Management Responsibility and
Benefits from the Food Safety System Management Responsibility and
Benefits from the Food Safety SystemA discussion of the responsibilities of the Food Service Manager and support
supervisors.
As you begin this class you may question the need for time commitment in the area of sanitation. " What a waste of my time! I am needed in my facility to keep the kitchen and employees functioning smoothly." At the early morning coffee table or during the registration period, this statement is frequently heard muttered. Let us explore the need for your time investment in sanitation and food safety.
First let us determine your type of food service operation.
Please print the following questionnaire, answer the questions designed for
yes or no answers, and then grade the questionnaire. This "grade" is not
included in your project scores, only whether or not you completed the
exercise. Place a copy in your backup folder (a necessity) after sending the
file by fax, mail, or Email. Remember the fax, Post Office, and computer
hardware/software can "crash and burn", so to speak.
Now that your operation type has been determined, let's explore the Federal and State efforts to implement a food safety code. The Food Safety Model is updated every two years. Processing and writing of new texts takes quite a bit of time. Most texts and manuals available are written from the 1993 code. The principals of HACCP, however, had their origins in the 1930's. Prescott-Meyer-Wilson produced a strategy in the 1930's that called for awareness of food safety. Needless to say, their work was largely ignored until the 1950's when the U. S. entered the "Space Race". In the 1960's the Pillsbury Co. received contracts from NASA to find a safe food supply for our astronauts. Current microbial protocols of the day left too little product for use on the missions. Corlett, Stier and Pierson authored multiple protocols based on scientific research that supported the need for risk assessment of food products in the 1990's and the FDA published its "Vision for Food Safety" 4,5 December 15, 1996 saw the Europeans implement mandatory HACCP protocols for food service and food processing. In the U.S. we are lagging behind the Europeans but every indication is present that mandatory HACCP may be "just down the road".
How does this effect you, the Food Service Manager or Front-Line Supervisor?
You think it will never happen to you? Can you think of some recent
foodborne illness outbreaks in your area? What impact do you think a
foodborne illness would have on your facility due to almost instantaneous
media coverage? What is your mission as a food service supervisor or
manager? The new job description of a Food Service Manager and support
Supervisory Personnel should now include knowledge and competency in
Food Safety and Sanitation.
What knowledge and competencies do you think would impact food service managers and front line supervisors?
After reading and reviewing Chapter One in your text and completing this interactive chapter, what do you feel the first step in the HACCP implementation cycle is?
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Copyrighted material 7/97 Making Choices.... Stewart Enterprises 5
Last Updated May 12, 1998 by Stewart Enterprises - Kathy and Doug Stewart
