Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2023 - 26

Success!
A RECIPE
FOR
CREATING A
FOOD SAFETY
CULTURE
BY KATHLEEN BRADY, CDM, CFPP, CP-FS
WHEN I WAS 17, I got my first job in a
foodservice kitchen at my hometown
hospital. I was a dietary aide and made
a whopping $4.10 an hour, which was
more than working in fast food and
the hours were definitely better! I had
different duties each day. Some days I
delivered trays, washed pots, or sorted
silverware, and other days I worked
the tray line and made up the evening
snacks.
It was while on snack duty that I was
first introduced to the " big binder. "
Most foodservice operations have
a binder of recipes sitting on a side
table in the kitchen. The recipes are
usually typed out with instructions
and in a plastic sleeve. I would read
the instruction card and make up
the snacks-peanut butter or cheese
sandwiches, cookies, crackers,
gelatin-nothing too complicated,
nonetheless the recipe cards did not
include any food safety tips. In fact,
until more recently, nobody had any
food safety tips written into their
recipes.
A great way to incorporate a real food
safety culture in your kitchen is to
write those tried-and-true recipes
with your residents' well-being in
mind. Even if you're working off of a
standardized rotation menu developed
by your brand, you still have options
to personalize your dish. Take a crowd
favorite like Baked Chicken. It can be
Herb Baked, Peach-Basted, LemonThyme,
Garlic, or BBQ Baked Chicken.
When it comes down to the recipe and
preparation, you are in charge!
Foodservice directors can help prevent
the spread of foodborne illness by
rewriting their recipes and including
simple reminders for safe food
handling and preparation. Studies
have shown that when recipes include
food safety tips, foodservice workers
are more likely to follow those steps
and prepare their foods safely. Read
on to learn how simple it is to add
food safety instructions and tips to
your recipes containing fruits and
vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood,
eggs, and even raw flour.
26 NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | MARCH-APRIL 2023
ADDING SAFETY STEPS TO
YOUR RECIPES
First thing, if you do nothing else,
add wash your hands with soap and
warm water to the beginning of every
recipe. This reminder will significantly
improve your workers' handwashing
practices, and washing hands is one
of the most effective ways to stop
the spread of disease. According to
the Centers for Disease Control &
Prevention (CDC), this act alone results
in 58 percent less illness from diarrhea
in people with weakened immune
systems.
If the recipe includes fruits and
vegetables, add instructions on how
to wash the produce. For example,
wash potatoes by scrubbing the skin
under cool running water with a
produce brush, or wipe mushroom
caps with a clean moist paper towel.
Other tips include don't wash different
vegetables all together and maybe even
add don't use soap.
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2023

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