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Common Food Allergies and Why They’re so Prevalent
This blog post looks at why some food allergies are more common than others.
When it comes to school, every child begins worries about if the course material will be too challenging, if their teachers will be nice, or if they’ll make that sports team they’re trying out for.
However, for kids with food allergies, these concerns only add to their concerns over their food allergy. They’re wondering if everyone in their class knows not to bring peanut products, if the lunchroom staff knows they can’t have eggs, or if the teachers know that food treats can be life threatening.
According to Food Allergy Research and Education, more than 15% of school-aged children with food allergies have had an allergic reaction at school. These reactions can range anywhere from mild to fatal, which is why allergy awareness in the classroom is essential.
The best way to help children with food allergies is to make teachers, parents, and other students aware of the dangers and how they can help be part of a solution.
The easiest route is to just keep all food out of the classroom. That way, no one has to worry or think about what’s allowed in and what’s restricted.
If snacks aren’t taken out of the classrooms completely, it needs to be well-known by all students, teachers, and parents which foods are dangerous allergens. Those foods must be restricted from snacks, parties, or other activities.
It’s a wonderful gesture to bring treats and snacks into the classroom for parties and holidays, but that gesture can marginalize or be dangerous to some kids. Instead, try extra recess or celebrate with games and free-time.
Inclusion and acceptance can go a long way in helping any child adapt. If everyone knows that there are just some foods that are dangerous for their classmates, understanding and recognition can happen.
In addition to explaining to kids about food allergies, find activities, resources, videos, or testimonials to share with children in, and out of the classroom. If the ideas are delivered in a fun and inclusive manner, children are more likely to respond to that information.
Kids with food allergies will have their own emergency plans and their parents will have discussed with staff and teachers what to do in the event of a reaction. In order to ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow, and enjoy school, allergen awareness is critical. Remember, safety is a fundamental right to every child in every classroom.
To learn more about food allergies, take our food allergen training course.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the turnover rate in 2018 for the restaurant industry is 75%!
This staggering figure is actually an increase from 2017.
Why are workers in the restaurant industry not staying in jobs for the long term? Here are 3 main reasons for this shocking rate.
One third of working teenagers are employed in restaurants. That equates to 1.6 million workers. However, many move on to other professions or to college, so these roles are relatively short lived.
Students also play a big role in the restaurant industry, with 27% of eating and drinking place employees being enrolled in school. This means that eventually, they leave their job in the restaurant industry and start their chosen profession.
During the holidays, many restaurants have to employ seasonal staff to cope with demand. Over the summer season, up to half a million extra jobs are created to deal with the demand. However, when it is quieter, the jobs no longer exist.
If you’re looking for work in the food industry, it’s important that you have your Food Handler qualification before applying for roles – this will give you a distinct advantage over the competition.
If you want more of a management position, consider getting your Food Protection Manager Certification.
With the employee turnover rate for the restaurant industry at 70% for the second consecutive year, it must feel like you never have time to focus on running a restaurant.
Not only is staff turnover time-consuming and stressful—it is also expensive.
The advertising, interview, and training costs for a new employee and add up. Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research put the cost at $5,864 per employee.
This is money that could be saved by simply empowering your employees through training and giving them the knowledge they need to succeed at their job.
Forbes’ research found that 28% of all employees quit within the first 90-120 days of employment, due to a lack of training and support.
When staff receive training, they feel valued, appreciated, and see potential within their job. This makes them less likely to leave, as they see a clear future with the business.
A lack of training can make many employees feel underappreciated and can become disillusioned with their role within the organization.
So, make training part of your culture. It will benefit you, your employees, and your business.
In just 6 months, staff will have forgotten 90% of the training you taught them, so it’s important to make continuous training part of your business culture.
Training certificates only need to be renewed every couple of years, depending on the certification, but in the meantime, it’s important to give your employees training refreshers to help them retain more information. Even something as simple as a short recap video can help jog their memory on a particular subject.
When it comes to training, save yourself time and money by switching to video-based food safety training. Not only do training videos cut down on training and onboarding costs, video-based training also engages employees and helps them better retain information. And if they know more about proper food safety, they will feel more empowered as an employee and will be more likely to stay.
Empower your employees by giving them all the training they need to succeed. Check out our online, video-based food handler, allergen awareness, and food protection manager training programs.
Sanitizers and detergent are both used in cleaning restaurants, but there are distinct differences between the two of them and when to use them. A key part of food safety is knowing these differences and which situations to use sanitizer and detergent will help keep your kitchen clean and prevent cross-contamination.
The major difference between detergents and sanitizers is that a sanitizer kills 99.9% of pathogenic bacteria–meaning it reduces bacteria to a safe level. Detergents remove dirt, food waste, and grease
Important things to remember:
Remember, a detergent removes dirt, food waste and grease—a sanitizer kills pathogenic bacteria.
Detergents should be used to clean the following:
These are surfaces that may have dirt, food waste, and grease that must be removed before sanitizing.
The items that you need to sanitize depend on their use and if they come into contact with food. Rule of thumb is if they come into contact with hands or food, sanitize them to prevent cross-contamination.
Hand contact surfaces include anything that is frequently touched by your hands.
Be sure to sanitize any surface that comes into contact with raw or high-risk foods. These will include:
You also need to sanitize wiping cloths as they are a major source of cross-contamination. Make sure to replace wiping cloths often.
Watch our quick two minute video for more information on when to use sanitizer and detergent. And learn more about keeping your kitchen clean and prevent cross-contamination by taking our food handlers training course.
According to research conducted by Time Magazine poor pest control was the 5th highest reason for foodborne illness in the restaurant sector.
Food premises are very attractive to a pest, because your establishment will contain everything they need, such as: food, warmth, moisture, and shelter. If they get in, they’ll be like a kid in a candy store, causing all sorts of problems for your business.
Here are the main problems and some best practices for you to keep in mind.
Pests fall under 4 main groups, these are:
Here are some best practices to implement regularly to keep pests out and stop them from contaminating your food.
Don’t give pests a sniff, just clean as you go! If you keep a clean workplace there will be a much lower chance of having a pest problem.
Clean as you go should be the motto for you and all of your staff – don’t give pests a chance to find food, so if you spill some food make sure it’s cleaned up immediately!
It’s also important to pest proof your building overall, this can sometimes be called denial of access – if you pest proof your building you will make it much less likely for pests to be able to gain access insider your building.
Regularly inspect the building to check for evidence of pests. This ensures that you catch pests that might be hiding in your kitchen before they become too much of a nuisance.
Make sure you check deliveries carefully - some pests have entered food premises in packaging, vegetables, fruit, cereals and grain.
Check stored goods regularly and rotate stock. Store food off the floor in suitable containers and keep food covered at all times to avoid pests getting in.
Never leave food in the preparation area when you are closed or overnight. This will just attract pests who could get into the food.
Report any sighting or signs of pests to your supervisor immediately. Signs include:
Having food waste out and open attracts pests into your facility. Store food waste in trash containers with securely fitting lids.
Don’t give pests an easy way to enter your kitchen. Keep doors and windows closed unless you have correctly fitting screens.
However, if the worst happens and you do get a pest in your premise, don’t wait, contact, they will eliminate any pests.
We recommend the use of PCO, as they are the experts.
Learn more about pest control best practices by taking our food handlers training.
When preparing food, it’s important that you understand what temperature different food groups need to be cooked at to keep your customers safe.
You must hit these temperatures and times as a minimum. A good control measure is setting their cooking temperatures at a higher level, for a longer time. Just to be safe!
Make sure food reaches the USDA minimum internal cooking temperature in order to reduce the amount of pathogenic bacteria to a safe level before serving.
Here are the recommended minimum internal cooking temperatures based off the 2017 FDA Food Code.
This includes poultry, stuffing (made with poultry, meat, or fish), stuffed foods (pasta, poultry, meat, seafood), and all foods that include TCS Food ingredients that have been previously cooked.
Ground meat, mechanically tenderized meat, ground seafood, and shell eggs to be hot held should all reach the temperature of 155°F for 17 seconds.
145°F for 15 seconds is the recommended time held at this internal temperature for roasts, such as beef, pork, veal, and lamb. Check out our pdf guide for alternative cooking temperatures and times for roasts.
Hot food such as vegetables, grains, legumes, and fruit should be held at 135°F or higher to ensure that pathogenic bacteria do not multiply.
The most important rule is to keep food at a minimum of 135°F or above, as well as stir food regularly to make sure all parts of the food stays at this temperature.
4 hours should be the maximum time you hold hot food.
Never add new food to old food! Make sure you throw the old food away, sanitize the serving dish and cutlery, and replace with new food.
Reheating food incorrectly and not reaching the minimum internal temperature required means that a large amount of pathogenic bacteria can form, leading to foodborne illness.
Food must be reheated to 165°F for 15 seconds.
Only remove food from the cooler just before reheating.
Never use hot holding equipment to reheat food more than once. You must throw away food after it has been re-heated once.
Cooling hot food is the biggest cause of foodborne illness in America.
That’s because going from hot to cold puts food in the Temperature Danger Zone, between 41°F - 140°F, where bacteria can multiply at an exponential rate.
In most situations, 2 hours is too long for food to be left in the Temperature Danger Zone. We recommend doing cooling hot food within 30 minutes.
Whenever possible, use large, shallow trays and pans (two to three inches deep) for cooling food. The larger surface area helps to speed up the cooling process.
Divide hot food into smaller or thinner portions.
Transfer the hot food to a clean, cold container and place the container in a larger one that holds ice or water. Add new ice or cold water at regular intervals to speed up the process.
Stir or rotate food while it is cooling.
After removing cooked roasts and whole chickens from their juices, transfer the food to a clean, cold container with enough space for air to circulate and make sure it is covered
Cover and protect all food from cross-contamination while it is cooling.
Keep regularly checking the temperature of the food to make sure you do not leave it in the Temperature Danger Zone longer than necessary
Never place hot food in a cooler as this will raise the temperature of the cooler and cause condensation that could cross-contaminate other foods.
Never cool food at room temperature. This will leave food in the temperature danger zone for too long.
Learn more about how to monitor food temperature and avoid spreading foodborne illness in our Food Handlers training.
Using locally sourced ingredients offers advantages for chefs and customers alike. Working directly with local farmers is a great way to boost the local economy and, cutting down on how far your meat and produce has to travel, will reduce your carbon footprint.
With the emphasis on Responsible Growth for businesses and the ever-popular “farm-to-table” movement that has consumers demanding for locally grown foods, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that sourcing local, fresh ingredients is more than a health trend; at this point, it’s business savvy.
So how can you stay competitive and still meet the bottom line? Here are some tips on sourcing fresh and local ingredients that will help you get started.
The farmers market in your area is a great place to pick up the freshest produce and support the community. In addition, it’s an opportunity to form connections and network with the producers who have the ingredients you need.
Another perk is that even if a particular farmer doesn’t sell the produce or meat and dairy you need, chances are they can point you in the direction of someone who does. That’s the benefit of working within a community.
You can also develop connections with growers associations and cheese-maker guilds through networking at the farmers market.
After making those connections, you’ve opened the door to communicate with the producers during the off-season. You can discuss the ingredients you’ll want to buy in the future to ensure a plentiful supply of fresh, tasty food a few months down the line. Be specific about what you’ll be willing to purchase and the quantities you’re interested in.