Third-party food safety audits: preventing problems before they start.

The statistics related to food safety are alarming: 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year are due to foodborne sickness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Clearly, safe food is one of the country's top public health issues--an issue becoming more intense with post-9/11 awareness of bioterrorism. With an increasing level of public and media scrutiny of illness outbreaks, it is easy to see the advantages that a proactive approach to food safety management can have to a club's business and integrity.

An independent food safety audit can help identify small issues before they become big problems. But more than just identifying problems, a good food safety audit should also educate club managers and offer tips for corrective action. That is why an audit should include a review of prior audits and inspections--checking to make sure that previous deficiencies have been corrected and are continuing to be monitored for compliance.

Food safety audits typically focus on four key areas: receiving and storage, personnel hygiene issues, temperature control, and maintenance and general sanitation. The audit should note critical violations, items directly related to the public's protection from foodborne illness, which must be corrected immediately, as well as non-critical violations, those related to maintenance of foodservice operations and cleanliness, which should be corrected promptly. An integral part of any auditing process is auditor-client interaction, where the auditor can freely discuss procedures and recommend areas for corrections.

Food safety depends on all team members playing a role and should not be viewed as a reactive measure, but rather a proactive one. It is a continual process that must be monitored and attended to at all times. It is important to remember that a third-party food safety audit is a snapshot of a facility's food safety systems at a particular point. An auditor can evaluate only practices in place at the time of the audit.

Receiving and Storage

Keeping food safe during storage, preparation, and serving is not complicated, but it requires constant attention to detail, starting with the food and supplies that enter the club. A thorough food safety audit will evaluate the procedures in place for inspecting all incoming supplies (both food and non-food items) should shipments arrive during an audit. It will review how food is checked for damage (for example, swollen cans may be a sign of potential botulism), spoilage and pest infestation/contamination (check boxes and packaging for holes and tears), and what is done with damaged, spoiled, or contaminated goods.

Food safety audits may verify how the club monitors the temperature of incoming food items and the process for moving incoming refrigerated and frozen items to proper storage quickly to avoid items from becoming temperature-abused. An auditor who notes deficiencies in this area may recommend that shipments be scheduled for less busy times so that

prompt attention can be paid to receiving and storage.

As part of the education process, auditors will instruct those in charge of receiving shipments to take the temperature of incoming food shipments at the front, middle, and back of the truck, pallet, or case. However, even temperatures can be misleading. For example, if a food product is supposed to arrive on ice and the ice is melted upon receipt, it is an indication that food may have been temperature-abused during transit, even if the food's temperature upon receipt is appropriate.

The CDC lists "food from unsafe sources" as a major factor in foodborne illness; therefore, clubs should require their vendors to provide documentation of their food safety systems, including their "cold chain" from the time the food leaves their premises to the time it is delivered.

A food safety audit will also review how food and supplies are labeled, including "use by" dates. It will examine how food is stored on-premises, with a critical eye toward eliminating the potential for cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods and the potential for contamination with cleaning chemicals and other hazardous materials. For example, the auditor will check to ensure that raw meats are placed on lower shelves in the refrigerator, below cooked and ready-to-eat items, and that all foods and food packaging materials are stored at least six inches off the floor.

Employee and Management Issues

The food safety auditor will want to confirm that at least one management person from each shift is thoroughly knowledgeable about all food safety issues covered in the FDA Food Code. A custom audit may require that the auditor verify someone has current certification in an accredited food safety program such as The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ServSafe, and that the individual tasked with primary food safety responsibility provides proper direction and education to all food handling employees.

In fact, proper staff communication and education are critical at many levels--from specific details around proper food handling techniques to the basics of how and where employees should be permitted to eat, drink, and store their personal items during their shift. All of these things have an effect on food safety, and auditor observations on communication and training are a crucial part of any audit.

It's estimated that about 20 percent of all foodborne illness outbreaks of a bacterial or viral origin are traced back to infected food workers. That's one reason why the auditor will check that dedicated handwashing sinks are clean, available, and unobstructed at all times, with an ample supply of hot water, soap, and disposable paper towels or other approved drying device. Auditors may recommend that handwashing sinks be checked at least once a day for proper operation and supplies. Violations will be noted if the handwashing sink is used for washing dishes or other equipment. The auditor may also observe handwashing among one or more randomly selected employees to confirm that proper handwashing techniques are used, and the auditor will monitor activities that occur in the kitchen to determine if food workers wash their hands when they become contaminated.

Temperature Control

Food temperature is one of the "control points" under the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, used widely by food processors and now being adopted by many foodservice operations, to ensure food safety. Temperature is equally critical to food safety in a foodservice environment. At the retail or operator level, a food safety auditor will verify that cooked food temperatures are checked at the center of food items. The auditor will observe if the appropriate devices are used to test the internal temperature of cooked foods and that those devices are properly sanitized and calibrated for accuracy.

Improper holding temperature is a primary cause of foodborne illness, so expect that an auditor will also confirm how food is held and chilled after preparation, paying close attention to the danger zone for bacterial growth of 41-degrees F to 140-degrees F. Expect that hot holding will be checked to verify temperatures are 140-degrees F or above, while cold holding will be checked for temperatures at or below 41-degrees F.

Maintenance and General Sanitation

Contaminated food preparation equipment and food contact surfaces can be a source of risk, just like poor personal hygiene. The food safety auditor will look for sanitary barriers between raw and prepared food, as well verify the presence of sanitizers and sanitation standard operating practices. The auditor may use visual inspection for cleanliness and environmental sampling tests for the presence of microorganisms throughout the food preparation area.

One common failure--worthy of a "critical" violation--is broken or cracked food contact equipment that may compromise the integrity of the food contact surface or allow shards or particles to get into food. Another common problem is a basic failure to clean and properly sanitize food contact surfaces such as knives and slicers in order to break the chain of contamination. These details will be under review during a food safety audit.

As part of the sanitation review, the auditor will check for proper concentration levels of sanitizing solutions. Just as with the vendor review discussed earlier, clubs should periodically conduct a review/audit with their chemical suppliers to make sure they are getting the right chemicals in the correct strengths and that those strengths are maintained so that bacterial loads are reduced to safe levels.

An audit will also review standard cleaning practices, especially relating to the use of mops and buckets. Auditors don't want to see stagnant water or dirty mop beads, both of which can be sources of pest issues.

Signs of pest infestation as well as "structural" issues that could potentially allow for pest infestation (such as door and window screens with mesh larger than 16 squares per inch, or cracks or holes in both interior and exterior walls) will also be noted in an audit. Even seemingly minor cleanliness problems--such as the little extra dirt and grime that gets pushed into corners after damp mopping--can attract pests and can become a much bigger issue.

Conclusion

Proactive club managers don't wait for the health department to knock on the door. Instead, they take advantage of an independent food safety audit, which can act as an extra set of eyes for busy foodservice operators and help chart a course of corrective action and ongoing monitoring of food safety practices. A properly conducted food safety audit is also educational--it can serve as a training resource for both management and employees, improving general food safety and sanitation practices at your club. For more information on third-party food safety audits, visit www.steritech.com.

About the author: Chris Boyles is technical director, retail operations of The Steritech Group, Inc.'s Food Safety Division. Chris manages the technical auditing specifications for food safety programs for a number of the leading hospitality chains in the U.S. He has been the driving force behind the company's Retail Auditor Training Program, Regional Technical Manager Mentoring, and Food Safety Specialist Calibration. His credentials include Certified Food Safety Professional from the National Environmental Health Association and Certified ServSafe Trainer through the National Restaurant Association's Educational Foundation. He has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Microbiology.