In order to make major changes, you will need to form new habits. Try these strategies out to form new habits: Decide what is your motivator. In order to change your behavior, you have to want to change. A strong motivator is essential. Preferably, choose a positive motivator, such as being able to live to see your grandchildren or setting a good example for your kids. Get into a routine. This could be exercising at a similar time every day, or it could involve planning healthy snacks or packing lunches every evening. Try eating all your meals at home in one room of the house. Adopt positive thinking. Instead of thinking “I have to eat this carrot,” try thinking, “I can eat this carrot to help me reach my goals.” Monitor your behaviors. In order to break old habits, you need to know what your habits are. Keep a food and activity diary or a food and emotions diary. Keeping these sorts of records is directly associated with greater weight loss. Get support. Let friends and family know what changes you’re making so that they can help you and so you can be held accountable. External Stimulus: The Environment The environment we live in affects our food choices constantly, and many of our environments have programmed us to eat “mindlessly” too.

#1 : BACTERIA Can be found anywhere! Bacteria live in and on our body. Some keep us healthy - others cause illness. Bacteria cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. Bacteria need 6 settings to grow: FAT TOM FOOD ACIDITY TEMPERATURE TIME OXYGEN MOISTURE FOOD: Food provides bacteria with the nutrients it needs to grow TCS foods Food that requires time and temperature control for safety Keep TCS food out of the danger zone. ACIDITY: Bacteria grow best with little to no acid. pH is the measure of acidity. It ranges from: 0 (highly acidic) to 14 (highly alkaline) 7 is neutral TEMPERATURE Keep TCS foods out of the temperature danger zone - 41°F to 135°F (5°C AND 57°C). Bacteria grow even more rapidly at 70°F to 125°F TIME: The more time bacteria spend in the temperature danger zone, the more opportunity they have to grow to unsafe levels. OXYGEN: Some bacteria need oxygen to grow (aerobic), while others do not need oxygen to grow (anaerobic) MOISTURE: Promotes the growth of bacteria. Moisture available is called water activity. This scale ranges from 0.0 to 0.1. The higher the value the more moisture in the food. ​ Most Harmful Bacteria That Cause Foodborne Illness: Salmonella Typhi Nontyphoidal Salmonella Shigella spp. Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) *A food service worker who is diagnosed with any of these can NEVER work in an operation while sick. ​ Salmonella Typhi Lives only in humans Small amount can lead to sickness Linked to Ready-to-Eat foods and beverages Preventative Measures: Wash hands Cook food to correct temperatures (internal especially) Don’t allow workers to work if they have 2. Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) Comes from farm animals naturally Small amount can lead to sickness Foods linked: poultry, eggs, meat, milk, dairy, produce Preventative Measures: Cook food to correct internal temperatures (eggs and poultry especially) Don’t allow workers to work if they have Prevent cross-contamination (poultry and RTE foods especially) 3. Shigella Found in human feces Commonly from contaminated food or water Small amount can lead to sickness Linked to produce in contact with contaminated water and foods easily contaminated by human hands (TCS foods) Preventative Measures: Wash hands Control flies inside and outside facility Don’t allow workers to work if they have 4. Shiga Toxin-Producing E.Coli (STEC) Found in cattle intestines and infected people Eating the food causes toxins and makes person sick Small amount can lead to sickness Linked to ground beef (raw or undercooked) and contaminated produce Preventative Measures: Purchase produce from reputable vendors Cook food to correct temperatures (beef especially) Don’t allow workers to work if they have Prevent cross-contamination (raw and RTE foods)