First Aid / CPR / AED Training

CPR training (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We have decided to start offering First Aid, CPR, and AED courses to our clients, but we can not decide which courses to offer between American Red Cross and American Heart Association.

I have been an instructor for both organizations and taught both courses previously and each has their pros and cons. The “civilian world” seems to prefer American Red Cross, whereas because of my previous profession as a Paramedic with a volunteer rescue squads in Arkansas and North Carolina I know the medical community prefers American Heart Association.

Since I will be focusing on the foodservice industry and not the medical community this time, I am leaning towards ARC, yet their course prices are currently higher than AHA’s so that has me wondering if I should go with the American Heart Association instead.

Because the foodservice industry is considered a “high risk” industry, (lacerations and possible amputations) OSHA regulations require every foodservice operation that is not within 4 minutes of a clinic or hospital to have trained staff and first aid supplies on hand. Here on Oahu the average response time for an ambulance is 8 minutes, twice the OSHA requirement. Unfortunately many in the restaurant and foodservice industries do not realize this requirement until they are fined for not being in compliance with it. That is why we are wanting to start adding these courses onto our training program offerings.

There are also courses from the International CPR Institute and the National Safety Council, just to make things more confusing.

So, to settle this matter, Im asking for your feedback. Which course(s) do you think we should start teaching for the foodservice industry?

Related articles

• The American Heart Association Announces New CPR Guidelines No more A-B-C’s – Now it’s C-A-B (prweb.com)
• How to Perform Basic CPR: Infants to Preschool-aged Children (everydayfamily.com)

Food Truck HACCP System

An email washed up on the beach today from Mike in North Carolina, with a question that I thought would be a good topic to post here, so with his permission here it is.

The email asked if a HACCP system can be implemented in a food truck. Great question. The answer is Definitely!

My food truck, The Cafe Truck, is a prime example. We implemented a HACCP based food safety program well over a year ago and it is working perfectly.

A HACCP based food safety program is tailor made to fit your particular food establishment, no matter the size. Any foodservice operation can implement a HACCP system with a little work, and a little tweaking, and get it to work for their type of operation.

Actually, one of the things that we go over in our HACCP Manager Certification Course is how a HACCP system would be implemented in a food truck. I use The Cafe Truck as an example.

In the class we go over the prerequisites that need to be in place in a food truck operation before a HACCP system can be implemented, and discuss the changes that would be made depending on the size and type of the operation.

So yes, with the right modifications a HACCP system can be implemented into any food establishment, even a food truck.

Keep those emails coming!

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As always, if you have a question or need advice relating to food safety, or food establishments, let me know. You can click on the button at the top right, or send me an email to RC.Anderson@HawaiiFoodserviceAcademy.com

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• Several Calgary food trucks face health violations (cbc.ca)
• Food Trucks cooking up success in downtown Greensboro (myfox8.com)
• Government-Mandated Broccoli: Food Truck Edition (txwclp.org)
• Food trucks invade Covington Thursday (wcpo.com)

E. Coli Linked To NC State Fair Livestock Building

Image via Wikipedia

The E. coli outbreak in North Carolina that has sickened 27 people has officially been linked to the Kelley Livestock Building on the State Fair grounds.

Investigators with the North Carolina Division of Public Health were able to utilize a 21-page questionnaire to help them quickly focus in on the Kelley Building as the source of the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak. State Epidemiologists have determined that the likely source of the infections was the Kelley Building, a permanent roofed structure that hosted livestock competitions and housed sheep, goats, and pigs during the North Carolina State Fair.

According to State Epidemiologists, the infections were likely transmitted by animal contact in the Kelley Building, but they did not identify any specific breed animal or breed in the outbreak.

The case study involved the 27 people who were sickened by the outbreak and 87 fairgoers who were not. Using the 21-page questionnaire investigators were able to target specific activities that the 27 ill people had in common to zero in on the source of the outbreak.

Of the 27 people sickened by the outbreak, two remained in the hospital as of yesterday, but they were unsure if that number included a 2-year old that was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon or not.

E. coli O157:H7 occurs in the intestines of ruminant animals (those with four stomaches) including cable, sheep, and goats. It is released from the body in the animals feces and can be transmitted to anyone coming into direct contact with the infected feces or anything that it has come into contact with such as dirt, animal bedding, mulch, etc.

This is now the third outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that has been traced back to the North Carolina State Fair in the past seven years. In 2004 an outbreak was traced back to the petting zoo was responsible for sickening 108 fairgoers. In 2006 three more fairgoers were infected with the strain that is thought to have occurred at the pita stand.

After the 2004 E. coli outbreak state officials installed public hand-washing stations throughout the fairgrounds near animal exhibits and erected double fencing to keep people out of bedding areas in the petting zoo. Steve Troxler, North Carolina’s Agricultural Commissioner since 2005, is ultimately responsible for the state fair. He has promised that additional safeguards will be put in place. “People come to the State Fair with a certain amount of trust,” Troxler said. “We certainly want to keep that trust with the public and be very proactive in doing anything we can do.”

The  best defense against the risk of being exposed to E. coli at petting zoos and other areas where ruminant animal are housed is frequent hand-washing. You must remain vigilant in hand-washing when you are near these animals, one slip could leave you exposed.

Source: WRAL, NCDHHS, WEAN

Related articles

• NC E.coli O157:H7 Update – Now at 26 Cases (thechefstableblog.com)
• NC State Fair ruled as source for E. coli outbreak (charlotte.news14.com)

North Carolina E. coli Outbreak Update

Image by Rodny Dioxin via Flickr

The E. coli outbreak in North Carolina is still under investigation. This week the public health department revised the number of ill downward from the original 26 cases to just 24. Now that number has been raised again to 27.

According to sources at the North Carolina Division of Public Health 24 of 27 of the cases they are investigating are linked to attending the North Carolina State Fair. 9 cases have been confirmed as E. coli 01257:H7 and an additional 18 cases are still awaiting laboratory confirmation.

With 24 of the 27 illnesses positively linked to the State Fair and all nine of the confirmed cases of E. coli, the probability is high that the source of the outbreak was the North Carolina State Fair once again. Possible sources include food vendors, animal exhibits, and the petting zoo.

In 2004 the North Carolina State Fair was confirmed as the source of an E.coli O157:H7 outbreak which infected more than 100, most of which were children. That outbreak was linked to the petting zoo.

Related articles

• NC E.coli O157:H7 Update – Now at 26 Cases (thechefstableblog.com)
• E. Coli Outbreak in North Carolina Infects 9 (thechefstableblog.com)

NC E.coli O157:H7 Update – Now at 26 Cases

The E.coli O157:H7 outbreak in North Carolina ia now up to 26  cases under investigation by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Of the 26 cases, 10 of them have been confirmed as E.coli and 16 are still under investigation. 5 patients have been hospitalized so far.

Of the 26 cases, 23 of the patients have confirmed that they attended the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh that was held  between October 13-23

At this point the cases involved are from the following counties:

• Wake – 14
• Sampson – 6
• Cleveland – 1
• Durham – 1
• Franklin – 1
• Johnston – 1
• Orange – 1
• Wilson – 1

In 2004 the North Carolina State Fair was confirmed as the source of an E.coli O157:H7 outbreak which infected more than 100, most of which were children. That outbreak was linked to a petting zoo.

According to the North Carolina State Fair website the North Carolina State Fair started in 1853. The total attendance for the State Fair this year was 1,009,173, which is slightly down from last years attendance record of 1,091,887. During the E. coli outbreak of 2004 the attendance was only 836.319. Food booths have been operated at the North Carolina State Fair since 1900, first being run by local churches and civic groups as fund raisers.

The specific source of the E. coli outbreak which appears to have started at the North Carolina State Fair once again is still under investigation. Samples have been taken from feces at the petting zoo to determine if it was once again the source.

The NC Dept of Health & Human Services will be contacting fairgoers as part of their investigation to pinpoint the initial source of the outbreak.

Source: 2011 NC State Fair, NCDHHS, Foodborne Illness Outbreak Database