|
Bally Foodservice News
BALLY
REFRIGERATED BOXES, INC. Issue No. 1
B
O T T O M L I N E
|
INFORMATION
UPDATE FOR THE HEALTHCARE FOOD SERVICE PROFESSIONAL
B
L A S T C H I L L I N G I S
H O T !
25
million Americans become ill each year from food
borne illness...AND 16,000 deaths result from
food borne illness each and every year!
Is there a food safety problem in the United States?
Unfortunately, the answer is YES. The incidences
of food borne illnesses have been increasing steadily
since 1940. More than half (56%) of all food
borne illnesses can be traced to the improper
cooling of foods. The 1993 FDA Food
Code (published in The Federal Register
January 28, 1994) mandates:
Potentially
hazardous foods shall be rapidly cooled to
an internal temperature of 45º Fahrenheit
or below within a maximum of four hours.
Bacteria
grows most rapidly between the temperatures
of 45º F and 140º F...the "danger
zone". Many foods require even more
than eight hours to cool to an internal temperature
of 40º F, resulting in an unacceptable
number of bacteria in excess of 16 million...is
there any wonder that there are more than
25 million reported cases of food borne illnesses
in the U.S. each year?
|
Some
States Adopt HACCP Guidelines
Recognizing the importance of food safety, a number
of states are integrating HACCP (Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Points) guidelines into their inspection
programs. HACCP inspections report reach-in
or walk-in refrigeration cannot effectively cool most
foods to the proper, safe temperature within the four
hour time frame. Reach-in and walk-in refrigerators
are designed to keep cold foods cold.
Only
Blast chillers can cool foods quickly enough - through
the danger zone - to below 45º Fahrenheit.
9
Critical Control Points
Is HACCP new? Not really.
To ensure that food served to the astronauts was safe
in 1971, Dr. Howard Bowman at Pillsbury developed the
HACCP concept in concert with NASA. Nine areas were
identified as "Critical Control Points" to monitor food
safety:
-
Food procurement
-
Food storage
-
Food packaging
-
Pre-preparation
-
Cooking
-
Food storage after cooking
-
Rethermalizing
-
Food product distribution/display
-
Food serving
7
Step Process
There are seven steps to developing
and implementing an effective HACCP program:
1.
Evaluate hazards at each step of food flow and develop
procedures to minimize risks.
2. Identify critical control
points.
3. Establish control procedures
and critical control standards.
4. Monitor critical control
points.
5. Take corrective action,
as needed.
6. Develop a documentation
system to monitor HACCP plan.
7. Verify HACCP plan is
working.
THE
critical control point is HOW food is handled and how
quickly food can be chilled below the danger zone.
The reality?...Food safety literally pivots on blast
chilling. Any food service operation using leftovers
will need to have a blast chiller...OR no leftovers
can be used....safely.
Key
to Food Safety
The key to food safety?...to establish,
monitor and document the implementation of an effective
HACCP program. Integrate a blast chiller into
your food service operation, whether it is cook-serve
or cook-chill. Each type of food service needs
a blast chiller... it is only the size and frequency
of blast chiller used that will vary with the type of
food production system. (Refer to the
specifics of BALLY's
Northwind Blast Chiller to determine the benefits
of blast chilling to food service.) |
