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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Foodservice Safety: Does The Line Cook Need Gloves?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After reports this week (from cracker jack food reporter Elizabeth Lee of the AJC) of the death of a woman due to the consumption of eating raw oysters at a local restaurant, everyone is suddenly focusing on food safety.
Food safety isn’t something we should be reactive about; it’s a proactive issue. Preventing the spread of germs and bacteria through safety measures like HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) are imperative for food handlers. Two very critical areas are handwashing and the proper temperature control of food — the temperature food is held at before and after cooking (two areas the south side Spondivits, where the oysters the woman ate have been traced to, did not score well on).
As a former chef, I’m a big believer that vigorous handwashing with soap in hot water (you know, where you wash until you’ve sung through the ABCs song) is one of the best ways to prevent foodbourne illness and illness in general. But nowadays, food handlers wear rubber gloves to prevent the spread of bacteria.
Then they take out the trash and smoke a cigarette with their gloves still on. I also believe that gloves actually deter food handlers from proper hand washing. A glove (or finger glove) should be worn only when a food handler has an injury (and an open injury should bench the worker until it heals). What’s your take on rubber or latex gloves? Does wearing them make for better food safety?
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Do restaurant inspection scores influence where you eat?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When you walk into a restaurant and see a low score on a health inspection report, does it change your plans to eat there?
If so, what score do you look for?
Do you check the previous inspection score listed on health forms, and does that affect your decision?
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