Bill Marler

AUGUST 3, 2021

Is there another outbreak brewing? It was about three weeks from now, sixteen years ago, that I was teaching my daughters to surf on the Oregon coast when I got a tip that an E. coli outbreak was brewing. It eventually blew up to the 2006 Dole baby spinach E. coli outbreak that sickened 205 – killing 5. The industry called it their Jack-in-the-Box and their 911. 2006 seems a long time ago, but when I got a tip today that an outbreak – hopefully smaller in size – is coming to a salad bar near

FDA 350

FDA 350

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 29, 2021

Running a restaurant today is a challenging undertaking. Some challenges, like crowded and highly competitive markets and shifting consumer demands, have always been relevant to restaurant owners. Now, as restaurants embrace new technologies, there’s another threat to consider: cybercrime. Cybercriminals are a growing threat to virtually every industry.

Point of Sale 247

Point of Sale Food Safety Hospitality Hospitality 247

Bill Marler

OCTOBER 24, 2021

Here are guides – especially for parents – of the four food borne pathogens I see most frequently. E. coli. E. coli are bacteria that can cause serious, sometimes fatal, infections in humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that E. coli causes 2,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year.Ten percent of E. coli victims develop hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which can cause kidney failure, damage to the central nervous system, and ultimately death.

Hospitality 333

Hospitality Hospitality Food Safety 333

Bill Marler

MAY 12, 2021

9 sick in Snohomish and King counties. All under the age of 15, except one woman in her 20’s. Question: what food items are consumed by kids as young as 1 and someone in their 20’s? The Snohomish Health District announced Tuesday evening that it has identified two cases of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) in Snohomish County residents.

Hospitality 333

Hospitality Hospitality 333

Bill Marler

AUGUST 27, 2021

Jackson County Public Health is investigating an unusually high number of Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cases. Since August 1, 2021, 14 cases have been reported to Jackson County, and 10 (71%) of these cases have been hospitalized. Urgent Flash Report_Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli_8.22.21. .

Hospitality 331

Hospitality Hospitality 331

Bill Marler

MARCH 15, 2021

Pre-COVID, I spent at least 5-6 days of any month somewhere in the world preaching the gospel of “why it is a bad idea to Poison your customer.” There are the business reasons – you will likely see a downturn in sales of your leafy green, and I will sue you for millions of dollars on behalf of kids like the below. There is also the moral reason – either of these kids could be your son or daughter or a grandson or grandaughter.

332

332

Bill Marler

JANUARY 24, 2021

Rest in Peace Larry King. I wrote in my blog that in March 2009 I finally made it to the Blakely, Georgia Peanut Corporation of America plant. Despite being scrubbed a bit in the last few months after the announcement of the outbreak, we still found mice and cockroaches in the plant with several spots where the roof had been clearly leaking. Really little question that any company purchasing product from this plant should have been on notice of the risks had they ever taken the time for a quic

FDA 325

FDA Food Safety Purchasing Hospitality 325

Bill Marler

JULY 16, 2021

As of July 14, 2021, eight people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from two states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 10, 2021, to June 15, 2021. BrightFarms today initiated a voluntary recall of packaged salad greens produced in its Rochelle, Illinois (Ogle County) greenhouse farm sold in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

318

318

Bill Marler

JANUARY 4, 2021

Thank you www.barfblog.com. As far back as September 1998, FDA issued a warning against sprouts urging: Children, pregnant women and the elderly should not eat alfalfa sprouts until growers find a way to reduce the risk of a potentially deadly bacteria that infects some sprouts, the Food and Drug Administration said this week. The FDA, which is investigating sprout industry practices, said children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems should avoid eating sprouts.

K-12 319

K-12 FDA 319

Bill Marler

JUNE 24, 2021

It was only a matter of time – as commercial marijuana becomes a thing that we would see recalls due to bacterial contamination. We should expect to see the sam in other, especially edible, marijuana products. Multiple Arizona marijuana establishments and dispensaries are initiating a voluntary recall of specific marijuana products due to possible contamination with Salmonella or Aspergillus.

Purchasing 309

Purchasing 309

Bill Marler

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

To protect Canadians from possible health risks, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is implementing temporary import conditions for romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley ( Santa Cruz , Santa Clara , San Benito , and Monterey ) in California for the 2021 growing season. Between September 30 and December 31, 2021, importers of romaine lettuce and products containing romaine lettuce from the U.S. are required to provide proof that the product does not originate from counties in Ca

Food Safety 304

Food Safety FDA Food Supply 304

Bill Marler

DECEMBER 30, 2021

53 sick, 30 hospitalized, 4 with kidney failure and 3 dead. E. coli and Lettuce 1: As of December 29, 2021, 13 people infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 have been reported from six states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from November 27, 2021, to December 9, 2021. Sick people range in age from 4 to 79 years, with a median age of 54, and 92% are female.

Hospitality 301

Hospitality Hospitality 301

Bill Marler

MARCH 19, 2021

Canada has been hit by a number of romaine lettuce recalls. We set out to the U.S., where the majority of our leafy greens come from, to dig up why E. coli outbreaks continue to plague our food supply. We meet one B.C. family whose lives have been forever changed by a contaminated salad.

Food Supply 301

Food Supply 301

Bill Marler

JUNE 7, 2021

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies, disproportionally affecting vulnerable and marginalized people, especially women and children, populations affected by conflict, and migrants.

Food Safety 296

Food Safety Hospitality Hospitality 296

Bill Marler

NOVEMBER 2, 2021

I will spare you the list of hepatitis A cases that I have been involved with since 1998 when I represented 30 people exposed in a Seattle, Washington Subway restaurant, including one child who suffered acute liver failure requiring an emergency liver transplant. There have been dozens in the last 23 years, many with tragic consequences. Yet, here we are once again.

Food Service 291

Food Service Food Service Hospitality Hospitality 291

Bill Marler

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

This afternoon, the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts (RCAHD) announced that RCAHD has identified a total of 50 confirmed primary cases and 2 secondary cases. There have been at least 31 hospitalizations and unfortunately 3 deaths. RCAHD stresses that hepatitis A is a preventable disease. RCAHD urges everyone to consistently practice good hand washing and to consider getting vaccinated, especially if they fall into a high-risk population.

Hospitality 288

Hospitality Hospitality Food Safety 288

Bill Marler

MAY 4, 2021

A few days ago, “Down Under” a.k.a. Australia, my friend, food safety guru, and for some strange reason, eater of raw shellfish, Dr. Julian Cox, was speaking about the risk of pregnant women consuming unpasteurized juice or cider and tahini or hummus. The risk to the mother and the baby is Listeria , which can spread from the human digestive tract to the placenta causing miscarriage or birth defects.

Food Safety 283

Food Safety 283

Bill Marler

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Some, I am sure are a bit tired of my ranting about the FSIS doing its job and deeming Salmonella that causes human illness an adulterant in meat. Fact, after E. coli O157:H7 was deemed an adulterant in ground beef in 1994, it took about a decade for E. coli illness cases to drop. During that time, we saw the same drop in clients seeking our help. Go figure, the FSIS and the beef industry heeded my call.

Food Safety 277

Food Safety 277

Bill Marler

DECEMBER 23, 2021

Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in 1938 in reaction to growing public safety demands. The primary goal of the Act was to protect the health and safety of the public by preventing deleterious, adulterated or misbranded articles from entering interstate commerce. Under section 402(a)(4) of the Act, a food product is deemed “adulterated” if the food was “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it

Food Safety 277

Food Safety FDA Food Regulations Hospitality 277

Bill Marler

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Volume 28, Number 1—January 2022 Dispatch Salmonella Serotypes Associated with Illnesses after Thanksgiving Holiday, United States, 1998–2018. Here is the CDC’s conclusion: Salmonella Reading was the serotype most strongly associated with illness during the Thanksgiving holiday. Given the dramatic increase in turkey consumption around Thanksgiving, one might expect that serotypes we identified are primarily associated with turkey consumption, and indeed, Reading caused a multistate outbreak with

274

274

Bill Marler

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) shows: Seafood. 168 Isolates (155 clinical, 13 “seafood manufacturer”). Distance between selected isolates: minimum = 0 SNPs, maximum = 4 SNPs, average = 1 SNPs. Target creation date range: 2020-07-07 to 2021-11-08. seafood 11_10_2021 – Full Tree. Onions. 872 isolates (871 clinical, 1 “mixed produce”).

271

271

Bill Marler

MAY 3, 2021

I was managing the barbecue last night cooking chicken breasts. Of course, before they hit the grill, I had carefully removed them from the plastic-covered tray from the store, and placed them into a triple-strength plastic bag to marinate a bit. I washed my hands and counters along the way and dried all with paper towels. I checked the grill temperature (over 400 °F (204.4 °C), and after carefully removing the chicken with tongs (which I washed before reusing them), I watched them sizzle and wa

Food Safety 273

Food Safety 273

Modern Restaurant Management

MARCH 25, 2021

Throughout her career, Ellen Linardi has been driven by the passion to build products that help small businesses hold their own against big companies.That desire fueled the Global Head of Product for Clover and her team to help restaurant owners struggling during the pandemic pivot operations and compete in the now digital-first world. In just three weeks, they created a native solution that allowed Clover restaurant merchants to enable online ordering for delivery or curbside pickup.

Restaurant Manager 245

Restaurant Manager Restaurant Management 245

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

The rise in popularity of contactless payments can mean leaner operations, happier staff, and – most importantly – happier customers. Contactless ordering and pay-at-the-table systems had already started gaining a slow-but-steady foothold over the past three years. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. That, in turn, forced the acceleration of adoption of contactless ordering and payment options from both the consumer and the restaurant sides of the business.

Point of Sale 245

Point of Sale 245

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

As we continue to move past the fallout from the pandemic there will be a growing reliance on technology within every aspect of the operation and companies can be ready to take advantage, but they must start now or be left behind. Outside of adapting new technologies to tackle ordering and delivery, one area that is evolving and showing great promise is in the war for talent.

Staffing 240

Staffing Food Service Food Service 240

Modern Restaurant Management

AUGUST 10, 2021

The food and beverage industry is on a hiring frenzy. With pandemic-related restrictions being eased and dine-in being allowed again, restaurant owners are in need of a lot of staff. The April 2021 Job Openings and Labor Turnover summary issued by The Department of Labor showed that restaurants added almost 350,000 new job openings since March, bringing the sector’s total number of job openings as of April to 1.34 million.

Food and Beverage 237

Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Staffing Inventory 237

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 22, 2021

With the new year just around the corner, many restaurants are deciding how they can enhance their operations going forward. While there is plenty of technology out there to optimize your establishment, one food service trend is becoming a mainstay: Internet of Things. Internet of Things, or IoT for short, lets one digital device communicate with multiple devices over an internet connection without human intervention.

Commercial Kitchen 244

Commercial Kitchen Inventory Food and Beverage Food and Beverage 244

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Food service suppliers have been scrambling to keep pace with fluctuating demand in a supply chain that has been anything but predictable since 2020. Total restaurant industry sales in the U.S. hit an all-time low of $30 billion in April 2020. Since then, sales have fluctuated in response to surges of COVID-19 cases, climbing up to $72 billion in August 2021.

Purchasing 236

Purchasing Food Service Food Service 236

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 30, 2021

The nature of restaurant management is a pendulum; each year operators swing back and forth to prepare for challenges and take advantage of new opportunities. While 2022 may bring new problems, at its heart, it still follows the same cycle of preparation and prevention. Reviewing the market landscape is a great way to get ahead of the competition. Read on for our key predictions to help operators get a leg up.

Customer Experience 231

Customer Experience Restaurant Manager Restaurant Management Point of Sale 231

Modern Restaurant Management

JULY 23, 2021

This year, 42 percent of restaurant brands plan to invest in customer loyalty programs. This is no surprise given that mobile has now become the restaurant industry standard, especially as the pandemic accelerated the need for digital ordering technologies. In 2020, Starbucks reported that nearly a quarter of all its orders in the U.S. were placed from a phone.

Food and Beverage 223

Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Purchasing 223

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

With many restaurants closed for in-person dining on and off throughout the pandemic, the food service industry shifted to delivery and takeout as a business imperative. According to SEC filings, food delivery apps experienced tremendous growth in 2020 earning a combined $5.5 billion in revenue from April through September of 2020—compared with $2.5 billion from the same period in 2019.

Food and Beverage 223

Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Food Service Food Service 223