As we reach peak norovirus season, I wanted to share the below takeaways from a conversation I had with two top food safety experts at the 2022 Food Safety Summit. Hal King, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Active Food Safety and Founder/CEO, Public Health Innovation, and Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D., William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, shared best practices to help food establishments prevent foodborne pathogens from spreading at their facilities, with a focus on norovirus.
- Exclude sick workers. Excluding sick food handlers from working, particularly those with vomiting and diarrhea, is a requirement in the FDA Food Code. It also was a big focus during the pandemic, for the purposes of controlling the transmission of COVID-19 within the essential workforce and protecting patrons, says Dr. King. "Screening employees for foodborne illness symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting is critical in order to prevent these sick employees from spreading norovirus within a restaurant,” he said.
- Focus sanitation and disinfection on key areas likely to serve as a source of cross-contamination, such as restrooms and kids' play areas. Restrooms in particular are known to be “hot spots” for norovirus contamination, as employees and guests who are experiencing symptoms may spread the virus by contaminating restroom surfaces.
- Use products that kill foodborne pathogens, like norovirus. Norovirus is the #1 cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. because it spreads rapidly, is difficult to inactivate, and can persist on surfaces for weeks, so it's essential to use products that are effective against it. It’s worth mentioning that most food contact surface sanitizers on the market do not have a high degree of efficacy against norovirus. Be sure to examine the product’s label to determine what pathogens it is effective against, and always follow the label use instructions.
- Be aware when norovirus is spreading in the community. "Norovirus is largely a community-acquired infection; about 75% of cases happen in the community," said Dr. Jaykus. "So, if you have community transmission in your area, you're highly likely to be exposed to norovirus," she added. Knowing when norovirus is spreading in your area allows you to know when to keep your defenses up, like practicing good and frequent hand hygiene.
- Ditch the red bucket and reusable wiping cloths. "A major problem with this practice is faulty compliance – not keeping the right sanitizer concentration," says Dr. King. "Also, many workers use this method to both clean and sanitize surfaces, but you're supposed to use a separate cleaning product before the sanitization step. Another issue is customer experience – customers don't like to see this practice, as they have concern about the potential to actually spread germs around. It may be an inexpensive practice up front, but it is risky when it's done wrong because it can lead to a foodborne disease, even an outbreak." Dr. Jaykus adds that, "Most sanitizers are impacted by soil load – so if you put a dirty rag in a dirty bucket with dirty sanitizer, even if it worked, it's going to be inactivated because you have filth." Simply put – the traditional “red bucket” practice is difficult to do correctly and may facilitate the spread of foodborne pathogens in a facility.
They shared that while many of these practices were emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's essential that food establishments remember that while COVID may wane, many of these precautions also help control foodborne pathogens (plus other respiratory viruses, like the flu). The pandemic may be winding down, but these controls remain important to protecting the safety of our food supply.
Foodborne illness outbreaks are costly, put the health of your customers and employees at risk, can significantly damage a retail foodservice establishment’s reputation, and with labor shortages, operators likely can't afford to have employees out sick.
Watch the video to hear my full conversation with them.