Food Safety Inservice Are there bugs in your

Food Safety Inservice Are there bugs in your food? ? Connie Cavenaugh UAMS Infection Control

Food Borne Illnesses • Caused by pathogens: – Viruses – Bacteria – Parasites – Fungi

FAT TOM - what every bug needs to live • • • Food Acidity Temperature Time Oxygen Moisture

How to stop the madness • • • Time & temperature control Hand hygiene Reliable food suppliers Employee health issues Watch for cross-conatmination

Nasty little viruses • • Don’t grow in food Do grow inside a host Usually passed on by food handlers Most common – Hepatitis A & Norovirus

Hepatitis A • • • Usually in feces of infected people Infected people may not have symptoms May be in fish in contaminated water Not destroyed by cooking There’s a shot for that

Norovirus – a. k. a. my cruise was a blast • • Only takes a small amount Become ill & CONTAGIOUS very quickly Often from infected foodhandlers There’s not a shot for this

Moral of the story • SICK people have to stay at home! • Foodhandlers with diarrhea & jaundice are not a good idea.

Bacteria & food – not a good combo • • • Keep food out of the temperature danger zone. Under right conditions, bacteria grow fast Can change to spores and back again to live Can produce toxins Pick your contamination point – water, people, soil, milk, meat, produce, etc.

Just to mention a few • • Bacillus cereus Listeriosis E. Coli Clostridium Salmonella Shigella Staph aureus

Creepy little parasites • Grow in the meat of another animal • Caused by eating contaminated food or water • Can be in fish from contaminated water • Know where your food comes from!!

Fungi – are they in your kitchen? • Mold – unless it’s good mold, then just cut it off. • Yeast – smell or taste like alcohol

Biological toxins – as bad as it sounds • Seafood toxins – Can’t smell or taste it – Can’t freeze or cook it away – May be in fish or shellfish – Can be fatal if you eat enough – May attack the central nervous system

Mushroom toxin • Life lesson – don’t pick your own mushrooms unless you are a professional mushroom picker! • Not destroyed by cooking or freezing

High risk populations • • The very young and very old Pregnant women Immunocompromised patients People with metabolic diseases like diabetes • People with immune diseases

One more time from the top • • • Healthy employees with clean hands Food cooked & held at right temp. Reliable suppliers Correct storage & handling Clean equipment & area Training sessions for employees