Termite Inspection Orange County Termite Terry Pest Control

Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, South Orange County, Long Beach Area

Restaurants and Food Safety

    We all like to eat out at restaurants but most people don’t think about the safety of their food until they get food poisoning. This is also known as foodborne illness. We’re fortunate to live in a country which has one of the safest food supplies in the world, however, foodborne illnesses are fairly common. Each year in the US, 76 million people are afflicted with food borne illnesses, over 300,000 of those people have to be hospitalized and about 5,000 people die.

    A healthy adult will normally recover from a foodborne illness within two days to two weeks. Children (5 and under), the elderly (65 and over), pregnant women and those that have compromised immune systems are at an increased risk for complications from foodborne illness.

    Foodborne illnesses occur when food becomes contaminated with a disease causing bacteria or virus. Food which contains these bacteria, viruses or toxins can make a person sick if they eat it.

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control tells us that when they investigate foodborne illness outbreaks, they often identify the following risk factors:

  • Improper hot and cold handling of foods. Cold foods should be kept at 41°F or below. Hot foods need to be kept at 135°F or above.
  • Inadequate cooking of foods. Under-cooked meat can be a problem because it contains naturally occurring bacteria. It is very critical to thoroughly cook meat at the right temperature.
  • Dirty or contaminated equipment. Utensils, equipment and food preparation surfaces need to be kept clean and sanitized to prevent the spread of bacteria, viruses and toxins. It is also important to prevent cross contamination – You don’t want food to come in contact with animal products, such as raw chicken or beef.
  • Poor employee health & personal hygiene. The health of restaurant employees can affect your health. If their workers have diarrhea, are vomiting, have a fever or if they have a sneezing and coughing problem that can’t be helped by medicine, they should be restricted. Workers who have reportable illnesses, such as Salmonella typhi, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Escherichia coli, Hepatitis A  or Norvirus, should be excluded from work. It is also important that the workers keep their hands washed, especially after using the restroom, handling raw meats or performing activities that would contaminate their hands.
  • Food from unsafe sources. All food served must be obtained from an approved source which is permitted and periodically inspected by an enforcement agency. They should never serve food which was prepared in a private home. Also, they should never serve food which has already been served to someone else.

    In order to prevent foodborne illnesses, it is very important that a restaurant owner control and eliminate these five risk factors. They also need to keep their facilities clean, in good repair and free of vermin (rodents, roaches, flies, etc.).

    Immediate health hazards present an imminent threat to the health and safety of the public. Restaurants with conditions, such as a sewage system failure, power outage, lack of warm/potable water and vermin infestations, may have their permits suspended and the facility may be temporarily closed by the Health Department.

    In Orange County, Inspection Notification Seals are required to be posted near the entrance of every restaurant:

  • The Award of Excellence Seal recognizes restaurants that have no high risk violations documented for an entire year.
  • The Pass Seal shows that the facility is deemed to be in substantial compliance with food safety and sanitation standards. No reinspection is required.
  • The Reinspection Due – Pass Seal shows that the facility was inspected and violations that may cause foodborne illness were observed and corrected.  A reinspection is required to ensure compliance.
  • The Closed Seal shows that violations, which pose an imminent danger to the public, were observed and could not immediately be corrected.

    Termite Terry highly recommends that you pay special attention to these seals. If you’re unsure of your safety, it would probably be a good idea to eat elsewhere. Also, he wanted to share his special tip:

 “When you get to a restaurant, go into the restroom and look around.
If it is dirty and un-kept; Hit the road!
But, if the restroom is clean and orderly,
chances are that they have a good
and clean kitchen, too.”