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November 2006

Is Your Kitchen Safe?

Federal nursing home tag F371 “Store, prepare, distribute and serve food under sanitary conditions” is one of the deficiencies most often sited in nursing facilities. Every facility needs assistance in order to keep kitchens safe for susceptible populations. In 2005, the FDA released a new Food Code, the US government’s model for up-to-date information on how to reduce risk factors that contribute to food-borne illness. The Food Code is the basis for local, state and federal regulations in regard to food safety and sanitation in the kitchen. Although there were updates to this code in 2003, this is the first full revision since 2001.  Here are some of the major changes that were published.

The most notable changes in the 2005 Food Code relate to the documentation of the health and hygiene of employees. These changes are a result of the relationship between health and hygiene of food service workers and incidences of food-borne illness. Facilities must now have written policies and documentation related to their hand washing procedures as well as report any symptoms possibly linked to food-borne illness (such as vomiting, diarrhea, etc.). The person in charge must accept the responsibility of monitoring employee symptoms, and that person is obligated to enforce these policies as needed in order to keep ill employees from working. Food employees must also receive the proper training on food safety procedures, such as hand washing techniques, the avoidance of bare hands to food contact with ready-to-eat foods and many others.

A major addition to the Food Code is correlated to food allergens, which took effect in January of 2006. The person in charge of the food service operation must be able to identify any major food allergens being served in the food. Major food allergens include milk, wheat, eggs, peanuts, fish or shellfish, tree nuts (almonds, pecans, and walnuts), soybeans or any ingredient derived from these foods. The labeling of any food products produced by the food service department must identify any of these major food allergens.

On average, the food service department must date-mark foods so they are used within seven days (as long as the food has been held at a safe temperature). The adjustments made to the Food Code associated with date-marking include an allowance to omit the following foods from the seven day use rule: hard cheeses or cheeses that contain up to 50% moisture, yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, deli salads obtained from a food processing plant, and some shelf-stable processed meat products.

Hand washing procedures have changed slightly to include instructions that remind employees not to re-contaminate their hands at the end of the washing procedure (i.e. use a paper towel to turn off the water). There are numerous other modifications related to cook-chill operations, guidance for inspectors and other operational changes.

If you’d like to review the full Food Code 2005, or read any number of educational articles, please visit www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodcode.html.

If you are looking for a simple reference tool with information, policies, procedures, forms and easy-to-implement ideas; Click here for Becky Dorner & Associates’ HACCP: Keeping Food Safe.

Healthy and safe eating to you and your residents!

©2006 Becky Dorner & Associates, Inc.


Becky Dorner, RD, LD
Becky Dorner, RD, LD is a speaker and author who provides publications, presentations and consulting services to enhance the quality of care for our nation’s older adults. Visit www.BeckyDorner.com for free articles, newsletters and information, or call 1-800-342-0285.

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