Food Safety Checks & Balances

Susan Tellem

No one, including crack restaurant inspector Jeff Nelken, likes looking under refrigerators for yesterday's forgotten dirt, filth and food particles shoved underneath by busy feet. He does it religiously, though, two or three times a day, 300 days a year. Like every food safety inspector, Nelken has horror stories that could make listeners' toes curl. But his proudest tales are of bringing a filthy restaurant back from the dead or helping a five-star restaurant avoid a failing grade or "closed" sign in its window.

Nelken is a premier food safety coach. He has invented a Five Star Inspection Program. This fast, thorough process helps his clients learn to use self-inspection as a path to self-reliance. He believes that too many owners rely solely on third-party auditors and health department inspectors to do their jobs for them. A better way, he advises, is to build food safety and pride into every restaurant activity.

Star 1: Assign Responsibility. Designate responsibility to one person for ensuring that everyone is trained in the same way. This is probably the most important job in the restaurant. This person must assign tasks, train, monitor and correct.

The goals are simple:

Arm your internal inspector with the proper tools. Nelken recommends a flashlight, thermocouple, monitoring forms and sanitizer test strips. "We also suggest that the designated onsite person and the owner/ manager perform a thorough review of a variety of reports," says Nelken. "They will tell you a lot about what's right and wrong with your place of business." He suggests reviewing the following from a six-month period:

Star 2: Train Staff Thoroughly. "As a prime example of poor training, we often find that food handlers don't even know why, when or how they are supposed to double-wash their hands after using the restroom," says

Nelken. "Even if the bathroom sports a sign that food handlers need to wash their hands after using the restroom, this is an easy one to skip, especially if it is not emphasized in the company's culture."

Basic training should include the following to fulfill Star 2:

Star 3: Control Time and Temperature. "We find that the biggest stumbling blocks to a good inspection report are time and temperature controls," Nelken says. "This is a frustrating but achievable goal that must be watched as closely as your reputation." The number-one cause of foodborne illness is improper cooling of hot food, which can cause as many as half of all illnesses.

Star 4: Screen Deliveries. The kitchen staff must know how to screen deliveries. Sometimes, however, teaching that skill can be difficult.

"We find that more and more workers speak English as a second language," Nelken says. "While this might have been common only in New York, California and Texas some years ago, it is not uncommon in all 50 states these days." This makes the job even more difficult, but discussing, monitoring and repeatedly reviewing inspection criteria help make it easier.

One of the most important steps in ensuring a clean, safe restaurant is knowing when to reject food.

Certain critical but frequently overlooked signs suggest that food being delivered to your restaurant does not pass muster. Nelsen suggests teaching your staff that anyone allowing substandard food to be delivered will be subject to disciplinary action—it's that serious. He advises rejecting deliveries under these conditions:

Star 5: Be Aware of Potential Dangers. Know your potentially hazardous foods (PHFs). Teach your employees that extra care must be taken with these foods to avoid a poor inspection or sick patrons.

"We have seen a rise in foodborne illnesses from foods that used to be unlikely culprits, like lettuce, green onions and shellfish. If you have a sick employee, any food could be fair game," Nelken says.

The most common PHFs are:

Take time to educate your staff about these PHFs and post this list as a reminder.

"So there you have it," says Nelken. "The Five Star Inspection Program is a big nut to chew, but once it has been learned, rehearsed and monitored, you will never have to feel apprehensive about inspections again."

Nelken added that there is quite a bit of buzz currently about the potential for bioterrorism sabotage at self-service stations in restaurants. "Unfortunately, we might have to add a sixth star in the future to address this issue," he says.

Susan Tellem is a public relations expert and head of the Food Issues Group at Tellem Worldwide. She has 20 years of food, hotel and hospitality experience and has served as an editor and board member with PM Publishing, publisher of medical newsletters including Nutrition and the M.D.

Jeff Nelken is a food safety HACCP training specialist with more than 30 years of health care, restaurant and hospitality experience. He is a member of the Food Issues Group at Tellem Worldwide and maintains his own consulting business. He is a certified trainer and provider with the Los Angeles Health Department and is certified as a SERVSAFE and National Sanitation Foundation HACCP instructor.