Food Microbiology Risk Reduction Program for Rutgers Dining Halls

Why?  Monitor microbial quality Monitor microbial quality  Database Database  Identify and correct problems  Foods, employee training, vendors, equipment  Large operations = risk Large operations = risk  Required by law and/or for consumer satisfaction

Food Microbiology Risk Reduction Project  1970’s large food poisoning outbreak at Rutgers University  Dr. Myron Solberg ( ) was asked to establish a food safety program to prevent this from occurring again  The current program has been under Dr. Schaffner’s supervision since 2000

Facilities inspected  Brower Commons  Busch  Neilson  Tillett  Dudley's  Dunkin' Donuts  The Rock  Sbarro  Douglass Café  Rutgers Faculty Club  Brower Faculty  Tillett Faculty  Busch Faculty

Project activities  Unannounced visits to two dining halls and two smaller facilities per week  Sanitation audits  Hot and cold temperature audits  Food microbiology testing  Reports sent to managers and University sanitarian  Weekly troubleshooting, yearly trend analysis, special projects as needed

1. Sanitation audit  Entire facility  Food preparation area, serving lines, storage room, refrigerators, dish washing, employees, equipment, etc.  If problem is observed, corrective action is logged on the spot  Manager signs report on site

Example audit questions  Cross-contamination!

Yearly report  Question-specific compliance (“Top ten problems”)  Overall scores

2. Temperature audit  Take temperatures of foods in the line  Salad Bar, Deli, Entrée, raw foods, etc.  If cold holding, record tray material (metal or plastic) and cooling method (ice bath or refrigeration unit)

Temperature audit cont.  Identify and correct problems  Equipment malfunction, personnel training  Take “out of temperature” food samples to the lab (8 per week) for microbiology testing

Food Poisoning Outbreak Risk Factors (CDC )

Yearly report  General hot and cold holding temperatures frequency and compliance  Holding temperatures per food

3. Microbiology testing  Total aerobic counts  Coliforms, fecal coliforms, generic E. coli Indicators of:  Sanitation  Good Manufacturing Practices

 Pathogens:  Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus  Bacillus cereus Bacillus cereus  Clostridium perfringens Clostridium perfringens  Salmonella spp. Salmonella spp.  Listeria spp. Listeria spp.  Pathogenic E. coli Pathogenic E. coli

Clostridium Total Aerobic Plate Count Coliforms Fecal Coliforms E. coli Salmonell a Pathogenic E. coli S. aureus B. cereus Listeria

Staphylococcus aureus Bacillus cereus

Coliforms and E. coli

Standards

Yearly report  Pathogens detected Pathogens detected  Bacillus cereus Bacillus cereus  “Problem” foods “Problem” foods  High total aerobic counts  Coliforms detected Coliforms detected

Special projects  Initiated in response to problems identified through routine monitoring  Comparison water and disinfectant in tomatoes  Microbial quality of cutting boards  Studies on hand washing

Conclusions  Prevention, problems identification and history of food safety  Since the program was initiated in the 1970’s, there have been no reported cases of food poisoning at any Rutgers University dining facility  Scores improve over the years

QUESTIONS?....