Receiving Food Deliveries: Are you Being Safe?

By Dale J. Venturini
President/CEO, RI Hospitality Association

"The history of government regulation of food safety is one of government watchdogs chasing the horse after it's out of the barn." - David A. Kessler, M.D. (FDA Commissioner)

We’ve all read the widespread reports of food-borne illnesses spread through bacteria discovered in various food sources. In fact, just recently the New York Times ran a piece on a particularly virulent strain of E. coli bacteria found in lettuce that sickened 26 people in five states. And, it was just a few months ago that millions of pounds of ground beef were also recalled because of suspected E. coli bacteria.

While much of the problem lies in not really knowing where our food is truly being sourced from, an entirely separate factor is at work here, the safe transportation of food.

Whether you are reading the reports of these recalls and sickness or are experiencing your own crisis in your own restaurant, there can be dire consequences to a food-borne illness outbreak. Here in Rhode Island, we recently worked with a local restaurant owner who owns multiple businesses and who unfortunately received some of the tainted product you might have read about in the media. This resulted in making several residents ill and had the possibility of creating a disastrous outcome for him.

This prompted me to think about all the ways that we need to protect ourselves...not only in the safe handling and preparation of food, which I continually stress to our membership, but also in the safe reception (transportation) of food products.

Recently, I had an occasion to be at a long-standing, large, family-owned restaurant while food deliveries arrived. I was able to witness a manager test the temperatures of all food items BEFORE they ever left the delivery trucks. The restaurant does not accept any foods that are not compliant with RI food code. RI law stipulates:

3-202.11 Temperature.*

(A) Except as specified in ¶ (B) of this section, refrigerated, POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD (TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD) shall be at a temperature of 5°C (41°F) or below when received.

(B) If a temperature other than 5°C (41°F) for a POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD (TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD) is specified in LAW governing its distribution, such as LAWS governing milk and MOLLUSCAN SHELLFISH, the FOOD may be received at the specified temperature.

(C) Raw EGGS shall be received in refrigerated EQUIPMENT that maintains an ambient air temperature of 7°C (45°F) or less.

(D) POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD (TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD) that is cooked to a temperature and for a time specified under §§ 3-401.11 - 3-401.13 and received hot shall be at a temperature of 57°C (135°F) or above.

(E) A FOOD that is labeled frozen and shipped frozen by a FOOD PROCESSING ESTABLISHMENT shall be received frozen.

(F) Upon receipt, POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS FOOD (TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD) shall be free of evidence of previous temperature abuse.

How many of you who own restaurants are having your food deliveries properly temped before you accept delivery? If you’re not, you really need to...particularly in these hot summer months...a lot can go wrong with refrigeration during transport.

Let me go a step further here, for those few times when you need to run out and pick up perishables in your own vehicle, you need to make sure that you’re transporting the food items safely using coolers and ice packs. It’s not okay to simply put meats, dairy, eggs, etc. in the back of your car – even if it’s for a 10 minute trip back to your business. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

At the end of the day, it won’t be your supplier or distributor that customers will blame and the media will focus on...it will be you and your business for not taking the adequate steps to ensure that the food you serve is safe. Remember, the public has a long memory and no bad news spreads faster than hearing that someone got sick in a restaurant. It is the easiest and most preventable way to destroy your business.

Please, review your own state’s food codes, make sure you are compliant to the letter of the law, and review your procedures for the safe transport and receiving of any foods that come through your doors for public consumption.