Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis is an illness caused by the Clostridium perfringens bacteria. It is a spore-forming bacteria that is found in several environmental sources as well as in the intestines of humans and animals. It is commonly found on raw meat and poultry, and prefers to grow in conditions with very little or no oxygen, and can multiply very rapidly.  Some strains of the bacteria can produce a toxin in the intestine that causes illness. It is estimated that this bacteria causes over 1 million illness a year.

The symptoms of this illness are: diarrhea and abdominal cramps within 6 to 24 hours (typically 8-12). The illness usually begins  very suddenly and lasts for less than 24 hours.  Persons infected usually do not have a fever or vomiting. The illness is not able to be passed from one person to another.

The most common foods associated with this bacteria are: beef, poultry, gravies, and dried or pre-cooked foods.

Prevention methods for this illness include:

1. Cool and reheat foods correctly.

2. Hold food at the correct temperatures.

3. Control time and temperature.

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.

Tomorrow’s lesson: What is Botulism (Clostridium botulinum bacteria)?

Bacillus cereus is a bacteria found in the soil that is spore-forming. When the bacteria senses danger, it forms into a spore that can make it resistant to cooking temperatures. It would then revert back to its bacteria form when conditions are more favorable for it. If allowed to grow, the bacteria can create two different toxins which in turn can cause two different types of illnesses.

The foods most commonly linked to Bacillus cereus are:

Diarrhea illness: Cooked vegetables, meat products, and milk.

Vomiting illness: Cooked rice dishes, including fried rice and rice pudding

The most common symptoms:

Diarrhea illness: watery diarrhea with no vomiting

Vomiting illness: Nausea & vomiting

The main prevention method for this bacteria is to control time and temperature of your products. Other prevention methods include:

1. Cook Foods to minimum internal temperatures.

2. Hold food at the right temperatures.

3. cook food correctly.

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.

Tomorrow’s lesson: What is Clostridium perfringens gastroenteritis (Clostridium perfringens bacteria)?

Norovirus gastroenteritis is the illness caused by the virus known as Norovirus. Like Hepatitis A, it is commonly linked with ready-to-eat foods and contaminated water, and is passed from foodhandlers to food or equipment by hands that have feces on them.

While eating only a small amount of the Norovirus can make a person sick, this virus is also very contagious, with people becoming contagious within a few hours after eating it. The virus is often still found in the feces of individuals for days after symptoms have ended.

This virus is most commonly linked to ready-to-eat foods, contaminated water, and shellfish from contaminated water. The most common symptoms of this illness are: Vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal cramps.

In addition to maintaining proper person hygiene, other prevention methods include:

1. Keep employees with diarrhea and vomiting out of the operation.

2. Keep employees who have been diagnosed with Norovirus out of the operation.

3. Wash hands.

4. Minimize bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.

5. Purchase shellfish from approved, reputable suppliers.

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.

Tomorrow’s lesson: What is Bacillus cereus gastroenteritis (Bacillus cereus bacteria)?

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

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

in this blog, we will provide lessons exploring the causes of food borne illness, in addition to lessons in all areas of food safety will be provided for your information. So, don’t forget to join the conversation on social media by using #NFSM.

#National #Foodsafety #Education month was created in 1994 to heighten the awareness of food safety education. Each year, we feature a new theme and create free training activities and posters for the restaurant and foodservice industry to help reinforce proper food safety practices and procedures. (from ServSafe)

According to the USDA, there is no evidence that food is associated with spreading COVID-19; however, proper food safety practices help prevent contamination.

Are you keeping your employees & guests safe? As you may have noticed, restaurants have been re-opening around the country. Some at reduced occupancy, others have even re-closed due to the pandemic.

I’ve been out to view several locations in various cities, recently, to view the handling of increased sanitation requirements. My biggest question right now, is how do you know if your employees and guests are safe? Do you even care if the guests you are serving could be COVID-19 positive? If I told you that guests were bragging about having COVID-19 while eating in your restaurant, how would you respond?

As operators or food establishments, I hope that you are making sure your employees are healthy. That they haven’t been around anyone that tested positive and need to quarantine instead of work. Yes, I know that is a stretch. Since most employees are afraid of losing their job. They don’t tell anyone when they are sick and will come into work possibly infecting everyone. If you don’t believe me, as any friend that works in a restaurant, they will confirm this).

I hope that workers are kept away from working when sick. What can we expect management to do if a guest, with Coronavirus, enters your establishment?

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. Even health departments (regulations created by the state legislatures) do not have much guidance on this situation, either. You can “HOPE” that everyone that enters your establishment is healthy and negative. Even though there have been lots of false negatives. Not to mention that people have skipped the 14 day quarantine because they “feel fine”. As a reminder, you can still be contagious or asymptomatic (infected but no symptoms).

What should you do to keep your employees & guests safe?

With no real guidance on this issue, my advice is to treat every guest as if they have COVID-19. Clean and sanitize the entire area and everything they touch or are in contact with after each table turn. Have staff wash hands between tables and between every change in tasks (which they should be doing already). Do NOT USE GLOVES IN THE DINING ROOM (people tend to wash hands less when using gloves). Minimize the number of guests allowed in the establishment at all times. and above all else, clean, clean, clean.

I am readily availble to assist any foodservice establishment with food safety issues. Information on my consulting can be found here.

When it comes to providing quality food to guests in the restaurant industry, it is important to have a good foundation in food safety. while some health department jurisdictions require at least one certified food safety manager at all times a restaurant is open, some only require one certified manager for the entire operation. Certifications for employees are available, but are generally not required in any jurisdiction.

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, restaurants are starting to work towards better food safety practices. Even ServSafe, one of the certification companies for employees and managers has been offering the employee course for free during the months of April and May 2020.

While increasing food safety practices is always a good idea, the object will be for restaurants to keep working towards providing safe food and a safe environment for their guests. With restaurants having been open for an average of two weeks, as of the writing of this blog post, several restaurants around the country are already being accused of NOT keeping up with the guidelines established for them to re-open.

Unfortunately, with food inspections most likely going back to the regular operating schedule (once or twice a year based on location and funding), catching restaurants that are becoming deficient in their safety practices will be few and far between as pretty much all business decisions are based on money, and following proper safety procedures costs money.

I was explaining this to a friend recently that mentioned that buffets need to start remodeling for cafe style buffet instead of the current self-service style. Because of the current pandemic, cafe style will last for a while, then buffet owners will begin transitioning back to self-service so that they do not have to pay employees to serve the food.

As I stated previously, food safety should be the foundation upon which a restaurant should build. In the past, I have taught my students about what I call the “Triangle of Service”, seen here:

The Triangle of Service is something I have discovered while evaluating just about every restaurant available (before the pandemic). In my evaluation, I found that of the three items listed: Quality, Speed of Service, and Food Safety, a restaurant can ONLY do two of the three items effectively and must sacrifice the third item.

For example:
1. Jack-In-The-Box: Quality (Yes), Speed of Service (No), Food Safety (Yes)
2. In & Out Burger: Quality (Yes), Speed of Service (No), Food Safety (Yes)
3. Taco Bell: Quality (No), Speed of Service (Yes), Food Safety (TBD)
4. Olive Garden: Quality (Yes), Speed of Service (No), Food Safety (Yes)[yes, I know there are those of you that will disagree with my assessment on that one]

Now, this isn’t to say that EVERY restaurant excels in two of the three items. There are some that may not be able to accomplish ANY of the items in my Triangle of Service. Depending on location, I am sure many of you would say that several fast food restaurants are unable to complete all three, and I am sure there are several that will argue that they feel it IS possible to accomplish all three.

Unfortunately, in my 30 years experience in food service and my 25 years experience in food safety, I have found that a restaurant cannot accomplish all three items. Speed of Service is just too demanding of an item that to move quicker, either quality or sanitation must be sacrificed, as corners are cut somewhere. Whether it be in failing to cook items to proper temperatures or failing to wash hands to prevent cross-contamination. If the quality of the product isn’t diminished, then something in sanitation was missed.

So the question becomes, how do we fix it. Unfortunately, we have become a society dominated by instant gratification. Luckily, several restaurants have been focusing on Quality and Food Safety and ignoring speed of service that their business models have expanded over the years. Places like In & Out, Whataburger, Jack-In-The-Box, plus many others, have been working on making quality and sanitation more important that speed of service.

Until the other places that focus more on speed of service can slow down, it will be almost impossible to fix the issue with guests demanding instant gratification for every meal.

As always, if you have any questions or comments about my post, please feel free to contact me.

As restaurants begin to reopen around the country, concern over becoming infected with COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus) is on the minds of a great many people. One such concern that a great many people are discussing is protection at food establishments. 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 Coronavirus 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 or comments regarding anything I have written, please feel free to contact me.

As of December 1st, 2019, Mississippi has adopted the 2017 version of the U.S. model Food Code. As such, one requirement of that code is that all food establishments are required to have a certified Food Protection Manager on staff at all times while the establishment is open (this person must be the person in charge). This is in stark contrast from the previous regulation that only required one person to be certified.

There are currently (that I am aware of) two certification training courses available to meet this criteria. One is the ServSafe® Food Protection Manager certification, the other is the National Environmental Health Association’s Certified Professional Food Manager.

Since so many food service establishments will now required training and certification of employees to meet the conditions of the new regulations, I have created a training and consulting company in Southern Mississippi, where I will be offering training in both of these courses, in addition to several Alcohol Awareness courses, such as ServSafe® Alcohol and the American Hotel & Lodging Education Institutes CARE® (Controlling Alcohol Risks Effectively) courses. By February, I hope to also be offering the TIPs (Training for Intervention ProcedureS) course.

If you company is in need of Food Safety or Alcohol Awareness training, please take a look at my new company, Doc Bear Enterprises, LLC. which can be found at https://www.docbear-ent.com . The page is still being worked on, so please pardon any issues you may find. I am also located on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/docbearent and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/doc-bear-ent/

Our company would be willing to travel (within reason) from New Orleans to the West, Pensacola, to the East, and the Hattiesburg area to the North. Additional distance would require lodging to be added to any costs of training.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

As a Thanksgiving #foodsafety reminder.

1. Clean surfaces after you use them, but especially after working on the turkey.
2. Wash your hands regularly.
3. Make sure the turkey is fully cooked to at least 165 degrees. Check three places, thickest parts each of breast, thigh, and wing.
4. If you stuff the turkey, make sure the stuffing also reaches 165 degrees (put in a pan and cook more if needed either in the oven or on the stove to ensure the proper temperature).
5. Don’t let food sit at room temperature for too long. Refrigerate leftovers as soon as possible.

Above all, have an awesome day.

The following information comes directly from the U.S.D.A. website on the differences between inspection & grading of meat items: 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

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

The inspection and grading of meat and poultry are two separate programs within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Inspection for wholesomeness is mandatory and is paid for with public funds. Grading for quality is voluntary, and the 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.

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 gradeis 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 gradeis 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 gradeis 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 Ais 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.