Seven Weblog

Here’s a nightmare scenario that is even scarier given its likelihood of actually happening: Imagine yourself at the end of a wonderful first date. You wined, you dined, you got along famously. As you lay in bed running through the evening’s events in your head, you start to feel an unsettling rumbling in your stomach. Next thing you know, you’ve been in the bathroom for the past 24 hours attempting to figure out how to use the sink and toilet at the same time. Food handling safety was not on your mind last night, but now it’s at the forefront as you curse the restaurant for not giving their employees proper food handling training. “Why couldn’t they have attended a food handling safety course! Or just washed their hands!” you groan through dry heaves.

Poor hypothetical victim of food poisoning. Hopefully that never happens to you. But, really, it’s much more likely than you probably expect. Most food borne illnesses (70 percent!) are the result of eating out. So our hypothetical friend’s lament about a food handling safety course is perfectly valid. And it is in restaurant owners’ best interest to be concerned with restaurant food safety. The illness caused by the Salmonella bacterium, Salmonellosis, is estimated to cost up to $2.65 billion annually. That’s not to mention the bad publicity a restaurant can garner for having a reputation for not handling food properly.

So how do we get by in a world full of a whole bunch of food borne illnesses that are out to get us? Well, you could stop eating, but that’s potentially (definitely) fatal as well. I don’t recommend it. A better idea is to educate yourself with a food handling safety course.

I know what you’re thinking. “Why do I need a food handling safety course? I’ll just wash my hands a whole bunch!” Well, that’s certainly a start, and I encourage hand washing in all its forms. However, food handling safety courses teach a lot more. There is also plenty of misinformation out there that a food handling safety course can set straight. For example, many people think that thawed frozen foods can’t be refrozen safely. This is an overzealous form of food safety that can lead to much perfectly fine product going to waste. As long as that food was thawed in a refrigerator, it’s good to go!

Food handling safety courses can teach you plenty of things to help you maximize your profits by retaining customers (by not poisoning them!) and efficiently preserving your product for its maximum utility. No more wasted product, and no more poisoned customers. It’s a win win situation. Food handling safety courses can provide you with a shiny food handling certificate to proudly display in your establishment. There are plenty of food handling safety courses available online as well.

Food handling safety courses are also useful for individuals. Here’s a scary factoid that’s the result of improperly handling food at home: your lungs could stop functioning properly! Seriously, Botulism is an illness that incubates in improperly prepared home canned foods, and is potentially fatal. Additionally, if you get infected by the bacterium Campylobacter jejuni, you could contract Guillain Barre syndrome, a rare disorder that can lead to paralysis.

We all deal with food on a regular basis. So whether you are running an entire chain of restaurants, or just canning some food at home for the first time, consider a food handling safety course, it will save you or your customers from the fate of our hypothetical friend.