ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ecolab continued its ongoing commitment to help improve global food
safety by sponsoring the sixth annual Nation's Restaurant News
Food Safety Symposium. Highlights from the event will be featured in the
Oct. 10 issue of Nation's Restaurant News. The symposium, which
was held in September in Denver, brought together food safety experts
and quality assurance executives from foodservice companies throughout
the United States.
The annual Nation's Restaurant News Food Safety Symposium
provides attendees with a forum to share best practices, proactive and
preventative approaches, and personal knowledge regarding food safety.
This year's event included panel discussions on new food safety
initiatives, tactics to identify and prevent potential accidents, and
best practices in dealing with food allergens.
"The Food Safety Symposium is the most informative and inspiring event
of the year," said Douglas Davis, director of Global Food Safety at
Marriott International. "The opportunity to interact with the industry's
most passionate and competent food safety experts provides greater
insight on how to continuously improve food safety protocols."
Keynote speakers at the event were Michael Batz, Ph.D., from the
University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute, and attorney William
Marler. Batz discussed the pathogen-food combinations with the greatest
burden on public health and highlighted recommendations from a recent
University of Florida study to improve safety at foodservice
establishments. The recommendations include:
-
increase government action to improve retail and foodservice food
safety,
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increase the adoption by states of the most recent FDA Model Food Code,
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increase the risk basis of inspection criteria and,
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increase education and training of food workers and government
inspectors.
Marler outlined ways operators can reduce their liability from
food-safety issues and advised restaurateurs to:
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identify potential hazards and have a Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HAC-CP) plan in place,
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think about a food-safety culture,
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involve vendors and suppliers to ensure they have food safety plans in
place,
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recognize government as your best friend, and
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treat customers with respect and understand that some claims of
illness are legitimate.
"The Nation's Restaurant News Food Safety Symposium was one of
the most exciting, informative and well organized events that I have
ever attended," said Deborah Rosati, MS, RS/REHS, quality assurance
officer for Legal Sea Foods, LLC. "Valuable information was gleaned from
the educational sessions on produce safety, foodborne pathogens, health
inspections and food safety liability concerns, which will assist us in
further enhancing our food safety initiatives."
With sales of $6 billion and more than 26,000 associates, Ecolab Inc.
(NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food safety
and infection prevention products and services. Ecolab delivers
comprehensive programs and services to foodservice, food and beverage
processing, healthcare, and hospitality markets in more than 160
countries. More news and information is available at www.ecolab.com.
(ECL-C)
Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-293-4385
Source: Ecolab Inc.
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