You really never know what is in the food you pick up at a restaurant anymore. According to the CDC there are 8 pathogens that we know of that are responsible for the majority of food related illness, hospitalization and even death. In 2011 alone, there were 5,461,731 cases of norovirus caused by foodborne bacteria in the United States. Over 14,000 of those required some type of hospitalization. Those are some scary numbers if you ask me. The CDC also reports that in the United States every year 48 million people become sick from foodborne illness, out of that number 128,000 are hospitalized and about 3000 die.
We can all be more sure of the food safety in our homes by the techniques in handling food. Foodborne illness is especially important to consider if you are a pregnant woman, elderly, have young children, or even an autoimmune disease. However restaurant food safety should be a big concern for all of seeing as how we do not have any control over the way the food in the kitchen is handled. You should make sure any restaurant you visit is conscious of restaurant food safety and make their employees take a food handling course. Many places do not keep restaurant food safety in mind.
If you work in or own a restaurant some things you can do to make sure your restaurant is not causing foodborne illness in your customers are making sure that your employees take a food handling course, Making sure that any meat in your facility is kept on the lowest shelf possible, Keeping juices from dripping on other food products and regularly remind your employees of food and sanitation techniques. Restaurant food safety is important to ensure the well being of both your customers and your employees. Restaurant food safety may even protect your company from a nasty law suit.
There are many ways to obtain a food safety certification, so you know how to safely and effectively handle food. Doing this will ensure the safety of yourself and others and would even be a great idea for moms wanting to ensure the health of their children while they are feeding them. With all the different types of bacteria around you can never be too safe. If your a restaurant employee bring up restaurant food safety to your manager or company, especially if you feel that your customers or employees are at risk. You may just save someone their life. See this link for more: www.keepingitkleen.com