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Sanitation A restaurant should have stringent sanitation and food handling controls. To prevent food-borne illnesses, the following policies should be in place: The official definition of a food-borne disease outbreak is when two or more cases of a similar illness result from eating a common food. Each year in the United States between 6.5 to 33 million cases of illness are attributed to food-borne illness and 9,000 people die as the result. Estimated costs for food-borne illnesses is estimated between $l7-23 billion in health care and lost productivity. According to 2002 statistics on food-borne illnesses from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the four major bacterial food-borne illnesses -- Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli O157 -- posted a 2% decline in the past six years. Campylobacter infections dropped 27%, infections from Listeria fell 35%, and Salmonella infections decreased by 15%. E. coli O157 infections dropped 21%, but all of that decline occurred since 2000. It was only a few years ago that E-coli in undercooked fast-food hamburgers tragically killed three children and sickened an estimated 600 more. Also in recent memory are the cases of Hepatitis A contracted by patrons of a Mexican fast food chain. Most food-borne illness results from microorganisms. In the last decade microorganisms were responsible for about 85% cases of reported food-borne disease outbreaks. The Food and Drug Administration publishes the Food Code, a reference that guides retail outlets such as restaurants and grocery stores on how to prevent food-borne illnesses. Both consumers and those in the food industry can do their part to reduce the risk of food-borne disease by focusing on four critical steps emphasized in the new food safety campaign Fight Bac sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety. Although signs and symptoms for illnesses vary, the most common symptoms are vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Most cases of food-borne illness last between 24-48 hours. Symptoms typically appear between 2 to 36 hours after eating the problem food. This means the problem food often is not the last thing you ate. Most cases of food-borne illness are single cases and not associated with large outbreaks. The regulatory system for ensuring food safety and quality in the United States is comprised of local, state, federal, and international agencies. The federal system alone consists of 35 different laws and activities. Collectively, the four chief functions the agencies perform are: The Food Protection Program administered through county governments focuses on the inspection of retail and wholesale food facilities in order to promote the safe and sanitary preparation and service of foods. It is also meant to prevent fraudulently advertised food products. Activities within this program include: Specialists enforce the requirements contained in the California Uniform Retail Food Facilities Law, which is part of the California Health and Safety Code. In Orange County, there is a monthly list of food facilities that have had their permits revoked or suspended and were ordered to close. Reasons for closure include: L. A. County sanitation postings In the county of Los Angeles, the following postings are requirement for all retail food establishments required by The Environmental Health Department: A grade card (A, B, or C) will be issued to each establishment at the end of a routine inspection. The grade issued will be based upon the score received on the Food Official Inspection Report. The grades are: An establishment receiving a score less than 70% will be issued a score card and not a grade card. The score card will indicate the actual score received. The grade/score cards must remain posted until the next routine inspection at which time the inspector will issue a new grade/score card. Food establishments that score below 60% more than twice within a twelve (12) month period are subject to closure and the filing of a court case. Effective January 16, l999, all food service operations that prepare any potentially hazardous food on the premises must have at least one certified food handler present during hours of operation. These food operations include restaurants, markets, bakeries, mobile food preparation units, commissaries, and food processing establishments. |
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Not only are policy forms, clauses, rules and court decisions constantly changing, but forms vary from company to company and state to state. This material is intended as a general guideline and might not apply to a specific situation. The authors, LunchTimeCE, Inc., CEfreedom, and Insurance Skills Center, and any organization for whom this course is administered will have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of information contained in this course.
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