Food Safety News and tips:

Salmonella Enteritidis and Eggs:

Salmonella Enteritidis infections are one of the most common foodborne illnesses, and are associated with shell eggs.  Persons with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.  For young children, the elderly or those with weakened immune systems, a salmonella infection may be severe.

What can you do to lower your risk of illness from shell eggs:

1.   Keep eggs refrigerated at 45 degrees or lower at all times

2.   Discard dirty or cracked eggs

3.   Clean up food spills on countertops promptly

4.   Wash your hand, utensils and food prep surfaces with soap and water   after contact with raw eggs

5.   Do not leave eggs at room temperature - (keep cold 45^o or lower or hot 135^o or higher)

6.   Eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm

7.   Refrigerate unused or leftover egg containing foods promptly.

8.   Avoid eating or serving raw eggs.

9.   Use pasteurized eggs or egg products for recipes that call for raw eggs

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Food Safety and Power Outages

Power outages can occur in Ohio during any season from severe storms, accidents or over-consumption. These simple steps can help you determine if perishable foods at home are still safe to eat.  Simply looking at food is not a reliable way to determine if it is safe to eat.

If power is restored within 48 hours of an outage, there should be no significant problems with foods that were completely frozen before the outage

Do not open the refrigerator or freezer door unless absolutely necessary

You can safely re-freeze some foods if they still have ice crystals or if they have been kept at 40 degrees or lower for no more than two days; perishable foods which have warmed to 40 degrees or higher for two or more hours are probably not fit for re-freezing and should be thrown away.

Throw away the following foods if they are kept at temperatures of more than 40 degrees for more than two hours: raw or uncooked meat, poultry, seafood, milk, cream, yogurt, soft cheeses, fresh eggs, meat topped pizza and lunch meat, casseroles, stews or soups, cream filled pastries, mayonnaise, tarter sauce, cut melons and cut tomatoes.

Food that can be kept in a closed refrigerator for up to three days are butter and margarine, fresh fruit (other than cut melons) and vegetables, dried fruits, hard and processed cheeses, and fruit juices.

Most importantly, common sense prevails.  If you have doubts about a particular food, play it safe, throw it out.

4 Simple Rules for Better Food Safety

New State regulations regarding training for food service operations:

The State of Ohio has added mandatory training for food service operators to the Ohio Food Code in certain instances, which include:

Any new operation licensed after March 1, 2010

Any operation connected to a foodborne illness outbreak

Any operation with a history of non-compliance with the food code

This is in addition to the provision that requires that a person in charge who is knowledgeable about food safety be present in the operation at all times.

ECHD will provide this training on a quarterly basis.  Our next class will be held in November.   The cost of the class is $20.

The Food Safety Division:

The FOOD SAFETY DIVISION is responsible for inspecting and licensing all food service and retail food establishment operations within the City of Elyria. Food vending machines, restaurants, and the food service operations of schools, day care centers, nursing homes, and the hospital, as well as food services at festivals are licensed and inspected. Thanks to an ongoing working relationship between ECHD's Registered Sanitarians and the food service operators in Elyria, the community is efficiently protected against foodborne illnesses resulting from health code violations and improper food handling.

FUNCTIONS

Click here to view the Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code  

Click here for additional food safety tips and information

Click here for information on recalled food products  

Forms:

Click here for a copy of our checklist on how to obtain a food service license (pdf)

Click here for a copy of our application for food service plan review (pdf)

Click here for a copy of our checklist and procedures for obtaining a temporary food service license