Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2022 - 7

kasabatini@hersheyPA.com
Foodborne pathogens do not
work alone, and it's important
to recognize that there are risk
factors that work in tandem
with contamination that
increase risk and contribute to
the responsibility of foodborne
illness outbreaks.
TOP RI SK
FACTORS FOR
OUTBREAKS
The top 5 risk factors for
foodborne illness outbreaks
are:
1. Improper hot and cold
holding temperatures of
potentially hazardous foods
(this includes cooling and
reheating of foods)
2. Improper cooking
temperatures of food
3. Dirty and/or contaminated
utensils and equipment
4. Poor employee health and
hygiene
5. Food from unsafe sources
While the majority of people
affected by a foodborne
illness will experience mild
symptoms and will not
require medical treatment,
high risk populations are at
increased risk of developing
severe health outcomes,
like more acute symptoms,
complications from disease,
and even death. High risk
populations are those people
with compromised immune
systems and pre-existing
conditions, the elderly
and very young, as well as
pregnant women.
IMPROVED FOOD
SAFETY and technology
has played a significant
role in helping to mitigate
the impact of foodborne
disease, however
outbreaks do still exist.
various reasons, pathogens
find their way into the supply
chain and cause illness. The
supply chain is very complex
and it takes many steps for
foods to make their way
from farm to table with the
possibility of contamination
Preparation can occur in a
home kitchen directly by the
consumer or in a commercial
kitchen serving a wider
audience of consumers.
Continued on page 8
Most people assume that
when they experience illness
from food, it is caused by
the last thing eaten, however
foodborne illness symptom
onset can range from a
couple of hours to as long as
six weeks, depending on the
culprit pathogen. Hepatitis
A can have an onset time
as long as 50 days, while
Norovirus has an onset time
as short as 12-48 hours after
consumption.
FOOD HANDL ING
THROUGHOUT THE
SUPPLY CHAIN
Improved food safety and
technology has played a
significant role in helping
to mitigate the impact of
foodborne disease, however
outbreaks do still exist. For
occurring at any step along the
chain, including production,
processing, distribution, or
preparation.
Production refers to growing
and harvesting produce or
raising animals for food that
will be consumed.
Processing means changing
the original or natural form of
the crop or animal into what
we recognize and purchase as
'food.'
Distribution is the process of
getting the food from the farm
or processor to the consumer,
which can be a grocery
store, restaurant, hospital,
school, etc. This step can be a
singular move or may involve
many stages of distribution,
depending on the product's
processing steps.
Katie Clay Sabatini, RD,
LDN is the Food Safety
and Quality Assurance
Manager for Hershey
Entertainment and
Resorts, where she puts
into practice her passion
for food safety. Sabatini
has comprehensive
knowledge of industry
food safety application,
implementation, and
management. She
received her BS in
nutrition & dietetics
from the University of
Delaware, and is actively
completing her MS in
food safety at Michigan
State University.
NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | March-April 2022 7
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2022

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