National Food Safety Education Month was created in 1994 to heighten awareness of the importance of food safety education. Of course, for Multnomah County’s Registered Environmental Health Specialists (EHS) who conduct food service inspections, every month is food safety month.
In 2006, Multnomah County Environmental Health was nationally recognized for extraordinary achievement in providing outstanding food protection services to its community and received the prestigious Samuel J Crumbine Award. Only one agency in the United States and Canada receive this award each year.
The Environmental Health Specialist—health inspector—has always been in the forefront and the most visible component in reducing risks of food borne illness through inspections of all food service facilities. The role of the EHS as a public servant is to ensure the safety of food in the community, with the goal of verifying that all food practices are safe and that equipment works properly. Though mostly scientists at heart, Environmental Health Specialists are also educators and allies who assure that our communities are safe.
For those of us who are not food safety experts by “trade,” there is still a lot we can do to protect ourselves, educate family and friends, and learn about safe food handling.
Follow these tips to help ensure that nobody gets sick when you are the chef:
- Hand washing: This may be the most important way to prevent food borne illness. Germs can move, via unwashed hands, from pets, restrooms, garbage, diapers, and runny noses onto food you eat. Use soap and scrub thoroughly, especially under fingernails, and rinse with warm water. Dry hands with clean paper towels.
- Separate-don’t cross contaminate: This occurs when bacteria are passed from one food product to another, and is especially common when handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs. Keep these foods, and their juices away from ready-to-eat foods. Use separate cutting boards for meat and produce, and make sure to clean cutting board surfaces that are exposed with hot, soapy water.
- Cook to proper temperatures: Bacteria just love when foods are not internally cooked to proper temperatures, so always use a probe thermometer scaled between (0-220 degrees) and check the recommended temperatures on USDA’s website. (Thermometer type is important—a general meat thermometer with “rare, medium, and well” is not accurate enough.)
- Chilling foods properly: Cold temperatures slow growth of bacteria so keep your refrigerator at 40 degrees F or below, refrigerate or freeze perishables within two hours of purchase, and NEVER thaw food at room temperature.
The Environmental Health food safety website contains more resources for both professionals and non-professionals.
- Food Service Operator documents
- Latest issue of Environmental Health Inspections News (pdf)
- Food establishment inspections search
For more information: contact Environmental Health at 503-988-3400 or email to foodsafety@co.multnomah.or.us