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

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

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

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.

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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.

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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

Modern Restaurant Management

OCTOBER 13, 2021

With profit margins ranging on average from three to nine percent , restaurants are continually looking to keep costs down. How do restaurant operators find efficiencies to minimize costs without degrading quality or service? The industry has since entered recovery mode , but returning to pre-pandemic levels won’t be easy. Consumers have shown interest in returning to restaurants, but it’s a slow march, not a cavalcade.

Customer Experience 245

Customer Experience Staffing Food Safety Food Service 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

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

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 Management 245

Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 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

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

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

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

This edition of MRM's "Ask the Expert” features advice from Buyers Edge Platform. Please send questions to Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine Executive Editor Barbara Castiglia at bcastiglia@modernrestaurantmanagement.com. Q: How Can I Prevent Contract Overlaps and Overpricing? A : Contract overlaps and pricing have a lot of impact on restaurant operators and their business, especially for those without supply chain personnel or who are simply too busy to check or double c

Restaurant Management 233

Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 233

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 Point of Sale Restaurant Management Restaurant Manager 231

Modern Restaurant Management

MAY 5, 2021

Each year, food waste in the restaurant industry reaches losses that are in the billions. And, while there are multiple points of waste throughout the food supply chain, imagine if it were possible to limit losses due to power outages. What would it mean for a restaurant’s bottom line to keep refrigerators, freezers, ice machines and display coolers running during power outages?

Food Storage 231

Food Storage Food Supply Catering Catering 231

Modern Restaurant Management

JUNE 4, 2021

Finding a restaurant today is typically accomplished by typing in search terms like “Italian restaurant near me.” From there, the majority of people look at only the top three to six results served up by Google and other search engines to select their restaurant of choice. Understandably, the top six search results are the most coveted rankings for any business and are commonly referred to as the Google Six Pack.

Recipes 231

Recipes 231

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 20, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought endless changes to the restaurant industry, but perhaps the most significant has been the rise of the contactless dining experience. The pandemic forced restaurants to adapt to not only a new, leaner business model but also to new consumer behavior. With customers opting for alternatives to dine-in, restaurants adapted to build solutions to offer takeout, delivery and curbside pickup options.

Food and Beverage 227

Food and Beverage Food and Beverage Customer Experience Catering 227

Modern Restaurant Management

NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Amid all the unknowns COVID-19 has served up over the past year and a half, a few certainties have emerged. Within the hospitality industry, there is universal agreement that restaurants have been through the ringer. And it doesn’t appear the ups and downs of this pandemic will end anytime soon. With delta variant cases surging and a second pandemic winter looming, restaurants are desperately trying to sustain and fuel their recoveries.

Hospitality 227

Hospitality Hospitality 227

Modern Restaurant Management

DECEMBER 10, 2021

While your restaurant may feature a diverse menu, delicious food, a great ambiance, and excellent customer service, you will still struggle to build a customer base without promoting it. The fact is that running a successful restaurant is more than just offering good food and good service. Providing top-quality food and service should remain your restaurant’s foremost priority, but you also need to get the word out and attract new customers.

Chef 226

Chef Point of Sale Recipes Customer Service 226

Modern Restaurant Management

FEBRUARY 22, 2021

According to The Enterprises Project , digital transformation can be defined as the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It’s also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and get comfortable with failure.

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