What are the Best Methods for Preventing Norovirus Outbreaks?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 250 different types of foodborne illnesses.  Yet, norovirus is among the most common. In fact, norovirus is responsible for over 50 percent of foodborne illnesses in the United States , and restaurants are one of the most common sources of an outbreak. So, how does a restaurant reduce its risk of a norovirus outbreak?

The FDA recently released a study in the latest issue of Risk Analysis, the scholarly journal of the Society for Risk Analysis,  that took a closer look at the methods restaurant workers can take to reduce the spread of norovirus. The study’s findings were not unique; in fact, they supported what is already included the FDA Food Code. And, if workers follow this advice according to this study, the spread of norovirus could be drastically reduced. These preventive measures include:

• Stay home if you are ill,
• Washing your hands before preparing food,
• Wearing gloves when preparing food, and
• Not touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands.

This research confirms the fact that a strong food safety program focused on employee hygiene is critical to reduce the spread of foodborne illnesses. In addition, since there is not one single way to prevent norovirus, this study found that the best method of prevention to is to fully comply with and follow the prevention strategies outlined in the Food Code. 

Learn more about norovirus and its spread in the bulletin, “The Importance of Norovirus: Why You Should Have a Good Safety Program to Control Its Spread.” 
 

Make a Clean and Lasting Impression

You never have a second chance to make a first impression, and for restaurants that initial impression is made the moment a guest walks through the front door.

Cleanliness plays a key role in how your restaurant is seen by guests. In fact, oftentimes guests see the front of the house as a reflection of the kitchen. So, if your lobby, dining area or restrooms are dirty, then it is assumed the kitchen is dirty as well.

According to an article in Restaurant Owner, you can have stellar service and great food but if your restaurant isn’t spotless, you could lose repeat customers. So, how can you help to make front-of-the-house cleaning part of your daily cleaning practices?

First and foremost, it is important to remember that cleaning is not an event, but an ongoing activity in a restaurant. While at home, you may have a designated cleaning day or timeframe, like the annual Spring Cleaning, but in a restaurant setting, cleaning must be done on a consistent, on-going basis each and every day. Some industry experts suggest including a component of daily cleaning in job descriptions for staff members; this way everyone plays an important role in keeping the restaurant clean.

Also, experts advise that being busy is not an excuse for not having a clean restaurant. Remember to clean as you go and to make sure the dining room, lobby and restrooms are always at their best. Finally, it is helpful to have a schedule that outlines daily, weekly, monthly and annual cleaning tasks that need to be accomplished. The larger tasks, such as those done on a monthly or annual basis, can also be done by a professional cleaning company, which can help to take some of the cleaning burden off of your front-of-house staff.

Guests notice the difference between a restaurant that is committed to cleanliness and one that is not. Shouldn’t your restaurant be one that stands out and keeps guests coming back?

Helping Your Workers Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season

It’s February, and that can only mean one thing…it’s cold and flu season. It’s the time of the year when both your employees and guests might bring with them coughs and sneezes into the restaurant. So, how can you help your employees stay healthy during this time of the year?

The flu vaccine and diligent hygiene are important measures everyone should practice this time of the year to help reduce the spread of germs that can cause illness. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[1] (CDC) recommends the following actions:

1. Take the time to get a flu vaccine. According to the CDC, even though it is already February, it’s not too late to get a flu shot since flu activity can last until May.
2. Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs. This includes washing your hands often with soap and water, and if soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
3. Take flu antiviral drugs, if your doctor prescribes them.

Another important element to cold and flu prevention is to sanitize and clean frequently touched surfaces with products specifically designed to kill these viruses. At work and in our homes, we all touch a variety of surfaces throughout the day. From doorknobs, to kitchen and break room counters/tables, to light switches, germs that can cause illness are easily transferred from one person to the next via the surfaces we touch. This is why it is important to sanitize and clean both hard and soft surfaces frequently as well as objects such as restaurant menus. Also, always sanitize and disinfect food-preparation surfaces with a sanitizer and disinfectant specifically formulated for those surfaces. 

While you cannot prevent sick guests from coming into your restaurant, you can help your employees stay healthy by sharing with them these tips.

1. CDC Says Three Actions to Fight the Flu, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/preventing.htm

Here's a REALLY Timely Repeat About Norovirus: What Impact Does It Have on Your Restaurant?

In the news right now there are widespread reports of Norovirus outbreaks in the United States. While these outbreaks may be affecting schools and healthcare facilities, we all know the impact a Norovirus outbreak can have on a restaurant. Though we first published this post in mid-December, we thought it was especially important to share it again with you now - it's a really good time to take a closer look at your food safety program to make sure you have measures in place to reduce the risk of norovirus. And so... 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 250 different types of foodborne illnesses. Yet, norovirus is among the most common. In fact, norovirus is responsible for over 50 percent of foodborne illnesses in the United States. And looking at foodborne outbreaks over the last few years, foodservice establishments were the main source of these outbreaks, which are often related to an infected employee practicing poor personal hygiene and subsequently handling food. So what can you do to help ensure your restaurant doesn’t fall victim to a norovirus outbreak?

A strong food safety program that takes norovirus into consideration is critical. In the recent bulletin, “The Importance of Norovirus: Why You Should Have a Good Food Safety Program,” I along with Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus and Dr. Elizabeth Bradshaw, both from North Carolina State University, take a closer look at norovirus and the preventive measures, including hand hygiene and surface sanitization, a restaurant can take to help reduce the spread of this foodborne illness.

Download Bulletin - The Importance of Norovirus: Why You Should Have a Good Food Safety Program

Find additional Norovirus information and downloads to help build a strong food safety program.

The Future Looks Bright for Food Safety: The Cultivation of Human Norovirus Has Been Achieved!

Norovirus is one of the most common foodborne illnesses and is the leading cause of illness and outbreaks from contaminated food in the United States.  Leading health experts recommend hand hygiene and cleaning and disinfecting contaminated surfaces as two measures restaurant workers can take to reduce the transmission of norovirus. Yet, how do we know if the products we are using are effective in killing norovirus?

Laboratory Testing – Cultivating the Virus
In order to test product efficacy against human noroviruses (HuNoVs), we need to cultivate viruses in cells in laboratory conditions. Different from bacteria and fungi that grow in a Petri dish, which contains a medium such as food for their replication, viruses need alive host cells in order to replicate, or make copies of themselves. In some instances, we can keep some of these cells alive outside of the host organism, and under the right conditions, get viruses to infect these cells and replicate in a laboratory. Once this point is reached, it opens up enormous possibilities for research.

The major barrier in research and development of effective interventions for HuNoVs has been the lack of a robust and reproducible in vitro cultivation system. HuNoVs have been difficult to be cultivated in vitro despite numerous efforts over the last 40 years.

The lack of a reproducible culture system for HuNoVs has forced scientists researching norovirus to use surrogates for studies and for testing disinfectants and other products to show efficacy against the Human Norovirus. Many products available in the market today that claim Norovirus efficacy are based on tests using HuNoVs surrogates. However, despite several similarities surrogates have with HuNoVs, they are not the same.

A Breakthrough in Science
The good news, a group of scientists from Baylor College of Medicine have successfully cultured the human norovirus in intestinal cells. This culture system simulates the human intestinal epithelium, permits human host-pathogen studies of previously non-cultivatable pathogens, and allows the assessment of methods to prevent and treat HuNoV infections such as vaccines, therapeutics and other measures to control the virus in humans, including how we manage norovirus transmission. The new methodology has been tested in different research labs thorough the country and has shown reproducibility and viability.

Although it may take some time for the in-vitro methodology to be available at commercial labs, it is a first step towards measuring how effective disinfectants and food processes are in inactivating infectious HuNovs, which can lead to enhanced guidelines for preventing virus spread, and better products that show efficacy against HuNovs.

So what does this breakthrough in science mean to restaurant owners and operators? It means that as science advances so will your surface disinfecting and sanitizing products. Be sure to be aware of claims products make and ask questions about the safety and effectiveness of the products. You want to be certain the product has been tested against common viruses to ensure the safety of your employees and guests.

For more details, read:
Replication of human noroviruses in stem cell–derived human enteroids
BY KHALIL ETTAYEBI, SUE E. CRAWFORD, KOSUKE MURAKAMI, JAMES R. BROUGHMAN, UMESH KARANDIKAR, VICTORIA R. TENGE, FREDERICK H. NEILL, SARAH E. BLUTT, XI-LEI ZENG, LIN QU,BAIJUN KOU, ANTONE R. OPEKUN, DOUGLAS BURRIN, DAVID Y. GRAHAM, SASIREKHA RAMANI,ROBERT L. ATMAR, MARY K. ESTES
PUBLISHED ONLINE25 AUG 2016
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaf5211

Our Top Blog Posts of 2016

When we set out to launch FoodSafeTruth.com earlier this year, our goal was to design a website that was the go-to source for information on topics impacting the foodservice industry. We wanted the site to be timely and relevant – information you could use and apply to your own restaurant operations.

One way we set out to accomplish this goal was by launching our blog Perspectives. Perspectives is designed to provide you with insights on topics ranging from foodborne illness outbreaks, to building a strong food safety program, to ways to enhance the guest experience.

As we enter 2017, our goal is to continue to deliver news and information you can use in your own operation. But first, let’s take a look at the Top 10 Blog Posts from 2016.

1. Selecting the Right Surface Sanitizer for Your Restaurant
2. How a Hand Hygiene Program Can Help Your Employees Stay Healthy and at Work
3. What Foodservice Workers Need to Know about the FDA Final Rule on Consumer Antibacterial Soaps
4. Foodborne Illness Outbreaks in Restaurants – By the Numbers
5. Is Your Restaurant Considered Clean?
6. Risk-Based Handwashing
7. Food Safety is Non-Negotiable
8. Norovirus – What Impact Does It Have on Your Restaurant?
9. Cleanliness is the Difference
10. September is Food Safety Month – Get the Facts

Norovirus: What Impact Does It Have on Your Restaurant?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are more than 250 different types of foodborne illnesses. Yet, norovirus is among the most common. In fact, norovirus is responsible for over 50 percent of foodborne illnesses in the United States. And looking at foodborne outbreaks over the last few years, foodservice establishments were the main source of these outbreaks, which are often related to an infected employee practicing poor personal hygiene and subsequently handling food. So what can you do to help ensure your restaurant doesn’t fall victim to a norovirus outbreak?

A strong food safety program that takes norovirus into consideration is critical. In the recent bulletin, “The Importance of Norovirus: Why You Should Have a Good Food Safety Program,” I along with Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus and Dr. Elizabeth Bradshaw, both from North Carolina State University, take a closer look at norovirus and the preventive measures, including hand hygiene and surface sanitization, a restaurant can take to help reduce the spread of this foodborne illness.

Download Bulletin - The Importance of Norovirus: Why You Should Have a Good Food Safety Program

Find additional Norovirus information and downloads to help build a strong food safety program.