Submitted by: Nancy Asbedian, in collaboration with Katharine Dagle, Health Agent
Bedford’s Health Director, Health Agent and Board of Health work hard to keep food within our borders safe.
In late 2018 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health adopted the 2013 Federal Food Code, as well as made amendments to 105 CMR 590.000 State Sanitary Code, Chapter 10 – Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments.
The Bedford Board of Health hosted two training sessions for all food establishments in town to alert them to these code changes that took effect on January 1, 2019.
Two training sessions were presented at Town Hall by Maureen Lee from Mojin Solutions Food Consulting Firm. Over 100 participants attended each session with representation from restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations. All of these employees learned of their new responsibilities stemming from changes in the Federal Food Code. The presentation covered the code changes and provided sample procedures and templates to help establishments better achieve compliance with the updated codes.
The 2013 code has major emphasis on two main topics: the five leading causes of food-borne illness and “Active Managerial Control”.
The CDC recognizes five factors as the leading cause of foodborne illness including poor personal hygiene, unsafe food sources, improper cooking and holding temperatures, and contaminated equipment. The code details the importance of Active Managerial Control by the Primary Person in Charge (PIC), as one of the most effective ways to prevent food-borne illness.
The PIC is required to be a Certified Food Protection Manager. This employee is responsible for training all employees within the establishment about food safety and is responsible for the direct supervision of all food operations. The PIC is responsible for implementing preventative measures and procedures that will keep food products safe and limit any of the five leading causes of food-borne illness.
The Code requires that all protocols and procedures be written and available onsite. The PIC is responsible forproperly explaining these methods in detail when asked during an inspection. Some procedures include: cooking, cooling, hot and cold holding, non-continuous cooking, time as a public health control, employee illness reporting and restriction, clean up of ill customer or employee, etc. The PIC must implement these procedures, train staff, monitor, verify staff is following the procedures, and verify that the procedures are effective.
Foods previously known as Potentially Hazardous Foods will now be referred to as Time Temperature Control for Safety Foods (TCS Foods). These are food products that require temperature controls to limit pathogenic microorganism or toxin formation.
Cut leafy greens, melon, and tomato were added to this definition which also includes raw proteins, cooked food products and other cut fruits and vegetables. All TCS foods must be monitored closely with temperature measuring devices to avoid food being in the temperature danger zone. Food in the temperature danger zone can lead to severe food-borne illness.
All Bedford food establishments are inspected routinely once, twice or three times annually based on their operation risk level. If an Inspection by the Board of Health reveals a code violation, a correction must be made onsite or within a specified time depending on the severity of the violation. A violation can be in one of three categories depending on its severity – Priority, Priority Foundation, and Core. A sign is now required to be posted in establishments reminding customers that a copy of the most recent inspection report is available upon request to the establishment’s Manager.
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Food safety is one of the many responsibilities of Bedford’s Health Department. This is only a sample of the exhaustive list of rules and procedures to keep our food safe. Bedford is fortunate to have such a dedicated Health Team.
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