Monday, July 26, 2021

Tyson recall offers chance to revisit Listeria-prevention best practices

Given the major recall of Tyson Foods ready-to-eat chicken product that made national headlines earlier this month due to possible Listeria contamination, I thought this would be a good opportunity to touch on what consumers and processors should be aware of when it comes to Listeria. Listeria, specifically Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), is a bacteria found in moist environments, soil and vegetation; it can transfer from the environment, employees or raw food onto ready-to-eat (RTE) products.

When consumed, Lm can cause listeriosis. It is estimated that 1,600 illnesses, 1,500 hospitalizations and 260 deaths happen each year from listeriosis. Due to the ability for Lm to grow at temperatures as low as 34 F, it is usually found in the environment, and it is considered a harborage organism. This can be especially dangerous in situations where improper sanitation allows RTE foods to come into contact with raw product.

As a processor, there are quite a few things you can do to control Lm in your facility. These include proper product handling, effective cleaning and sanitizing, facility controls, and employee practices.

Proper product handling is especially important for RTE products. One important measure is to keep product at or below 41 F, as this slows the growth of Lm and decreases the risk. If possible, it is a good idea to also incorporate an antimicrobial agent into your product formulation. A few examples are acetic acid, lactic acid or citric acid. These acids can have an adverse effect on your desired flavor profile, so they’re not always the right solution. It is also essential to separate product that supports Lm growth from product that does not to eliminate cross-contamination; this includes separating raw product from RTE product.

Cleaning and sanitizing are another effective way to limit Lm growth in your facility. This includes following your SSOP and ensuring that employees are properly trained on cleaning and sanitizing protocols. It is essential to maintain sanitary conditions throughout the day and re-clean and sanitize as often as necessary.

Since Lm is frequently found in the environment, it is a good idea to routinely sanitize items and areas that are often touched by employees but are not food-contact surfaces — items such as light switches, equipment handles, display cases, etc. to prevent cross-contamination. Your SSOP should include disassembly of equipment for sanitation  if possible, to ensure the equipment does not pose a contamination or harborage threat. Following the sanitizer manufacturer’s instructions on mixing sanitizer to a proper strength is also critical to ensure you are cleaning properly. It also might be a good idea to switch up the types of sanitizers you use to prevent Lm at your facility from becoming resistant to one type.

Facility and equipment controls should also be included in your SSOP. Condensation dripping on product, for example, could cause Lm contamination. You also should use materials that are easy to clean. Ensuring proper floor drainage will also help combat Lm, by not allowing water to sit on your floors and potentially be splashed onto product.

Good practices around employee hygiene can help reduce your likelihood of Lm in your facility as well. Cross-contamination, again, is the major concern here. Use of disposable gloves by any employees handling RTE product and proper training on personal sanitation protocol helps keep your facility sanitary and prevent the harborage of bacteria and pathogens. To further assist your employees in keeping product safe, you should provide adequate soap and hot running water for them to wash up before entering the production areas. Provide clean frocks for employees to wear, and the ability to change frocks as they become contaminated in order to keep employees from spreading contaminants in the facility on their personal clothing.

Consumers should also be aware of steps you can take to prevent Listeria growth. These include chilling food properly, using RTE foods quickly, maintaining a sanitary environment, cooking food properly and knowing which products are risky.

Chilling food helps reduce the ability of the pathogens and bacteria to grow. Refrigerators should be set at or below 40 F if your fridge does not tell you the temperature it is recommended that you purchase a thermometer to monitor the temperature.

Using RTE foods quickly can also lessen your chances of listeriosis. Use food by the “best by” date to improve your chances of staying healthy. The longer food sits in the fridge, the more time Listeria has to grow.

Just like in the processing environment, consumers must maintain sanitary conditions in the kitchen. This includes keeping your fridge clean, cleaning your hands and utensils, and separating areas and cutting boards between raw and RTE product.

Proper cooking is also important. Food should be cooked to 145 F for whole red meat, 160 F for ground meat, and 165 F for poultry. The best way to monitor this is by using a food thermometer so you can ensure that the temperature was reached without over-cooking your food and decreasing palatability.

Some foods carry more risk to consume as they have been known to cause listeriosis. If you are over 65 years old or pregnant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says you should especially be aware of these. Some products include hot dogs/deli meats, soft cheeses, unpasteurized milk and refrigerated smoked seafood.

Pathogen prevention should be of high importance to both processors and consumers. Both are responsible for preventing food borne illness. If you do believe you have a foodborne illness, contact your health-care provider and report the suspected illness to the USDA or FDA by visiting www.foodsafety.gov.

Although large recalls similar to the recent one with Tyson happen now and then, and they should be reported widely, if you follow the guidelines and protocols, the chances of Listeria becoming a problem for your products or your consumers can be lessened.

— Sam Bibbs, food safety consultant, sam@werfoodsafety.com

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Personality training can improve work with clients, internal communication and efficiency


In mid-June, the We R Food Safety! staff traveled to our Menomonie, Wis., headquarters for a week of meetings that included individual and team growth, software and food safety meetings — and some very good food. One training session that the entire team experienced was a presentation and analysis of our personalities in the workplace setting, following the DiSC model. Weeks before our team meetings, we each took the personality quiz, and were then presented our own personality profiles. At the team meetings, we learned more about how those profiles can coexist. From the DiSC Web site (https://www.discprofile.com/what-is-disc), here is a brief explanation of the personality profiles:

DiSC is an acronym that stands for the four main personality profiles described in the DiSC model: (D)ominance, (i)nfluence, (S)teadiness and (C)onscientiousness.

People with D personalities tend to be confident and place an emphasis on accomplishing bottom-line results. 

People with i personalities tend to be more open and place an emphasis on relationships and influencing or persuading others.

People with S personalities tend to be dependable and place the emphasis on cooperation and sincerity.

People with C personalities tend to place the emphasis on quality, accuracy, expertise, and competency.

I found this training to be a valuable course in understanding more about each individual, as well as how they function within the larger ecosystem of a team. For example, in working with clients, it is fun to guess which category each client may fall into. Stereotyping is a faux pas, so that is not the goal or intention here. However, being able to identify the personality profiles of people and adjust to them has aided in further understanding of client needs and helping get tasks completed more effectively. 

I have a very strong “D” personality. This means I do not focus as much on emotion or the journey of a task, but rather focus on achieving a goal or task at hand, no matter the path. 

Having gone through the session and discussing the personality profiles of our team members — and how we all might better communicate based on them — I recommend this type of training to anyone that either has an issue with team cohesiveness, or very heavily focuses on the health of each team member within their facility!

— Abbey Davidson, food safety consultant, abbey@werfoodsafety.com

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

10 steps to protect your operation against cyberattacks

I just finished writing an article about cybersecurity targeted for a wider processing audience, and even though they didn’t put a strict word count on me, there simply wasn’t enough room for the article to get down into the weeds of prevention, particularly for the small processors.

If you read the article (coming soon to ProvisionerOnline.com, and will be linked here), you should come to realize that no one is immune from cyberattacks these days. The belief that “I’m too small to be noticed or hit hard,” is misguided at best and a crock at worst.

So, exactly how does a small operator protect itself from cyberattack?   

Here are my top 10 thoughts on what you can do:

1) Use real passwords.  A minimum of 12 digits, use numbers, special symbols, caps, etc.  Do NOT share them!  Change them often.

2) Use a network firewall on your incoming Internet connection, not just a router — and don’t rely on the Windows computer firewall as your only line of defense.

3) The QuickBooks computer needs to be on its own network and only limited people can have access to it!  Encrypt your data!

4) If you have WiFi for your customers, keep it on a separate, isolated network.

5) Limit the duties or capabilities assigned to in-house computers.  If you have a smokehouse computer, for example, then just use it for the smokehouse, not for surfing the Internet!

6) Update your computer operating systems!  Security updates are often deployed based on an active threat.

7) Segment your network. Your guest access WiFi, for example, should not be connected to your main network, and your finance/point of sales system should have its own network. Everything should be siloed so that the bad guys can’t take everything down in one or two shots.  Computers used to connect to email, surf the Web for research/social media, etc., should be isolated to a separate network and should be identified in your firewall as high-risk devices.

8) Have an outsourced IT expert review your setup; and when you look at the ROI on this move, imagine having to replace every computer in your shop, the lost time, the lost customers, etc., versus what becomes a minimal cost of having an expert set up and maintain your systems.

9) Look at your options and determine what your level of risk is.  If you are a super-small shop with two computers and a basic Internet connection, it might make the most sense to simply add a firewall box. You can get one with a very good next-generation firewall for less than $300.

10) If an employee leaves your company and they had access to your networks, you need to change the passwords ASAP!

At the end of the day, cybersecurity information can appear overwhelming — there is a lot of information on how to protect your business — but you must educate yourself and your team.  Make sure your team understands that your business systems are not meant to be used for surfing the Web and that passwords cannot be shared.  Finally, at the absolute very least, please run virus/malware protection. Windows ships with built-in security tools, please use them!

— Andrew Lorenz, president, We R Food Safety!, andrew@werfoodsafety.com