This list isn't a scare tactic, but rather a reflection to take into account how quickly one can become a statistic. Each of the mistakes listed below resulted in sickness, death and usually bankruptcy. Fortunately, casualties of this type are avoided with a commitment to put food safety before all decisions and actions. National Food Safety month is a fantastic time to review your HACCP guidelines, launch new initiatives and maybe even start food safety award programs to keep your staff involved and engaged.
- E. Coli Outbreak in South Wales, 2005
An E. Coli outbreak occurred in South Wales in 2005, sickened 157 people and caused the death of a 5-year old boy. Most of the 157 cases were children, attending 44 different schools. The cause was traced to meat supplied by a butcher where a vacuum packing machine was used to package both raw meat and cooked meat without being properly cleaned between batches. - Hepatitis A Outbreak at Chi-Chi’s,
2003
In 2003, a Chi-Chi’s restaurant in Pennsylvania caused the death of four people and sickened 650 others. The cause was green onions infected with Hepatitis-A through contact with feces that were imported from Mexico. The restaurant chain no longer exists.
- E. coli at Sizzler, 2000
In 2000, over 60 cases of E.Coli were linked to Sizzler restaurants in Wisconsin and claimed the life of a 3-year-old girl. An investigation found that a mixer had been used on both raw meat and other food items. In 2008, the parents of the 3-year-old victim reached a $13.5 million dollar settlement against Excel.
- E. coli at Jack in the Box, 1993
In 1993, four children died and 700 other customers became sick after eating undercooked, contaminated meat from Jack in the Box restaurants in four states. The outbreak caused a national panic and the brand was suddenly tainted. Jack in the Box rebounded by creating the now infamous “Jack” character for an ad campaign in 1994, which likely kept the company alive.
- Botulism at Skewer Inn Restaurant, 1983
In Peoria Illinois, 28 people were hospitalized and 20 patients were treated with an antitoxin for Botulism; 1 death resulted. The source was sautéed onions made from fresh raw onions served on a patty melt sandwich. The sandwiches were served at the Skewer Inn Restaurant located inside Northwoods Mall. The restaurant did not survive the botulism outbreak. (Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Successful In-House Training Tips
- Explain the purpose and objective of the training session (corrective reason or newly developed process).
- Keep training sessions brief and to the point
- Maintain focus on food safety— do not include other business topics
- Add activities to keep the training concepts interesting. For example: Have employees wash hands, apply some Glo-Germ and turn off the lights. They will remember the importance of washing better after seeing the green glow of bacterial residue.
- Follow up the training by posting materials that remind employees about what they've learned
