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Food Protection Trends
Abstracts - December 2004
Line-level Training Needs Related to Commercial Production
of Fully-cooked Meat and Poultry Products
Minimizing Listeria
Contamination in Smoked Seafood: Training Plant Personnel
Availability, Accuracy and Response Time of Instant-read
Food Thermometers for Consumer Use
Line-level
Training Needs Related to Commercial Production of Fully-cooked Meat and Poultry
Products
Kerri L. Harris-1, Bradley P. Marks-2,
*Toby A. Ten Eyck-3, Alden M. Booren-1,andElliot T. Ryser-1
1-Department
of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
48824, USA;
2-Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University,
210 Farrall Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;
3-National
Food Safety and Toxicology Center and Department of Sociology, Michigan State
University, 316 Berkley Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
SUMMARY
Commercial cooking systems in the meat and poultry industry still depend on
human operators, which means that the effectiveness of those systems, in terms
of product safety, quality, and uniformity, depends on operator knowledge, beliefs,
and actions. However, very few, if any, third-party training materials
are directed at this specific workforce. The hypothesis for this study
was that training resources directed
at oven operators will have a positive impact on the workforce and in turn on
the safety and quality of the product. Telephone interviews (n=50) were conducted
with supervisors or professionals responsible for oven operations in USDA-FSIS-inspected
facilities. The results were analyzed in terms of response distributions and
statistical relationships. Several significant relationships (a = 0.05) were
found between respondents’ background and perceptions regarding regulatory burden
and oven operator training. For example, the respondent job title was
significantly related to attitudes regarding the potential impact of oven operators
on product safety, yield, quality and variability. The results indicate that
third-party training resources directed at line-level oven operators will have
a positive impact on the workforce (78%) and on the product being produced (80%).
The results of this study will be useful in optimizing the format and content
of oven operator training materials.
Minimizing
Listeria Contamination in Smoked Seafood: Training Plant Personnel
Doris Hicks-1,* Martin Wiedmann-2,
Virginia N. Scott-3, Robert Collette-4, Michael L. Jahncke-5, and Ken Gall-6
1-University
of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Lewes, DE 19958, USA;
2-Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA;
3-National Food
Processors Association, Washington, D.C. 20005, USA;
4-National
Fisheries Institute, Arlington, VA 22209, USA;
5-Virginia Seafood
Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Sea Grant Program, Hampton,
VA 23669, USA;
6-New York Sea Grant and Cornell Cooperative Extension,
Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
SUMMARY
The Smoked Seafood Working Group (SSWG), a collaboration of two national industry
trade organizations, smoked seafood processors and academia, has developed guidelines
for controlling Listeria monocytogenes
in smoked seafood operations. The SSWG identified five elements in a complete
L. monocytogenes control program:
Listeria-specific sanitation and GMP
controls, employee training, environmental monitoring and testing, raw material
controls, and finished product controls. This manuscript describes specific
employee training strategies for enhancing sanitation and GMP controls to minimize
Listeria contamination in smoked seafood
operations. Three employee-training programs in the form of PowerPoint™
presentations are described. One provides generic training for all employees,
the second provides training to workers who handle finished products to minimize
cross contamination, and the third provides training for all individuals who
conduct cleaning and sanitizing activities to ensure that both general and specific
procedures to control Listeria are
implemented and conducted properly. All three employee-training programs can
be downloaded from the following Web site at Cornell University: http://www.foodscience.cornell.edu/wiedmann/TrainingIndex.htm
Availability,
Accuracy and Response Time of Instant-read Food Thermometers for Consumer Use
Sandra M. McCurdy-1,* Elaine Mayes-2,
Val Hillers-3, Dong-Hyun Kang-4, andMiriam Edlefsen-5
1-School
of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Idaho, P.O. Box 443183, Moscow,
ID 83844, USA;
2-Spokane County Cooperative Extension, 222 N. Havana, Spokane, WA
99202, USA;
3-Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State
University, FSHN 106L, Pullman, WA 99164, USA;
4-Department of Food Science and
Human Nutrition, Washington State University, 230 FSHN , Pullman, WA 99164, USA;
5-Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Washington State University,
120 FSHN , Pullman, WA 99164, USA
SUMMARY
Availability, accuracy and ease of use are important attributes of food
thermometers if consumers are to be persuaded to use them routinely to determine
cooking endpoint in thin or small meat items. The objective of this project was
to determine the availability of instant-read food thermometers to consumers in
rural and urban areas of Idaho and Washington states and to determine the
accuracy and response time of a sampling of thermometers. Instant-read food
thermometers were most available in kitchen specialty stores (88% of stores
surveyed), department stores (76%), and grocery stores (73%) and were also
available in some drug/variety stores and hardware stores. Food thermometers
were less available in rural than in urban areas. Both dial and digital
instant-read thermometers were accurate, reading within 2˚F when tested in
a 160˚F calibrated water bath. Both types required an average of about 20
seconds to register the temperature at 160˚F, although some took as little
as 10 seconds and others as much as 30 seconds. In general, urban-living and
internet-savvy consumers can be pleased with the selection and accuracy of food
thermometers available to them.
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