Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 6/10/10

Foodservice workers, on average, commit one act of cross-contamination with the potential of leading to illness per hour, according to a North Carolina State University study based on video cameras placed in commercial kitchens.

"We found a lot more risky practices in some areas than we expected," lead author Ben Chapman, assistant professor and food safety specialist, said in a statement, noting that meals prepared outside the home have been implicated in up to 70 percent of food poisoning outbreaks.

For the study, researchers placed small video cameras in unobtrusive spots around eight foodservice kitchens that volunteered to participate in the study. There were as many as eight cameras in each kitchen, which recorded directly to computer files and were later reviewed by Chapman and others. What they found demonstrates the need for new food safety-focused messages and methods targeting food handlers.

The study results statement used as cross-contamination examples: using a knife to cut raw chicken and then using the same knife to slice a sandwich in half or raw meat dripping onto vegetables that are to be used in a salad.

"And it's important to note that the foodservice providers we surveyed in this study reflected the best practices in the industry for training their staff," said Chapman.

The study also confirmed the long-held supposition that more food-safety mistakes are made when things are busier in the kitchen. "During peak hours, we found increases in cross-contamination and decreases in workers complying with hand-washing guidelines," Chapman said.

Suggested solutions

The researchers outlined solutions they said could be applied to the foodservice industry, including:

• Food-safety training for kitchen staff that addresses the "team-like" nature of a commercial kitchen, rather than focusing on food handlers as individuals
• Installing hand sanitizer units in accessible areas of the kitchen and
• Overhauling existing food-preparation schedules so that cooks face less time pressure during peak hours.

The study, "Assessment of Food Safety Practices of Food Service Food Handlers: Testing a Communication Intervention," was co-authored along with Chapman by Douglas Powell and Katie Filion of Kansas State University, as well as Tiffany Eversley and Tanya MacLaurin of the University of Guelph in Canada.

It was published in the June issue of the Journal of Food Protection.

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