summary

notes-b-09-deli-retail-2012.pdf

This is module 9 covering some of the basics of foods that are served in delis or in retail and foodservice type operations. The main concept here is that the foods are usually mixed into recipes where meats, poultry, vegetables, fruits, and fermented foods may be blended. This blending mixes the normal biota of some foods with that of another. If pathogens are present in one ingredient they will cross contaminate the entire product.

Retail and foodservice operations include a variety of operations that process food. These include:

Some common features of retail and foodservice operations are they…

Retail and foodservice operations are looked at in different ways. Retail is the sale of foods for final preparation and consumption at another location. Foodservice is generally considered an operation that prepares foods for onsite consumption. When looking at grocery and foodservice what role does the consumer play in food safety?

Some grocery stores have over 100,000 SKU’s. SKU is short for stock keeping unit. These are tracked using UPC codes. Considering our average shopping cart contains $100 of food, imagine what the total food cost is in the entire store. What would happen if 50% of that food spoiled and could not be sold? What would happen if just one person became ill and sued? These are the major concerns for food safety personnel in grocery store operations. Now let’s look at the complexity of foods the grocery store has. In addition to the foods discussed in previous models such as meats, poultry, vegetables, fruits, dairy and fermented foods; grocery stores have salad dressings, bakery products, refrigerated foods, frozen foods, dry foods and candies.

Let’s look at pathogen concerns for grocery stores. These are basically the pathogen concerns for each an every food item added together. However, many foods are processed in a manner that eliminates pathogens or prevents their growth. So, dried foods, canned foods, and frozen foods are less of a pathogen concern. This leaves fresh foods and refrigerated foods as the most likely pathogen candidates. When we look at fresh and refrigerated foods there are three concerns. Are there pathogens existing on the food when it arrives at the store? Does the store provide conditions that permit pathogen growth? And finally, are pathogens allowed to cross contaminate other foods?

Let’s look at grocery spoilage. Grocery operations must be tightly controlled or spoilage costs could bankrupt them. The same foods that are not concerns for pathogens are probably processed in a manner to prevent spoilage microorganisms as well. This includes: dried foods, canned foods, and frozen foods. And, just like pathogen concerns, fresh foods and refrigerated foods as the most likely spoilage candidates.

While some grocery stores have over 100,000 SKU’s, foodservice operators usually have a far more manageable number of individual ingredients. Take a look at the lunch menu for a small Pizza Hut operation. Note there are only approximately 20 total items. If each of those had only 5 ingredients, then the total is just 100 food items, not subtracting duplicates.

Basically, all potential pathogens are considered a risk in foodservice, since the menu is so diverse. Instead of focusing on pathogens, the foodservice industry instead focuses on potentially hazardous foods. Here is a list of potentially hazardous foods including …

Note that all of these foods require refrigeration. Without refrigeration they can become potentially hazardous.

Because there are nearly 1 million restaurants across the country the CDC closely monitors foodborne illness attributed to those establishments. Data from the 1990- 2010 has been used to determine the top five causes of foodservice foodborne illness. This includes: …

Let’s take a quick look at poor personal hygiene. There are a number of foodborne illness organisms we have not brought up before that are attributed to employees and their handling of foods. These include Norovirus, Hepatitis A, and Staphylococcus aureus. These pathogens are not common to food items themselves, but end up in and on foods after human handling. Personal hygiene items include not coming to work ill and simple hand washing.

Most foodservice operators can have food delivered daily and therefore, they do not generally over-order. And, because foodservice is a quick turnover operation, there is minimal spoilage of foods. When spoiled foods are found, they usually are discarded rather than served. So, spoilage becomes a financial issue.

When foods are blended into a recipe, the biota will dynamically change. Spices by themselves are not a great concern because they are dry. However, when added to a recipe with moisture, the spice biota can begin to grow. Spices, as mentioned previously, are some of the most highly contaminated foods, due to their processing methods and close contact with soils.