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Letter Grading forRestaurants

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Settling ViolationsPage 1

Cooling Foods Properly

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Scombroid PoisoningPage 3

Hazard AnalysisPage 3

Is It Done Yet?Page 4

DiscriminationPage 4

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N E W Y O R K C I T Y D E P A R T M E N T O F H E A L T H A N D M E N T A L H Y G I E N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 0

WHAT’S INSIDE

M I C H A E L R . B L O O M B E R G , M AY O R / T H O M A S FA R L E Y, M D , M P H , H E A LT H C O M M I S S I O N E R

No. 13

The Health Department is proposing togive restaurants letter grades – A, B, orC – based on a restaurant’s inspection

score, and to require the grade be posted nearthe restaurant entrance as of July 1, 2010. Fre-quency of inspections during the followingmonths will be tied to the score received.

Any restaurant with a score that wouldresult in a B or C grade would get a chance toimprove its score on a second inspection beforehaving to post its grade. The second inspectionwould be conducted no sooner than seven daysafter the initial inspection. If on that secondinspection the restaurant’s score still resulted in

a grade of B or C, it would still not have topost its grade until it has had an opportunityto have the Notice of Violation issued at thatinspection adjudicated at the Administrative Tri-bunal. The Department is accepting publiccomments on the grading proposal until Feb-ruary 5, 2010.

To read the proposal, please go to:http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/notice/article-81-amend-1209.pdfFollow the directions on page 1 for pre-registeringto speak and submitting comments by mail,fax, email, or online.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT PROPOSES LETTER GRADING FOR RESTAURANTS

The DOHMH is now offering food serviceestablishments the opportunity to settle

their violations in lieu of having to wait at theAdministrative Tribunal for their cases to beheard. Beginning on November 30, 2009, theDOHMH began making settlement offers toany interested establishment appearing at theTribunal on the date of its scheduled hearing.To accept an offer, a food service establishmentmust acknowledge that the violations alleged inthe Notice of Violation existed at the time of

the inspection. However, the penalties offeredby the agency to settle are generally lower thanthe penalties it recommends be imposed for thesame violations if they are sustained at ahearing. In the future, the DOHMH plans tooffer food service establishments theopportunity to settle by mail or online prior totheir scheduled hearing dates.

For more information please visit our web-site at www.nyc.gov/health.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SETTLE YOUR VIOLATIONS?

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According to the Centers for Dis-ease Control, improper coolingof food is one of the major causes

of food-borne illness. During impropercooling, food is exposed to the dangerzone, 41°F to 140°F, for much too long.This dangerous practice allows diseasecausing bacteria such as Clostridium per-fringens to multiply rapidly. This bacteriumproduces a toxin that causes diarrhea, feverand abdominal cramps. Symptoms of thedisease may appear 8 to 20 hours aftereating such food. The CDC estimates thatas many as 250,000 individuals are affectedby C. perfringens each year. Remember,such improperly cooled foods will stilltaste good despite being overwhelmedwith dangerous disease-causing bacteria.

This risk is very high in deep pots ofsoup or chili, sauces, gravies, stews, rice,chili, whole turkeys and large cuts of meat.These large volumes of food are difficultto cool down quickly. Further, these foodswill be served to many individuals andtherefore have the potential to cause greatharm.

The NYC Health Code requires thatall potentially hazardous foods preparedfor later service, including leftovers, becooled rapidly. This means that in the

first two hours ofcooling, the foodsmust be cooled from140° F to 70° F orless, and then gofrom 70° F to 41° Fwithin an additionalfour hours.

In order to coolfoods safely, andminimize the risk tocustomers, foodtemperatures must betaken and documentedon a cooling chart,entering one temper-ature reading eachhour.

Supervisors should write, test andimplement a Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) for cooling each food item on themenu. It should include cooling in therecipe and the corrective action of improperlycooled food. The food temperatures must betaken and documented on a cooling chart,entering at least one temperature readingeach hour.

Improper cooling is common becausefood workers vastly underestimate actualcooling times. A typical 5-gallon uncoveredcontainer of stew cooling in a 41° Frefrigerator will take over 30 hours tocool down. Simply, refrigerators are notdesigned to rapidly cool down food.However, it is likely the most commontool used to cool foods down.

What techniques are available to ensurerapid cooling and aid employeecompliance with the SOPs that areestablished to ensure proper cooling?

The following recommendations areoffered to help operators cool food quickly.The use of these methods does not guaranteeproper cooling will occur; they must beused along with careful monitoring oftime and temperature.

Increase surface area/ Decrease size. One of the most important factors

in cooling food is the mass and surfacearea of the food. Liquid foods should beplaced in shallow containers at a depth ofno more than 1 to 2 inches. Solid foodssuch as large cuts of meats and poultryshould be cut into portions no biggerthan 3 to 4 lbs, and arranged to exposesurface area. These foods should beimmediately placed in a refrigerator or icebath to begin rapid cooling. Increasingthe surface areaof the food willshorten thecooling time.

Increase air flowA Blast chiller is designed to quickly

and safely cool foods rapidly and is the

best option. For refrigerator cooling, onlyplace modest amounts of cooling food ina refrigerator at one time. During cooling,foods should be uncovered, with adequatedistance from other foods. Replace thecover after the food has reached 41° F.Do not stack pans on top of one another.Stacking prevents the air from flowingaround the pans so that heat can beremoved quickly from the food product.Minimize the frequency of door opening.

MaterialsFoods will cool more quickly in thin

walled metal food containers becausemetal is an excellent conductor of heat.Glass, wood and plastic are generallyinsulators and should not be used.

IceAn ice bath will cool foods much

more quickly than a refrigerator. Placehot foods inan ice bathin acontainer orsink and stiroccasionally.Replace iceas needed.

Clean ice may be poured directlyinto food for rapid cooling. Ice paddlesand ice wands are also very effective. Donot transfer foods directly from cookingequipment to the refrigerator, as this willraise the temperature of the unit and theother foods stored in it.

PlanningAvoid preparing foods a day in

advance of service to avoid cooling andreheating operations. Before preparingfoods such as tuna salad, potato salad,egg salad or chicken salad, the ingredientsfor these dishes should be pre-chilled to41° F before final assembly, in this waythe rapid cooling requirement will beavoided.

Take note of off-peak days andadjust menu items and quantity to suitdemand, to avoid leftovers.

COOLING FOODS PROPERLY

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Every Food Service Establishment(FSE) in New York City is legally

bound to ensure that all food for humanconsumption is handled in a safe mannerto ensure food safety. There are severalways to do that, however, the mostefficient way is to carefully consider eachstep in the production of the food, anddecide whether there is a potential for thefood to be made unsafe by any physical,chemical and/or biological hazards. If so,control measures must then be put inplace to remove or reduce that hazard.This process is called hazard analysis, andis not difficult to carry out. Below is aquick summary of this process:

Identify the hazards

�� Physical – such as the presence of glass,metal, plastic or other matter in the foodthat can cause injury or illness

�� Chemical – such as accidental inclusion

of cleaning materials or other harmfulchemicals in the food

�� Biological – the presence of bacteria,viruses, parasites and fungi in the foodthat cause food borne illness

Identify the various stages of food flowwhere the hazard exists and controlmeasures to eliminate or reduce them.

• Receiving – Always use reputable sup-pliers, check all food items upon receipt.

• Storage – Implement First In First Out(FIFO) to ensure stock rotation, storeat safe temperatures (41°F or below(except smoked fish at 38°F), avoidcross contamination by separating rawand cooked foods.

• Preparation – Always use clean and san-itary equipment and utensils (preferablycolor-coded equipment), ensure goodpersonal hygiene, and always preparefoods in small batches.

• Cooking – Always cook foods to a safetemperature (poultry, stuffed meats,meat stuffings – 165°F, ground meats158°F, pork 155°F, and all other foodssuch as eggs, fish, lamb etc. at 145°F).

• Cooling – Always cool foods quickly toa safe temperature ( reduce temperaturefrom 140°F to 70°F within two hoursand from 70°F to 41°F within fouradditional hours or less).

• Reheating – reheat foods to a minimumtemperature of 165°F within two hours.

Monitor to ensure that control measuresare working.

• Receiving – Check temperatures,source, appearance, etc.

• Storage – Check temperatures, ensurestock rotation is taking place.

• Preparation - Clean equipment, etc.• Cooking – Take final cooking tempera-

tures.• Cooling – Monitor cooling temperature,

times and techniques, temperature logs.• Reheating – Check temperature and

time.

HAZARD ANALYSIS

Scombroid Poisoning is an allergiclike reaction to high levels ofhistamine in fish. This occurs when

certain fish start to decompose. This allowshistidine, a naturally occurring protein(amino acid) in the fish, to convert intohistamine by certain bacteria. Thepresence of high levels of histamine in thefish is an indication of the decompositionof the fish, even if it is not obvious throughbad smell or taste. In the past five years,75 cases of scromboid poisoning havebeen reported to the NYC Poison ControlCenter. The actual number of cases thatoccur from fish consumption is likely fargreater than this.

SymptomsThe most commonly reported symptoms

of Scombroid Poisoning include rash, flushed

skin, facial swelling, nausea, vomiting,diarrhea, headache, dizziness, a pepperytaste in the mouth, burning throat, stomachpain, itchy skin, tingling and palpitations.

Symptoms can occur immediately toseveral hours after consumption of foodwith high levels of histamine. They typicallylast for a few hours, but in certain casescan last for several days, and may requireadministration of antihistamines.

Source

�� The most common source of ScombroidPoisoning is fish of the Scombridae andScomberesocidae families, known as “scom-broid fish”, which includes tuna, bonitoand mackerel. These fish have large amountsof free histidine that may be converted tohistamine during improper cold storage.

�� Scombroid Poisoning can also becaused by marlin and fish of other fami-

lies, such as Clupeidae (herring, sardines),and Coryphaenidae (mahi-mahi).

What can I do to protect mycustomers?

�� Histamine formation in fish dependson the temperature at which the fish iskept from the time it is caught until it isconsumed. Therefore, in order to avoidscombroid poisoning, it is very important totransport and store fish under refrigeration.

�� Cooking or other heat treatments (suchas canning or smoking) do not destroyhistamine.

�� Always purchase fish products fromreputable seafood distributors.

In the past five years, 75 cases ofscombroid poisoning have been reportedto the NYC Poison Control Center. Theactual number of cases that occur fromfish consumption is likely far greater thanthis.

SCOMBROID POISONING

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If you have questions orcomments regarding this

newsletter, please call theHealth Academy. Importanttelephone numbers are listedbelow.

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FOOD MATTERS

IS PUBLISHED BY

THE NEW YORK CITY

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

AND MENTAL HYGIENE’S

HEALTH ACADEMY

413 EAST 120 STREET

2ND FLOOR

NEW YORK, NY 10035

IS IT DONE YET?

Have you ever met a chef with a built-inthermometer on their fingers? Probably

not, however a lot of them still use their fingers tocheck if the food is cooked to the right temperature.Additionally, chefs often use their past experience,judgment and the color of the food to determine ifthe foods are cooked. This method may not resultin safe foods being served to your customers. Forexample, many people believe that ground beef issafe to eat when it turns brown during the cookingprocess.

A study conducted in 1995 by the KansasState University showed that ground beef mayturn brown long before it reaches a temperatureof 158°F which is a minimum temperature todestroy pathogenic bacteria like E. coli O157:H7.

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)commissioned the USDA’s Agricultural ResearchService (ARS) to examine the doneness ofground beef by color.

Their findings confirmedKansas State University studyand showed that one out of fourground beef burgers turnedbrown before reaching the safetemperature of 158 °F.

Furthermore, according to a 2002 consumer foodsafety survey conducted by the U.S. Food anddrug Administration and FSIS, it was found thatonly 6 percent of cooks checked hamburgers witha food thermometer.

What Does This All Mean To You? The only way to know food has been cooked

to a safe internal temperature is to use a foodthermometer. There are three acceptable foodthermometers for use in a retail food serviceestablishment: bi-metallic stem, thermocoupleand thermistor (often called digital instant-readthermometer). It is important that all food workerslearn the proper way of using thermometers toensure food safety.

The use of glass-stemmed thermometers is prohibitedby law as they can break and can cause contaminationof the food.

The New York City Human Rights Lawprohibits discrimination in hiring and firing

as well as the terms and conditions ofemployment, i.e. assignments, salary, benefits,promotions, performance evaluations anddisciplinary actions, based upon a person’s actualor perceived age; race; creed; color; nationalorigin; gender; disability; marital status;partnership status; sexual orientation; alienage orcitizenship status; status as a victim of domesticviolence, stalking or sex offenses; or arrest orconviction record.

The law also prohibits an employer frommaking statements, asking questions duringinterviews, and circulating job announcementsor advertisements that suggest a preference for orprejudice against hiring individuals based on thegroups listed above.

The New York City Commission onHuman Rights enforces the Human Rights Law.Violations could result in fines of up to$250,000.

DISCRIMINATION

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Bi-metallicThermometer

ThermocoupleThermometer

General Information � 311

ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL 66 John Street, 11th floorNY, NY 10038

� (212) 361-1000

BUREAU OF FOOD SAFETY & COMMUNITYSANITATION253 Broadway, 12th floorBox CN59A, NY, NY 10007

� (212) 676-1600

CITYWIDE LICENSING CENTER42 Broadway, 5th floorNY, NY 10004

� (212) 487-4436

HEALTH ACADEMY 413 East 120 Street2nd FloorNY, NY 10035

� (917) 492-6990

INSPECTOR GENERAL80 Maiden LaneNY, NY 10005

� (212) 825-2141