Its official- BBQ season is here!

With the beginning of long weekend season and the BBQs heating up I thought I would take this opportunity to remind you of some food safety tips for warm weather dining.

Warmer , seasonal,  temperatures can affect foods  during preparation, holding, cooking and service, so  special attention is required to make sure food is safe.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when  prepping, cooking and serving food:

• Always wash your hands with soap and  warm water before handling food  and during any new stage from preparation to service. 
• Keep cold foods cold and hot foods hot.  Avoid the temperature danger zone (4 C/40F to 60C/140F).  Do not leave the food out for more than two hours in the temperature danger zone. 
• Do not let foods linger during preparation – cook them thoroughly and serve them quickly.  Keep hot foods hot with warming trays or crock pots.   
• Keep raw meat  separated from cooked meat  and ready to eat foods.   When you are carrying meat to the BBQ, bring an extra plate for the cooked meat. 
•  When frozen food, such as meat is thawed, cook immediately after thawing. Allow sufficient time for food to defrost properly.
• Cook meat thouroughly.  You cannot tell when meat is done by simply looking at the colour of the meat or juices, so use a food thermometer to check. 
•  Platters with vegetables, dips, cheeses, and deli meats should be kept fresh and safe by keeping the platter  chilled on  ice.  Replace containers of dips and other foods,  do not replenish  them.    

•  Use  chilled  leftovers within four days for best quality or freeze  them immediately  for later use. Reheat   leftovers to at least 74°C or 165°F until “steaming” hot.

 Enjoy your long weekend!

A new study released by the Rutgers’ Food Policy Institute  suggests that many Americans do not check their homes for recalled food products. 

The study, based on a survey of 1,101 Americans interviewed by phone in August and September last year, revealed that only 60 percent of respondents have ever checked their home for recalled food products, even though most people said they tell others about recalls when they learn about them. And 40 percent of consumers think that they are less likely to buy contaminated food than other people.

This is surprising given how widespread recall news typically is.

In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) sends out alerts and recall notices. Individuals can subscribe to receive email alerts directly from the CFIA’s website at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/.  In the U.S. recall announcements are posted by the USDA-FSIS for meat  products and the FDA for non-meat  products. 

Have you found any recalled food items in your home?

Sometimes product recalls in North America relate to contaminated ingredients, such as tomatoes, spinach and peanut butter, that have been used in the manufacture of food products.  While most recalls are precautionary and not necessarily linked to human illness, it is important that  appropriate action be taken to mitigate any possible risk of exposure.  To protect public health, it is our responsibility to investigate when we are made aware of these events to determine whether we source ingredients from the same supplier and take swift action if we do.  To date this year there have been over 75 product recalls and alerts in Canada.

Typically, we are notified of a product recall from several  publicly available sources.   In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) sends out alerts and recall notices. Individuals can subscribe to receive email alerts directly from the CFIA’s website at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/.  In the U.S.,  recall announcements are posted by  the  USDA-FSIS for meat  products and the FDA for non-meat  products. 

In the case of the recent recall related to pistachio nuts contaminated with Salmonella, we received the notice from Foodtrack  an international notification system we subscribe to.

Upon obtaining an alert, our  Food Safety team follows established food safety protocols to verify whether any products we produce may be affected  by the ingredients in question.  The first step is to track any food products that may contain the ingredient and then identify the supplier  to confirm whether the source is related to the recall notice.  In  last week’s pistachio nut recall, we were able to quickly establish that Maple Leaf did not source ingredients from the same source and as a result, our products are not affected.

As  new and better testing methods are developed, and as companies and government regulators look more diligently for potential contaminants in the food supply, chances are there will be more food recalls.  Health Canada and the CFIA will continue to introduce new regulatory  programs, such as the recent updates to the Listeria policy in ready to eat meat products, which result in increased testing and  government oversight, which in turn could lead to more recalls .  With regard to greater government testing and oversight,  more recalls is an indication that an important element of Canada’s food safety system is working.   The recall process is an important element of the food safety system that serves to protect public health and  the industry and government must learn from them to build better food safety performance!