I am a scientist. My area of expertise is food safety and the contaminants that can make food unsafe to eat. Be they biological, chemical or physical hazards, I have studied these issues for over 10 years.

I AM NOT an expert on other illnesses, such as the Coronavirus, but I read medical journals, I talk to my doctor (She is an awesome lady that I trust very much). And I try to understand the medical decisions that happen on a day to day basis, but again, I am no expert. I rely on experts like my doctor to help me fill in the gaps about what is best for me.

I have been vaccinated many times for many different things. Having lost my vaccine history, I had to have vaccines for items I was vaccinated for as a child, such as Measles, Mumps, & Rubella. When I went to go work in South Korea back in 2016, I was vaccinated against several items as well, such as a booster vaccine for Hepatitis A and Salmonella typhi (aka typhoid). Every year I have received a flu vaccine as well. In the last few years, I have also received a Hepatitis B vaccine and as a gay man, was on Truvada, a pre-exposure prophylaxis used to help keep a person that is HIV negative to keep from catching the virus. Just so you know, that treatment is registered as being approximately 99% effective in preventing transmission. This last April, my partner and I got our #COVID-19 #vaccines. Two shots of Pfizer. I had no issues, he had body aches for several days.

Coronavirus scares me a hell of a lot more than any other illness I have studied, and there are a lot of biological foodborne illnesses even though current food safety courses only focus on the top five, two of which are viruses.

It breaks my heart to hear friends and family say that they will not get the vaccine. It reminds me of the story of the man on the roof of his house, refusing help from everyone that passed by, saying “God will save me”. When he dies, the man asks God why he didn’t save him and God reminded him that he sent many boats to rescue him. God gave us doctors and nurses so that we can be healed and not suffer.

It is a mad world we are living in my friends & family, please stay safe.

Things to remember when grilling or barbecuing:

1. When utilizing raw meat, chicken, and seafood for grilling
   1. Keep it separate from other foods
   2. Keep it Refrigerated before grilling
   3. Always wash your hands before and after handling it
   4. Do not let its juices touch other foods, utensils, or surfaces
   5. Always use a food thermometer to ensure it is cooked to a safe temperature
   6. Keep foods out of the temperature danger zone of 40°F to 135°F (CDC recommends 140)
2. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking

Chill

Keep meat, poultry, and seafood refrigerated until ready to grill. When transporting, keep them at 40°F or below in an insulated cooler. If you must stack meat products in a cooler, always remember that poultry products should go on the bottom, followed by ground meats (such as hamburgers), then whole meats (such as steaks & chops), and finally seafood on top.

Clean

Wash your hands with soap and water before and after handling raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Wash work surfaces, utensils, and the grill before and after cooking. Good rule of thumb while cooking is to wash your hands when changing jobs or at least every half hour while doing repetitive tasks.

Check Your Grill and Tools

Use a moist cloth or paper towel to clean the grill surface before cooking. If you use a wire bristle brush, thoroughly inspect the grill’s surface before cooking. Wire bristles from grill cleaning brushes may dislodge and stick into food on the grill.

Don’t Cross-contaminate

Throw out marinades and sauces that have touched raw meat juices, which can spread germs to cooked foods. Use clean utensils and a clean plate to remove cooked meat from the grill. If you would like to have marinades available after cooking, use fresh marinades that have not been used during grilling.

Grilling

Always use a food thermometer to ensure meat reaches a proper temperature to kill harmful germs. When smoking, keep temperatures inside the smoker at 225°F to 300°F to keep meat a safe temperature while it cooks.

When Grilling

• 145°F—whole cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and veal (stand-time of 3 minutes at this temperature)
• 145°F—fish
• 155°F—hamburgers and other ground beef (FDA, USDA, & CDC recommends 160)
• 165°F—all poultry and pre-cooked meats, like hot dogs

After Grilling 

• 135°F or warmer—until it’s served (FDA, USDA, & CDC recommends 140)

Refrigerate

Divide leftovers into small portions and place in covered, shallow containers. Put in freezer or fridge within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour if above 90°F outside).

information presented in the blog post has been gathered from the FDA, USDA, and CDC, along with expert training from Dr. Mc Keown.

So far this year, I have had two times where I have had issues with mobile restaurant apps. The only mobile app I actually use to place orders from is Taco Bell, since the others have had issues that have yet to be resolved for me. This does not include the delivery apps, such as GrubHub, DoorDash, etc., which I refuse to use. Popeye’s Chicken has, for the last 5 months, not allowed me to order Chicken, as when I select the section for “Signature Chicken” the area is blank. as seen in the picture.

Other apps, like McDonald’s, Burger King, Popeye’s or Wendy’s, just don’t offer a robust experience when placing an order through their mobile app. I think my main issue is customization of items. Taco Bell’s app allows for full customization of items, and you can even swap items if you want. I have not found that to be an option in the other apps. That may be because I quit using the apps other than to see if any deals are available that I might be interested in utilizing, which is extremely rare as most of the special offers are not for items that interest me.

Taco Bell is unique, in that most people pretty much know what they want before they get there. The app makes it easier to place the order and make customizations the way you want, without having to make sure the employee understands what you are saying in the drive-thru. Although you do still have to deal with issues of employees not making the food properly, which is the ultimate reason for this post, and while I am still a fan of Taco Bell.

As I stated previously, I have had issues with the mobile apps. For Taco Bell, I have had two issues this year, both of which were fixed relatively quickly. Both were fairly simple issues to fix, and Taco Bell even gave me a free item for the trouble, which was not expected. Now, I use the app for Taco Bell because I love the Taco Bell Rewards system they created for using it. I am currently at “Fire” level of rewards (unlocks after earning 2000 points), earning 11 points per dollar purchased. After 250 points, you get a choice of a free item. My favorite item to get from the rewards is the Chalupa Supreme, followed closely by the Bean Burrito. There are currently 11 items to chose from within “Fire” level, while the basic “Hot” level has six items.

After fixing the latest issue, I was able to order some Taco Bell for Cinco de Mayo. My fiancé had been craving Taco Bell for several days and I don’t like to miss out on points, so we avoided ordering until the app was fixed. Taco Bell had a rewards challenge for May 5th where purchasing a “build your own Cravings box” would get you 150 bonus points. So we ordered that (swapped out and made all four items the Nacho Cheese Doritos Loco Tacos, love the swap feature, although would have liked to be able to swap with an upcharge to supreme, but I digress), a Nachos BellGrande Combo (no beans), a Crunchwrap Supreme (add beans & Chipotle Sauce), plus a few other items. When we arrived home and started eating our meal, we realized that lettuce was missing from all our items, and the nacho’s were less than desirable (see pictures).

Suffice to say, we were not happy. While I didn’t take a picture of them, the Nacho Cheese Doritos Loco Tacos and the crunchwraps also did not have any lettuce in them. Having working in restaurants, including QSR’s like Taco Bell (Popeye’s & Burger King to be exact), I know what it is like to run out of certain products. The first thing you do, is inform the customer that this item is unavailable, when it may become available again, and then ask/offer alternatives. None of these were done for our order. I will point out that even though I had ordered via the app, when I arrived at the restaurant, I wanted to order a side of the seasoned beef, so that we could have extra beef for the Nachos. Having specifically ordered “extra” in the past and not getting an amount that we felt was extra, we decided to go this route. Unfortunately, as we ordered, we were informed that they were out of the lids for the side bowl. I find it curious that they had no issues telling us they were out of lids, but failed to tell us that we would not be receiving lettuce in any of our items that come with lettuce.

I called the store to speak with the manager about this issue; however, the phone would go directly to voice mail where I was unable to leave a message. Tried calling another Taco Bell in town and got the same response, voice mail with no way to leave a message. Called a third Taco Bell and finally got ahold of a manager, who immediately apologized and informed me that her store had just recently sent lettuce to the store I had ordered from. She explained that the district manager was there overseeing operations after the manager broke a bone (hip I think she said). She took my name and number and told me that the district manager would contact me as soon as they could that evening. That was at 4:30 pm on Wednesday, May 5th.

On Thursday morning, I sent a series of messages via Twitter to @tacobellcare, the account which had helped me both times I had issues with the app. I had apologized for contacting them, unsure if they could actually assist me with this “IN STORE” issue or not, but hoped they could pass the information along to someone who could assist me with dealing with the issue that happened on May 5th. They apologized, asked for my app account name, and asked to send them a screen picture of my in app receipt. Within two hours, they were informing me that a refund had been issued and they were truly sorry for the issues I had been dealing with. I will admit that I was not looking for a refund, I just wanted what most people want in these situations, and that is for the food I ordered to be made correctly.

If you want to know my thoughts on the service issues with regards to how much these employees are making, please check out my blog post https://www.doctormckeown.com/2020/10/compensation-you-get-what-you-pay-for, While I do feel that pay is a reason why the food I received was lacking, it doesn’t explain why the district manager, generally a higher paid employee would allow for products that do not meet quality standards to be allowed to be served to a customer? Was that person not paying attention? Did they even care? While I may not go to that specific Taco Bell again for a while, this issue has not diminished my respect for the company as a whole. I still enjoy their food, even though I wish they would bring back my favorites: Taco Salad, Mexican Pizza, and Double Decker Taco’s.

Employee compensation has always been a touchy subject for a lot of people. When you hear “you get what you pay for?”, what are your thoughts?

The first thought that some of you might have, may be about paying very little for a service and getting some shoddy work done. And that would be absolutely correct. However, if I say “what about in food service”? Was the first thing you thought of something along the lines of “well sure, you pay $.99 for a burger, you should not expect the best quality”.

Of course it would be simple if that was the topic I was trying to discuss; however, it is not. Recently, I was reminded of two times where I couldn’t stop laughing about something that happened to me while in the drive-thru at a fast food establishment. The first involved going to McDonald’s with my sister and ordering several McFlurry’s (Early 1990’s). We had various ones with different toppings, but it was when we got to the last one that we started having a problem. One wanted a McFlurry, plain, or basically just the ice cream in a cup.

They gave us several reasons for why it was impossible to make a plain McFlurry, ranging from “it couldn’t be entered into the register”, to “the spoon only gets added when it is used to mix the topping into the ice cream”. It took almost five minutes of arguing in the drive-thru and then finally getting a manager into the conversation before the employees were shown how easy it could be done. I was in the drive through of a Dairy Queen, wondering how they might handle a person asking for a blizzard with no toppings, as this memory came rushing back.  

The second event involved an incident at Burger King; incidentally, it also dealt with ordering an item plain. When you order a double cheeseburger plain, you should still expect to get cheese on it, otherwise it would be a double hamburger and not a cheeseburger. The employee defended what they did by saying that “plain meant nothing on it”. As a former Burger King Manager, I can attest to the fact that not all employees are like that; however, I do remember asking one of my employees why they were putting so much mustard on the sandwiches they were making. Come to find out that they liked mustard so they thought everyone else did as well.

I am sure that some of you might consider these incidents as standard for the fast food industry, but I can honestly say that there are “some” fast food establishments and that I absolutely enjoy going to since I have never had an issue with the products or service I receive. So it makes me wonder, have
you ever thought that paying employees crappy wages results in getting crappy products/service? It is an interesting question and revolves around the subject of Employee Compensation: “you get what you pay for”.

Compensation Research

Research has shown that taking care of employees and paying higher wages has resulted in increased productivity and profits for companies that understand quality employee compensation. If you have ever eaten at an In-n-Out, you would know what paying employees a decent wage does for service and quality food. This can also be seen at companies such as Southwest Airlines, UPS, Costco, Quicktrip, and Trader Joe’s to name a few. This research can be found here: Productivity: You Get What You Pay For (And Then Some)

This research has also shown for for every dollar of increased wages resulted in an additional $10 or more in revenue, some even as high as $28 increase. Costs associated with low wage employees increase as turnover increases. If a company has 100% turnover (common among a lot of food service establishments), then each employee is actually resulting in a company paying the price of two employees based on turnover.

In my own research on food safety, it is the employee that impacts health inspection scores the most, with employee behaviors being the reason that inspections go from an A to a B to a C. Paying employees a better wage allows for companies to demand higher quality employees, which in turn provides higher quality guest satisfaction.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share

Thank you for following my blog for the month of September, as we discussed food safety issues and how to keep food safe.

Please feel free to continue following this blog as I occasionally report on food safety issues here in the United States, and regular report on food safety recalls. Again, I thank you for reading.

If you have any questions about anything that is presented in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

COVID-19 is the designation of the Novel Coronavirus that has caused a major pandemic this year. Every health department in the United States (Local, county, state), has created guidance and protocols for restaurants and food establishments to follow to ensure a safe dining experience (if allowed to be open for business).

On this blog, I will discuss issues that need to be taken care of during this pandemic to ensure that you are taking care of your guests and your employees during this unusual time.

Before the outbreak, restaurants were required to keep a clean and sanitary establishment for the guests. Now, it has taken on more of a necessity to keep people safe.

With an illness causing virus that can spread from person to person the way that COVID-19 does, it is imperative that food establishments create a cleaning and sanitation protocol to keep employees and guests safe, while still being able to provide a good experience and a meal free from contamination.

The use of approved cleaning and sanitation supplies is one of the most important elements to keep the restaurant safe. Constant cleaning is essential as well; however, it remains to be seen if food establishments have added constant cleaning to restrooms to keep Coronavirus from spreading in that location. Today’s discussion is about glove use by servers.

Servers have a great many functions depending on the establishment. In some restaurants, Darden restaurants for instance, servers are responsible for serving guests and have very little work outside that goal; however, many other restaurants require their servers to restock supplies, roll silverware inside the napkins, in addition to the serving of guests. Whichever situation, the main goal of the server is to be the focal point of service for the guest, and I will take you through a basic view of what it takes to serve just one table.

For this example, it should be understood that the server is wearing a face mask and gloves as part of the restaurant appeal to keep their guests safe. After the guests are seated, the server would greet the guests, talk about the menu, offer specials, and so on. They may take just a drink order or they many take the entire food and beverage order, depending on the readiness of the guests. In our example they will go ahead and take the full order and remove the menus. After, and depending on the establishment, they would go to the register system and enter the order for the kitchen and and bar drinks (if available).

They would then proceed to the beverage station to make drinks and take them and any other items to the table as required (salads, bread, etc). As the guests try to enjoy themselves, the server will also be taking care of other guests and other tables depending on the number of tables they are required to take care of during their shift. Food is then brought out when ready, desserts may or may not be ordered along with after dinner drinks, and finally the final check arrives.

What I just described to you is the basics of being a server at a restaurant. There is a LOT of work involved that may or may not change the above scenario, but suffice to say, this is the basic situation. So I ask you, when during that scenario did the server change their gloves? When did they wash their hands?

However you answer the questions I just posed, odds are a majority of you will be incorrect. So lets start with the regulations regarding glove use. The FDA food code, which is the basis for almost every state and local health code states that:

“…SINGLE-USE gloves shall be used for only one task such as working with READY-TO-EAT FOOD or with raw animal FOOD, used for no other purpose, and discarded when damaged or soiled, or when interruptions occur in the operation”.

(FDA Food Code 2013 pg 74 & 2017 pg 77)

There are also other times when a glove is “required” to be worn, such as if their is an injury or contaminant (i.e. boil or puss producing item) located on the individuals hand. Gloves are designed to be single use, used for the task at hand, then removed. Under this regulation, each task that the server does, requires them to change their gloves. So in the above example, gloves needed to be changed after each individual task. To break down when gloves would require to be changed:

1. The server takes the full order and removes the menus.
2. go to the register system and enter the order for the kitchen and bar drinks (if available).
3. They would then proceed to the beverage station to make drinks and take them and any other items to the table as required (salads, bread, etc).
   1. If the server makes the salads, that would be a separate task as well.
4. As the guests try to enjoy themselves, the server will also be taking care of other guests and other tables depending on the number of tables they are required to take care of during their shift.
5. Food is then brought out when ready
6. desserts may or may not be ordered along with after dinner drinks
7. finally the final check arrives.

So as you can see, just for this example of “ONE” table, the server should, by regulations, be changing gloves at least seven to eight times.

What about handwashing? If you think that changing the gloves will keep the employee from washing hands, that would be incorrect. Food Safety regulations state that hands MUST be washed before putting on a pair of gloves. (FDA Food code 2013 pg 48 & 2017 pg 50) This means that each time the server is required to be changing gloves, they are also required to be washing their hands. That is a great deal of time for handwashing and changing gloves.

By the way, if you ever see someone blow into a glove to open it up to make it easier to put on, realize they just contaminated the glove and would need to start over with washing their hands.

So with all this information, what should be considered the best practices in this situation. In this situation, and in my professional opinion, is that gloves SHOULD NOT be used by servers; however, the servers should practice and be more diligent in handwashing.

In “SOME’ jurisdictions around the country, it MAY be possible to use hand sanitizer when the hands are not actually soiled (physical visible contamination). The restaurant should check with the local regulating agency to see if this is an acceptable alternative to handwashing as depicted in the above example. Because this particular solution is not currently approved nationwide, I cannot provide this as an actual solution to keeping guests safe; however, I would gladly offer my services to speak with local health officials if you or your restaurant would like to utilize me as an expert.

If you have any questions about anything that is presented in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

USDA inspection and grading of meat and poultry are two separate programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The following information comes from the U.S.D.A. website on the differences between inspection & grading of meat items: (some minor editing for readability on this blog) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/production-and-inspection/inspection-and-grading-of-meat-and-poultry-what-are-the-differences_/inspection-and-grading-differences

USDA Inspection & Grading of Meat and Poultry: What Are the Differences?

Inspection is for wholesomeness and is mandatory. It is paid for with public funds. Grading is for quality and is voluntary. This service is requested and paid for by meat and poultry producers/processors.

Mandatory Federal Inspection

American consumers can be confident that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the public health agency in the USDA, ensures that meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act , FSIS inspects all raw meat and poultry sold in interstate and foreign commerce, including imported products. The Agency monitors meat and poultry products after they leave federally inspected plants.

In addition, FSIS monitors State inspection programs , which inspect meat and poultry products sold only within the State in which they were produced. The 1967 Wholesome Meat Act and the 1968 Wholesome Poultry Products Act require State inspection programs to be “at least equal to” the Federal inspection program. In states that choose to end their inspection program or cannot maintain this standard, FSIS must assume responsibility for inspection within that State.

FSIS does allow under a final rule State-inspected establishments with 25 or fewer employees to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce because of a new voluntary cooperative agreement program. Meat and poultry products produced under the program that have been inspected and passed by designated State personnel will bear an official Federal mark of inspection and will be permitted to be distributed in interstate commerce. FSIS will provide oversight and enforcement of the program.

In these efforts to protect the safety and integrity of meat and poultry products, FSIS works with many other agencies, including other agencies within the USDA, State inspection programs, the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Since the Federal inspection program began at the turn of the twentieth century, the meat and poultry industries have grown and changed significantly. In the early 1900’s, most meat came from local slaughter plants and was used locally. Further processing was limited to simple products such as sausages. Today, however, a wide variety of meat and poultry products are on the market. Animals are slaughtered and meat is processed in sophisticated, high-volume plants. The meat is often shipped great distances to reach consumers.

As the industry changed, FSIS began changing inspection. In earlier days, the primary concern of the inspectors was animal diseases, and they relied almost exclusively on visual inspection of animals, products, and plant operations. However, refinements in animal production reduced disease and created a more homogeneous animal population. Thus, the concerns of today’s inspectors are broader and include unseen hazards such as microbiological and chemical contamination.

The requirements in the “Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems” final rule are designed to minimize the likelihood of harmful bacteria contaminating raw meat and poultry products. However, some bacteria could be present and might become a problem if meat and poultry are not handled safely. To assist food handlers, the USDA requires that safe handling instructions be put on all packages of raw and not fully cooked meat and poultry.

FSIS’s HACCP Systems mandate measures to target and reduce the presence of pathogenic organisms in meat and poultry products. These measures include FSIS testing to verify pathogen reduction performance standards are being met; plant microbial testing to verify process control for fecal contamination; written sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs); and a mandatory HACCP system in all meat and poultry plants. The implementation of HACCP by FSIS helps ensure the safety of the meat, poultry, and egg products supply. To learn more, visit FSIS’s Web page on HACCP.

Every establishment is required to reassess the adequacy of its HACCP plan at least annually and whenever any changes occur that could affect its hazard analysis or alter its HACCP plan. The establishment may reassess its HACCP plan, or plans, any time during the calendar year to meet the annual reassessment requirement.

Meat that has been federally inspected and passed for wholesomeness is stamped with a round purple mark. The dye used to stamp the grade and inspection marks onto a meat carcass is made from a food-grade vegetable dye and is not harmful. (The exact formula is proprietary/owned by the maker of the dye.) The mark is put on carcasses and major cuts. After trimming, the mark might not appear on retail cuts such as roasts and steaks. However, meat that is packaged in an inspected facility will have an inspection mark which identifies the plant on the label.

	Inspection mark on raw meat
	Inspection mark on raw poultry
	Inspection mark on processed products

Voluntary Federal inspection for animals not covered under mandatory inspection (i.e., buffalo, rabbit, reindeer, elk, deer, antelope) is handled under the Agricultural Marketing Act. This Act gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to take whatever steps are necessary to make the product marketable. The FSIS inspector must have knowledge about that particular species and the carcass must fit available equipment in the plant. Businesses that request voluntary inspection must pay an hourly fee for the service whereas mandatory inspection is funded by tax dollars.

For voluntary inspection, the mark of inspection (as referenced in 9 CFR 352.7-Marking Inspected Products) illustrates the mark to be the shape of a triangle for exotic species.

For application to exotic animal carcasses, primal parts and cuts therefrom, exotic animal livers, exotic animal tongues, and exotic animal hearts.

The establishment number of the official exotic animal establishment where the product is prepared shall be used in lieu thereof.

For the inspection of rabbits, as per 9 CFR 354.63 the mark of inspection is the same as the inspection mark for raw poultry.

Grading

After meat and poultry are inspected for wholesomeness, producers and processors may request that they have products graded for quality by a licensed Federal grader. The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (http://www.ams.usda.gov) is the agency responsible for grading meat and poultry. Those who request grading must pay for the service. Grading for quality means the evaluation of traits related to tenderness, juiciness, and flavor of meat; and, for poultry, a normal shape that is fully fleshed and meaty and free of defects.

USDA grades are based on nationally uniform Federal standards of quality. No matter where or when a consumer purchases graded meat or poultry, it must have met the same grade criteria. The grade is stamped on the carcass or side of beef and is usually not visible on retail cuts. However, retail packages of beef, as well as poultry, will show the U.S. grade mark if they have been officially graded.

The grade symbol and wording are no longer copyrighted; however, according to the Truth in Labeling Law, it is illegal to mislead or misrepresent the shield or wording.

USDA Grades for Meat and Poultry

Beef

Beef is graded as whole carcasses in two ways:

• quality grades – for tenderness, juiciness, and flavor; and
• yield grades – for the amount of usable lean meat on the carcass. There are eight quality grades for beef. Quality grades are based on the amount of marbling (flecks of fat within the lean), color, and maturity.

Quality Grades:

• Prime grade is produced from young, well-fed beef cattle. It has abundant marbling and is generally sold in restaurants and hotels. Prime roasts and steaks are excellent for dry-heat cooking (broiling, roasting, or grilling).
• Choice grade is high quality, but has less marbling than Prime. Choice roasts and steaks from the loin and rib will be very tender, juicy, and flavorful and are, like Prime, suited to dry-heat cooking. Many of the less tender cuts, such as those from the rump, round, and blade chuck, can also be cooked with dry heat if not overcooked. Such cuts will be most tender if “braised” — roasted, or simmered with a small amount of liquid in a tightly covered pan.
• Select grade is very uniform in quality and normally leaner than the higher grades. It is fairly tender, but, because it has less marbling, it may lack some of the juiciness and flavor of the higher grades. Only the tender cuts (loin, rib, sirloin) should be cooked with dry heat. Other cuts should be marinated before cooking or braised to obtain maximum tenderness and flavor.
• Standard and Commercial grades are frequently sold as ungraded or as “store brand” meat.
• Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

Note: Grades such as Prime, Choice and Select are not acceptable terms for raw cuts of pork or poultry.

Yield grades

range from “1” to “5” and indicate the amount of usable meat from a carcass. Yield grade 1 is the highest grade and denotes the greatest ratio of lean to fat; yield grade 5 is the lowest yield ratio. Though yield grades are not something consumers normally see, they are most useful when purchasing a side or carcass of beef for the freezer.

Veal/Calf

There are five grades for Veal/Calf: prime, choice, good, standard, and utility.

• Prime and choice grades are juicier and more flavorful than the lower grades. Because of the young age of the animals, the meat will be a light grayish-pink to light pink, fairly firm, and velvety. The bones are small, soft, and quite red. Cuts such as chops can be cooked by the dry-heat methods of roasting, grilling or broiling.

Lamb

There are five grades for lamb. Normally only two grades are found at the retail level — prime and choice. Lower grades of lamb and mutton (meat from older sheep) — good, utility, and cull — are seldom marked with the grade. Lamb is produced from animals less than a year old. Since the quality of lamb varies according to the age of the animal, it is advisable to buy lamb that has been USDA graded.

• Prime grade is very high in tenderness, juiciness, and flavor. Its marbling enhances both flavor and juiciness.
• Choice grade has slightly less marbling than prime, but still is of very high quality. Most cuts of prime and choice grade lamb (chops, roasts, shoulder cuts, and leg) are tender and can be cooked by the dry-heat methods (broiling, roasting, or grilling). The less tender cuts — breast, riblets, neck, and shank — can be braised to make them more tender.

Pork

Pork is not graded with USDA quality grades as it is generally produced from young animals that have been bred and fed to produce more uniformly tender meat. Appearance is an important guide in buying fresh pork. Look for cuts with a relatively small amount of fat over the outside and with meat that is firm and grayish pink in color. For best flavor and tenderness, meat should have a small amount of marbling.

Pork’s consistency makes it suitable for a variety of cooking styles. Chops can be prepared by pan broiling, grilling, baking, braising, or sautéing. Ribs can be braised, roasted, or grilled. Slow cooking yields the most tender and flavorful results. Tenderloins are considered to be the most tender and tasty cut of pork.

Poultry

The USDA grades for poultry are A, B, and C.

• Grade A is the highest quality and the only grade that is likely to be seen at the retail level. This grade indicates that the poultry products are virtually free from defects such as bruises, discolorations, and feathers. Bone-in products have no broken bones. For whole birds and parts with the skin on, there are no tears in the skin or exposed flesh that could dry out during cooking, and a good covering of fat under the skin. Also, whole birds and parts will be fully fleshed and meaty.
  
  The U.S. grade shield for poultry may be found on the following chilled or frozen ready-to-cook poultry products: whole carcasses and parts, as well as roasts, tenderloins, and other boneless and/or skinless poultry products that are being marketed. There are no grade standards for necks, wing tips, tails, giblets, or ground poultry.
  
• Grades B and C poultry are usually used in further-processed products where the poultry meat is cut up, chopped, or ground. If sold at retail, they are usually not grade identified.

If you have any questions about anything that is presented in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

Tomorrows lesson: COVID-19 and the impact on food safety.

Chemical Sanitizers are designed to eliminate or reduce microbial contamination to safe levels. When used properly, they can be very effective. When it comes to cleaning in a foodservice establishment, we hear a lot about sanitizing, but not much is known about what constitutes an approved sanitizer or how they work.

In a foodservice establishment, there are three approved sanitizers, they are Chlorine, Iodine, and Quats (also referred to as Quaternary Ammonium). Each of these sanitizers work to reduce pathogens on surfaces to safe levels, and must be used properly to avoid the possibility of a chemical contamination.

All sanitizers should be used according to the manufacturers instructions but here are a few basics of each one.

Chlorine sanitizer: Works well in warm water or hot water if the water is more alkaline. Should be at a concentration of 50 – 99 ppm and must maintain contact with the area for at least 7 seconds or longer.

Iodine: Works well in a water temperature of about 68 degrees F (20 degrees C), should be at a concentration of 12.5 to 25 ppm, and must maintain contact with the area for at least 30 seconds or longer.

Quats: Works well in a water temperature of 75 degrees F, ppm is dictated by the type and manufacturer of the sanitizer, and must maintain contact with the area for at least 30 seconds or longer.

In the industry it is fairly rare to find chlorine or iodine as a sanitizer, as they are generally a bit more expensive and harder to work work. Quats are generally used by all foodservice establishments for their ease of use.

There are several factors that relate to the effectiveness of chemical sanitizers. The most critical are the sanitizers concentration, temperature of the water, contact time, and the hardness and pH of the water.

For concentration, too much sanitizer can corrode metal, cause chemical burns on hands, and will leave a residue that could result in a chemical contamination in food if the food touches the area affected. Too little sanitizer and you are basically just wiping with water.

Water temperature too hot or too cold impacts the effectiveness by increasing or decreasing the ppm of the product. Some chemicals do not work well under very hot or very cold conditions and thus break down easily.

The contact time that the sanitizer has with the surface impacts its effectiveness. Too little time in the sanitizer water makes the process useless.

Finally, it should be noted that you should avoid, at all costs, getting detergent in the sanitizing solution. When detergent comes in contact with most chemical sanitizers, the detergent deactivates the sanitizing chemicals, rendering them useless.

If you have any questions about anything that is presented in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

Tomorrows Lesson: The difference between USDA inspections and USDA grading of meat items.

Three-compartment dish washing is actually very simple, as long as you know which way to move through the sink stations. It doesn’t matter if you go left to right or right to left, just as long as you are consistent to ensure that the clean dishes are not contaminated after drying.

The first of thee sinks will be for washing, and should be filled with detergent and water at least 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).

The second sink is for rinsing and should be filled with clean water. Some jurisdictions allow for the use of running water for rinsing, check your local health code or department.

The third sink is designed for sanitizing and should be filled with water and an approved sanitizer.

Here are the steps involved with using a three-compartment sink for dish washing.

• Step 1: Scrape items before washing them.If necessary, items can be rinsed or soaked.
• Step 2: Wash items in the first sink. Use a brush, cloth towel, or nylon scrub pad to loosen dirt. Change the water and detergent when the suds are gone or the water is dirty.
• Step 3: Rinse items in the second sink. Spray the items with water or dip them in it. Make sure you remove all traces of food and detergent from the items being rinsed. If dipping the items, change the rinse water when it becomes dirty or full of suds.
• Step 4: Sanitize items in the third sink. Change the sanitizing solution when the temperature of the water or the sanitizer concentration falls below requirements. Never rinse items after sanitizing them. This could contaminate their surfaces.
• Step 5: Air-dry items on a clean and sanitized surface. Place items upside down so they will drain.NEVERuse a towel to dry items, as it could contaminate them.

If you have any questions about anything that is presented in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

Tomorrows lesson: What are the approved sanitizers and how does sanitizing work?

TCS in relation to food safety, stands for Time & Temperature Control for Safety. This designation is given to foods that are considered more susceptible to foodborne illness cause bacteria and thus must be carefully monitored to ensure that they remain safe. This designation has replaced the previous designation of PHF, which stands for Potentially Hazardous Foods. (personally, I still use and prefer the designation PHF).

There are 12 food groups that are considered TCS foods, and are listed as thus:

Milk & Dairy products

Shell Eggs (except those treated to eliminate nontyphodial Salmonella)

Meat: such as beef, pork, and lamb

Poultry

Fish

Shellfish & crustaceans

Baked potatoes

Heat-treated plant foods, such as cooked rice, beans, and vegatables

Tofu or other soy protein & synthetic ingredients such as textured soy protein in meat alternatives

Sprouts and sprout seeds

Sliced melons, cut tomatoes, & cut leafy greans

Untreated garlic-and-oil mixtures

The main commonality of these items is that pathogens grow well in each of them. Controlling the time – temperatures of each will help reduce the chance of harmful pathogens growing on each of these.

If you have any questions about anything that I present in these lessons, or have a question about anything regarding food safety, please feel free to contact me.

Check Dr. Mc Keown’s blog daily to see what information we have to share during September, the #National #Foodsafety #Education Month, #NFSM.

Tomorrows lesson: How to set up a three-compartment dish washing station.