Running Head FOOD SAFETY; PESTS AND VECTORS; AIR Essays - Health

Running Head: FOOD SAFETY; PESTS AND VECTORS; AIR QUALITY TUI UNIVERSITY Timothy N. Tarrant Module 2: BHE 314 Environmental Health and Safety Dr. Rania Sabty-Daily 1 August 2008 Abstract The first purpose of this paper is to explain (using the given scenario) which of the following two approaches to enhance food safety would be more effective in the long run; a stronger enforcement program by the local health department or a mandatory food safety training requirement for all restaurants employees. In addition I will describe worker behaviors that may promote or compromise food safety. The scenario is there have been several complaints in your community about dirty restaurants. Several restaurants are no longer in business as a result of a television expose. You are the head of a citizen task force and have been asked to make recommendations for improved food safety. The members of the task force are at odds over which approach to food safety best serves the interests of the community. The second purpose of this paper is to describe the recommendations that I would give (using the given scenario) the public to prevent further spread of the West Nile Virus by mosquitoes and describe the recommendations that I would give the community to control the mosquito population in the community. The scenario is, recently there have been numerous reports on increased mosquito bites in several neighborhoods in your community. Your staff has investigated these reports and has found them to be justified. In fact, there have been an increasing number of complaints that mosquitoes are preventing people from staying out in the early mornings and evenings. Additionally, the local health department has informed you that there has been an increase in reported cases of encephalitis and a few deaths related to West Nile Virus. FOOD SAFETY Enforcement programs have always been required to monitor the safety of the public as a whole and there are plenty of statistics that show an increase in compliance with established regulations as a result of enforcement. However, it is my recommendation to implement a mandatory food safety training requirement for all restaurant employees. Education is always comes before enforcement. If restaurant employees are not educated in the proper food handling, preparation, or even proper cleaning procedures in the kitchen and don't understand why it is important to follow established protocols...then they are doomed to fail any type of standards enforcement inspections. Most public health departments have limited resources to perform inspections and therefore establishments may only get inspected one to six times per year depending on certain risk factors associated with the number and type of foods served. Even Texas state schools are only mandated to have inspections twice a year for their kitchens and staff. (DSHS 2007) According to Allison Knezevich, a reporter from the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia, who wrote recent article covering restaurant food safety, "A critical violation is an infraction that is capable of spreading foodborne illness such as chicken salad that are not kept cold enough, on ice or refrigerated or employees who don't practice adequate hand hygiene." She also stated, "Under the current rules, an establishment can have five uncorrectable critical violations before it is shut down." (Knezevich 2008) Worker behaviors may promote or compromise food safety. Why don't food handlers wash their hands? Why are raw meats stored over ready-to-eat foods? Why isn't that food stored at the required temperatures? These questions address just a couple of worker behaviors that compromise food safety. Why do workers do what they do? Often it is because of one's opinion of the perception of the seriousness of the impact, one's opinion of the tangible action or confidence in one's ability to take action. Most workers will state that they didn't realize the possible dangers or are a victim of the "it's not my job" syndrome. The way to influence behaviors to a achieve an acceptable change is to, specify the consequences, increase awareness of a need for change, promote awareness and employ reminder systems, provide training and guidance in performing the action, use verbal reinforcement, and demonstrate desired behaviors. (Jenkins-McLean, 2004) How does this get accomplished? Demonstrate proper handwashing, use examples of restaurant foodborne outbreaks, involve the staff in mock inspections, and possibly have weekly meetings to re-emphasize key food protection points. When this occurs you will have a restaurant staff that not only exhibits proper worker behavior, but also understands why. Food safety is an extremely important issue and food preparation is even more complex than ever. We don't just eat meat and potatoes anymore. Today we