Training in Food Safety is Essential for Foodservice Employees - Research Paper Example

Training in Food Safety is Essential for Foodservice Employees Employees in the foodservice industry continue to play an integral role in deterring the incidences of outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. They also play critical roles in attaining the goal of providing and serving safe and healthy food. The aim of this paper is to examine the knowledge, practices, attitudes and training inherent in foodservice employees regarding the subject of food safety (Hsu & Huang, 1995). Employees in the foodservice industry are typically required to have sufficient knowledge of food safety, as well as attitudes, to guarantee their adherence to food safety practices. Ensuring food safety in among foodservice employees encompasses the determination of proper food handling, preparation, as well as storage methods to deter the event of foodborne diseases and illnesses. Food safety refers to the degree of inherent confidence in people that food will not cause them harm, for instance, sickness during its preparation and consumption. Probable undesirable compounds found in foods span a broad range, from environmental contaminants such as dioxins and natural contaminants such as mycotoxins to agrichemicals such as pesticides. A vast majority of incidences of foodborne illnesses are preventable if all food safety principles are adhered to from food production to consumption. Given that it is presently relatively impossible for food producers to guarantee a pathogen free supply of food, foodservice employees serve as critical links in the chain to deter foodborne illnesses. This paper will examine what foodservice employees need to be aware as effective strategies of minimizing the existence and consequences of pathogens or their inherent toxins in food. Introduction Food safety is a crucial issue that engulfs the foodservice industry. An in-depth understanding of the procedures encompassed in food safety, as well as the potential causes of foodborne illnesses is quite pertinent for all persons who handle food. It is only knowledgeable, skilled and highly motivated foodservice employees trained to adhere to the proper procedures coupled with management that effectively keep an eye on employee performances can guarantee food safety (Chapman, Eversley, Fillion, MacLaurin & Powell, 2010). Foodservice employees play quite an integral role in deterring, as well as controlling or managing the epidemics of food borne illnesses. Foodservice managers typically employ the services of a massive number of part-time, as well as full-time employees, to offer food services. Part-time employees are typically aimed at providing flexibility in the workforce. It is, therefore, quite common that foodservice managers hire a large number of part-time, as well as international student employees who have no foodservice history or experience. In addition, many part-time employees work in the foodservice industry for only a brief timeframe before leaving for employment in other fields and industries. As a consequence, part-time employees may typically have lowered awareness of, as well as concern regarding the principles of food safety compared to full-time employees. It is, therefore, critical that managers educate both part-time and full-time employees regarding the issue of food safety, train them to ensure that they make use of appropriate food handling procedures, and assess their overall performance. A number of studies have been carried out to investigate part-time and full-time foodservice employees’ knowledge, practices, training, as well as attitudes, towards food safety. For instance, Chapman (2013) examined food handling practices, the presence of precondition food safety programs, as well as safety knowledge among foodservice scholars at least 40 Iowa schools. The researchers aimed at determining the readiness of foodservice students to implement hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) programs within their foodservice undertakings. These researchers determined that employees had relatively high knowledge of food safety, as well as overall constructive food safety attitudes. However, studies examining food handling practices show that proper handling practices are not always followed (FDA, 2009). Various studies conducted concerning food safety identified areas of improvement, for instance, insufficient taking, as well as recording of food temperatures, improper and infrequent hand washing by foodservice employees, inappropriate food thawing and cooling practices and inadequate recording and checking of the concentrations of sanitizers. In a study into food safety practices and readiness for the implementation of the HACCP programs in Iowa, researchers pinpointed an array of concerns in food safety practice (Chapman, Eversley, Fillion, MacLaurin & Powell, 2010). The researchers discovered that foodservice employees were least knowledgeable regarding food thawing and cooling practices, minimal end-point cooking temperatures and sanitizer concentrations. The researchers found that hand washing was not always appropriate, sufficient hair restraints were often not utilized, sanitizer concentrations were left unchecked and food temperature monitoring and recording were sporadic and infrequent. Such researchers continue to conclude that employees in the foodservice industry typically have inadequate knowledge of food safety while having positive attitudes towards learning food safety. However, foodservice employees lack appropriate safety practices, thus their food safety practices require drastic improvements (Unusan, 2005). Training in food safety essential for foodservice employees Training in food safety is vital for all foodservice employees since it deters the event of foodborne illnesses and controls the spread of such diseases. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) developed a standard to deal with the issue of food safety: ISO 22000. This standard is a derivative of ISO 9000 and gives specifications for food safety management systems. This involves the provision of system management, interactive communication, required programs, as well as HACCP principles. In essence, the standard requires that all foodservice employees receive training in food safety in order to achieve the minimum standards dictated by the ISO standard. In the year 2003, a report compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that, in the US alone, at least 76 million cases of reported incidents of food borne illnesses occurred, resulting in the hospitalization of 325,000 and death or 5,000 persons (FDA, 2009). This report highlighted the importance of training in food safety among foodservice employees. As a consequence, in the same year, the WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published the Codex Alimentarius that functions as a guideline to guarantee food safety (Unusan, 2005). Definition of Food Safety Food safety refers to the scientific discipline that entails the description of food handling, preparation and storage in manners, which deter foodborne illnesses (FDA, 2006). This typically includes several routines, which should be followed in order to keep away severe health hazards. This essentially means guaranteeing safety between industry and the market, as well as between the market and final consumer. When considering industry to market exercises, food safety considerations encompass the origins of the food such as practices relating to food labeling, hygiene, addictives and pesticide residues. This also encompasses policies regarding biotechnology, as well as food guidelines for the management governmental inspections and certifications of imports and exports. While, considering market to consumer practices for food safety, the common conception is that food should be safe within the market with the primary concern being safe preparation, as well as delivery, for the end consumer. Importance of Food Safety Food is highly capable of transmitting diseases from one person to another, as well as serves as the growth medium for a majority of bacteria, which cause food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses. In most countries, particularly developed nations, there are elaborate standards, which guide food preparation. However, in underdeveloped countries, the primary issue is mainly the availability of adequate and safe food and water. Theoretically, foodborne illnesses such as food poisoning are entirely preventable. According to the WHO, the five key values and importance of food safety include avoiding contaminating food with pathogens that spread from pets, pests and people (Cushman, Shanklin & Niehoff, 2001). In addition, food safety aims at separating raw and cooked food so as to deter the event of contaminated cooked foods. The third value inherent in food safety is to cook foods for sufficient and prescribed lengths of time, at appropriate temperatures so as to kill all pathogens. Additionally, food safety aims at ensuring the storage of food at the proper temperatures and making use of safe water, as well as cooking materials, to ensure safety in all cooking processes. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the annual costs of loss in productivity alone caused by foodborne illnesses is estimated at approximately between $20 and $40 billion in the US alone (FDA, 2000). This means that food safety has the capacity to deter such losses and ensure that foodservice industries, as well as other industries, of the economy do not suffer any preventable losses. Simply put, food safety is a matter of life and deaths since people can fall ill from consuming food, which was handled improperly. This can also result in death. Therefore, food safety is of paramount importance to the health of foodservice employees, as well as the people who consume the same food. Food safety in restaurants Available statistics show that there is a profound need for more employees with training in proper techniques for handling food within the restaurant business. Food safety regulations assist restaurants stock, prepare and dish up food safely in order to ensure that consumers do not fall ill. The reputation of restaurants is typically dependent on their customers trusting the restaurant establishment to provide them with quality food. Quality, in this sense, refers to the provision of food through safe and proper manners. If word gets out that a restaurant’s food causes food poisoning, the restaurant is not only bound to lose customers, but it may also suffer the loss of its food permit (NRA, 2010). It is, therefore, imperative that restaurants adhere to food safety regulations so as to make sure that they serve quality and safe food. Food safety protocols in restaurants typically deter the establishments from serving food prepared in somebody’s private home kitchen. Food safety also ensures that food that is served undercooked at the customer’s request is sourced from approved food vendors, as well as processing plants. Additionally, in restaurants, food safety also serves to ensure that food is stored at the proper temperature. Food safety regulations targeted at restaurants typically determine the temperatures at which various foods are either served or stored. For instance, restaurants are required to store raw eggs at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. In addition, food safety regulations also require that potentially hazardous foods, for instance, certain meats, must always be cooked at approximately 135 degrees Fahrenheit or more (Unusan, 2005). On the other hand, food safety regulations for restaurants also require that foodservice employees wash their hands prior to preparing or serving food. Moreover, restaurants are required to provide hot water, soap, as well as hygienic hand-drying options for their entire workforce. Moreover, food safety requirements in restaurants also demand that restaurants make use of ice for two fundamental reasons: firstly, to maintain cool temperatures for stored items and to serve within beverages, which are consumed by restaurant customers. Notably, food safety standards deter restaurants for making use of ice for beverages if the same ice has already been utilized to keep stored items cool. Restaurant employees are also deterred from using their hands to handle ice, but rather they are required to make use of an appropriate ice scoop in order to ensure that ice does not become contaminated by pathogens. Similarly, food safety regulations that govern restaurants also require that restaurants meet safety regulations regarding meat to ensure that consumers do not fall ill. Here, restaurants are required to reject meats from food vendors under various conditions in order to deter breaking food safety regulations. For instance, pork, beef and lamb should always be free from purple, green or brown splotches. On the other hand, poultry should not contain any form of stickiness beneath the wings, while shellfish should always consist of partially opened shells. Overall, the food safety regulations that govern restaurants vary significantly from one state and city to another (Unusan, 2005). It is, therefore, imperative that restaurant owners, as well as managers, be ready to conduct research into the requirements so as to deter unpleasant surprises during routine health inspections. Benefits of food safety training Consumers are presently getting actively involved in guaranteeing food safety standards are adhered to by foodservice employees. Consumers are keeping the issue of food safety close to their hearts whenever they choose where, as well as what foods to eat. Restaurant owners and stakeholders in the hospitality industry continue to seek innovative and effective ways of enhancing food safety. One of the most pertinent ways of ensuring food safety is through training of foodservice employees. Training of foodservice employees is critical since such training provides a number of benefits (Unusan, 2005). Firstly, food safety enables individuals appreciate the importance of proper techniques and practices of handling, preparing, storing and serving food. This entails the appreciation that food safety is of supreme importance to people’s health, as well as that of their loved ones. More and more, there are stories of mass food contamination incidents, as well as food recalls, within mainstream media. This is primarily because foodservice employees do not have proper hygiene and food handling knowledge and practices. Here, foodservice employees encompass, among others, employees based on farms, within butcher shops, restaurants, packaging houses and grocery chain stores. Additionally, the failure of such facilities to conform to the stringent food and safety laws prescribed by the FDA also results in detrimental health effects in those who consume food prepared by these professionals. Therefore, since food safety training entails teaching foodservice employees the importance of sustaining hygienic levels and adhering to the standards prescribed by relevant authorities, food safety training effectively ensure that foodservice employees do not cause food contamination. This, in turn, ensures that consumers do not fall sick form consuming contaminated food. As foodservice employees, the professions are typically responsible to protect the needs of their customers, clients and other people considered to be in direct contact with the food prepared by foodservice employees. Another prominent benefit of food safety training is that it teaches foodservice employees various lessons regarding handling, cooking, storing and serving food (Yeager, Menachemi, Braden, Taylor, Manzella & Ouimet, 2013). Food safety training is important since it teaches foodservice employees the proper ways of purchasing meats. Training imparts on the employees the importance of checking packages carefully in order to ensure that they purchase fresh and disease-free food items. For instance, food safety training teaches the importance of buying properly wrapped items rather than those exposed to germs and air. Training also assists foodservice employees to know and appreciate their suppliers to guarantee the safety, as well as quality of products being bought. During training, foodservice employees are taught the importance of working with trusted food distributors to ensure the employees get the safest and best quality food items at all instances. Training also teaches foodservice employees the importance of not breaking the cold chain so as to ensure that food items are healthy and fresh. Sustaining the cold chain is a crucial way of sustaining safety and guaranteeing quality food (FDA, 2009). Additionally, training is beneficial since it provides a milieu for foodservice employees to learn on the importance of avoiding cross-contamination, as well as how to deter cross-contamination. This entails the acknowledgement that cross-contamination refers to the process of transferring bacteria between surfaces and products, which is a leading cause of foodborne diseases (FDA, 2006). Training also teaches foodservice employees the importance of cooking foods thoroughly in order to kill all harmful bacteria, which cause foodborne diseases (Hamilton, 2011). Barriers to food safety training Although employee training is rewarding, it is also quite a challenging responsibility encountered by foodservice managers. There are a number of barriers to effective food safety training. Firstly, many foodservice managers are also unaware of the inherent importance of food safety training thus do not consider it as a critical issue in the workplace. Moreover, high, as well as rapid employee turnover among foodservice employees also poses a threat to food safety training since it disrupts the continuous process inherent in training. This is because, in the end, foodservice managers are forced to do more training with few employees (Unusan, 2005). Furthermore, the relatively high cost involved in training foodservice employees, particularly in the face of rapid employee turnover also deters effective food safety training. Another notable barrier is the expectation of food service employees to work in other fields such as housekeeping and personal care. Such employees must be properly trained in order to prevent cross-contamination of food, particularly whenever their work responsibilities change in the course of the day. Typically, few foodservice employees consider food service as an attractive work option. This, in turn, results in lowered interest in food safety training offered by an organization (Hamilton, 2011). Employees are more likely to attend training in hard skills considered to have higher market value than food safety skills. Overall, although training sounds like a meager task, it is quite tasking. This is because it requires a lot of though and preparation so as to determine the degree of performance expected from the trained employees. Moreover, the labor market participants appear not to value pre-employment food safety training. Instead, this value is established when the worker is on the job and foodservice managers communicate the requirement for stronger and highly effective food handling skills. In addition, employees do not learn at the same pace, which makes the training process extremely long and tedious (Unusan, 2005). Therefore, trainers are forced to follow-up with employees in need of one-on-one instruction; utilize additional instructional tools, for instance, mini-posters so as to reinforce skills and knowledge covered in training sessions. Trainers are also forced to reinforce training by praising employees’ positive attributes or remembering that manipulative skills must be demonstrated and competency documented on skills checklists. Options for food safety training Training for food safety encompasses three forms of learning, each vital for foodservice employees. Knowledge learning requires that foodservice employees know the basic facts regarding food preparation and safety. These employees need to appreciate the reasons for doing something, for instance, food safety facts that employees should not cut raw meat and then ready-to-eat food on the same chopping board without properly cleansing and sanitizing the board first. Employees should understand that the reason for this fact is that raw meat contains dangerous microorganisms, capable of contaminating the read-to-eat food. Employees need to appreciate how they can utilize facts to make suitable decisions and resolve problems. Attitudinal learning, on the other hand, entails employee feelings and attitudes within work situations (Chapman, 2013). For instance, a restaurant can designate as a job necessity that employees hold various attitudes towards participants and trainers. The last option is manipulative learning or hands-on skill development. Within the food service industry, manipulative skills include requiring foodservice employees to employ proper techniques, for instance, in cutting, garnishing and chopping foods. Here, foodservice employees help participants at food preparation and feeding techniques. Training is inherently an ongoing process for foodservice employees. This is because learning new food preparation and presentation techniques takes a long time, mostly more than one training session. Applications to food science Food science refers to the applied sciences dealing with the study of food. It is a discipline in which physical, biological and engineering sciences come together so as to study the nature of foods, causes of food deteriorations, principles underpinning food processing and improvements of food for public consumption. The study of food safety is closely related to food science. Various aspects of food safety are applicable to food science. For instance, the consideration of the proper temperature range in which food should either be stored or cooked is applicable to food science since it deals with the causes of food deteriorations (USDA, 2010). Temperatures influence food deterioration and are thus applicable to both food safety and food science. Additionally, while food science deals with the underlying conceptions that dictate food processing strategies, food safety considers these processing strategies at a practical level. This is because food safety involves the consideration of proper food preparation, handling, storage and processing procedures. In essence, this element of food safety is applicable to food science’s provision of the principles of food processing (Hsu & Huang, 1995). Food safety, however, delves further into the issue of ensuring proper processing methods by guaranteeing the maintenance safety and health standards of food processing. On the other hand, while food safety considers the issue of safety in food items, the discipline of food science takes into consideration the broad topic of the nature of food (Chapman, Eversley, Fillion, MacLaurin & Powell, 2010). The nature of food determines how food safety enthusiasts treat different food items, for instance, how they prepare, store, present and cooks different food types. Discussion and conclusions The food system in the US is regulated by various local, state and federal authorities. The FDA publishes the Food Code, which is a model of guidelines and procedures that govern food control by offering a scientifically practicable technical and legal foundation for regulating food service industries such as grocery stores and restaurants. Regulatory agencies at every government level use the FDA Food Code to establish and update food safety rules consistent with the national policy on food regulation. There have long been concerns regarding the effectiveness of safety practices within the food industry (Cushman, Shanklin & Niehoff, 2001). Pressure mounted on the US regulators, pushing them to develop stringent laws to govern food safety. Foodservice employees are vital to food safety. As the individuals, who receive, store, prepare, handle and serve food items, the employees require key components in the food-safety program. Educating employees on the importance of their role in food safety involves training them on how to receive, store, and handle food safely, how to clean and sanitize food-related equipment and how to cook under proper temperatures (Hsu & Huang, 1995). One of the greatest benefits of employee training is to guarantee employee personal hygiene through employee health, glove use and proper hand-washing policies. Training is beneficial since it also encompasses making known to all employees the pertinent policies and rules such as no eating, taking tobacco or drinking in food handling areas. References Chapman, B. (2013). Building an external and internal food safety culture- and measuring it. Retrieved from http://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/AFPA-talk-3-20-13-copy-2.pdf Chapman, B., Eversley, T., Fillion, K., MacLaurin, T., & Powell, D. (2010). Assessment of food safety practices of food service food handlers (risk assessment data): Testing a communication intervention (evaluation of tools). Journal of Food Protection, 73, 1101- 1107. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20537267 Cushman, J.W., Shanklin, C.W., & Niehoff, B.P. (2001). Hygiene practices of part-time student employees in a university foodservice operation. The Journal of the National Association of College & University Food Services. Retrieved from http://www.nacufs.org/resources/publications/journal_2001.pdf Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2009). FDA Report on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors in selected institutional foodservice, restaurants, and retail food store facility types. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodborneIllnessandRiskFactorReduction/RetailFoodRiskFactorStudies/UCM224682.pdf Hamilton, B. (2011). Risk and regulation: New thinking on food hygiene and enforcement. Retrieved from https://www.fdf.org.uk/events/billy_hamilton.pdf Hsu, C. H. C., & Huang, S. (1995). Sanitation knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of food service workers in big ten universities. The Journal of the National Association of College & University Food Services. Retrieved from http://www.nacufs.org/resources/publications/journal/old/sanitation.asp National Restaurant Association (NRA). (2010). Restaurant industry 2010 Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.restaurant.org/research/facts/ Unusan, N. (2005). Consumer food safety knowledge and practices in the home in Turkey. Food Control August. Retrieved from http://smas.chemeng.ntua.gr/miram/files/publ_354_5_10_2005.pdf US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2006). FDA report on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors in selected institutional foodservice, restaurant, and retail food store facility types. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodborneIllnessandRiskFactor Reduction/ucm106205.htm United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (2010). Refrigeration and food safety. Retrieved from http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Refrigeration_&_Food_Safety/index.asp Yeager, V. A., Menachemi, N., Braden, B., Taylor, D. M., Manzella, B., & Ouimet, C. (2013). Relationship between food safety and critical violations on restaurant inspections: an empirical investigation of bacterial pathogen content. Journal of Environmental Health. Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Relationship+between+food+safety+and+critical+violations+on...-a0314252153 Read More