Food Safety Partnership (FSP)
June 6, 2012
Meeting Summary
All materials labeled “online” below will be placed on the MDH FSP website at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/food/pwdu/fsp/ A full list is at the end of this summary.
The archive video for this meeting will be available for viewing for three months at:
mms://stream2.video.state.mn.us/mdhvc/foodsafetyprtnrshp060612.wmv
Welcome
April Bogard (MDH) greeted FSP attendees at video-conference sites, and those streaming the event
via computer.
Committee and Project Reports
FSP Steering Committee, FSP-Plus, Other Training (Deborah Durkin MDH) - PowerPoint online
GovDelivery System: Deborah Durkin (MDH) showed a screen
shot of the new format for PWDU communications via the
GovDelivery system now being used to send messages for the
Food, Pools and Lodging Section and for the Partnership and
Workforce Development Unit (PWDU) regarding FSP meetings,
the PWDU Newsletters and other matters related to
environmental health and food safety. She said that the FSP list
now included more than 3,000 individuals who had signed-up on
the MDH website to receive food safety information. Deborah
asked attendees to watch for those emails, with dark blue
headers showing the MDH and FSP logos, and to remove them
from their Spam files, if that is where they were going.
FSP Steering Committee: Cathy Bureau from Buffalo Wild Wings and John Weinand, City of
Minnetonka, have joined the FSP Steering Committee. The Steering Committee would like to recruit
another member from outside of the metro area. The Steering Committee will meet in August to plan
the agenda for the October 5 FSP meeting, and to discuss the possibility of an October field trip.
FSP-Plus: FSP-Plus events will be held in August, September and December 2012.
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The August 15, 2012 event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. it will be hosted from the
Freeman Building in Saint Paul and available at the usual FSP video-conference sites. Topics
will be: (1) Fruit Juice and Cider Making, Katherine Simon, MDA; and (2) Wild Game Donation,
Levi Muhl, MDA. All are welcome.
The September 27 and 28, 2012 event will be a day-and-a-half workshop for regulatory staff.
This event will be a Reduced Oxygen Packaging HACCP Workshop, presented by Dr. Brian
Nummer of Utah State University. The workshop will be held at the Freeman Building in St.
Paul. There is room for 60 participants and there will be a small fee. More information about
the workshop will be sent soon.
Neither a date nor a topic for the December FSP-Plus event has been chosen.
Church Lady Update (Deborah Durkin, MDH & Deb Botzek-Linn, Extension) - PowerPoint online
Deborah reminded attendees of training options for faith-based kitchen volunteers and said that
almost 950 DVDs of the October Cooking for a Crowd workshop have been requested and mailed,
many of these being used to train multiple groups of volunteers.
Deb presented data from a survey of October workshop attendees. The survey, sent to 650
workshop participants – resulted in an impressive 36 percent return rate. Almost all of the
respondents had “shared” food safety information from the workshop and about 50 percent had
trained others. About 80 percent had made changes in food handling at their organizations, including
better handwashing, use of gloves and aprons, more thermometer use, and new cutting boards.
Deb also said that MDH and Extension had held some preliminary discussions regarding a educational
tool to be made available when the first of the October workshop attendees were approaching the
recommended 3-year retraining date.
Session One
Epidemiology and Outbreak Report (Trisha Robinson, MDH) – PowerPoint online
Trisha’s presentation focused on three main topics: (1) Outbreaks in 2011 and 2012 of Salmonella
Enteritidis associated with eggs, (2) a 2012 outbreak of Cryptosporidiosis associated with a hotel
waterpark, and (3) the importance of educating pool staff and patrons about swimming with diarrhea
and responding to diarrheal incidents.
Among the highlights of the presentation:
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Trisha presented three slides demonstrating the valuable contribution to outbreak
investigations made by the use of PFGE subtyping. She showed that without subtyping,
Minnesota was unlikely to have detected the 2011 outbreak associated with organic eggs.
• The egg outbreaks remind us that freedom from pathogen is not one of the positive
attributes of organic foods.
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While an infectious pool user most likely introduced the
Cryptosporidium into the pol where the outbreak occurred,
improperly maintained chlorine levels were a contributing
factor.
Trisha pointed viewers to CDC’s Fecal Incident Response for
Pool Staff at
www.cdc.gov/healthywater/pdf/swimming/pools/fecalincident-response-recommendations.pdf and to the new posters
and other materials on the CDC Healthy Swimming website at:
www.healthyswimminh.org.
Report on Minnesota Waste Reduction Projects, (Sarah Haas and Jessica Primozich, University of
Minnesota Technical Assistance for Business (MNTAP) – Powerpoint online
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Sarah informed attendees about MnTAP’s history, services, focus areas, internship program,
outcomes and mission to: Help Minnesota businesses implement industry-tailored solutions
that maximize resource efficiency, increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and prevent
pollution.
She also described MnTAP’s work on a food waste reduction and disposal project at event
centers in Dakota County. For this project, MnTAP analyzed the composition of waste
generated at the target locations, developed best practices for waste handling, will pilot those
methods started June 2012, and have created a model that can be used elsewhere. The new
plan is predicted to reduce waste by 24,000 pounds per year.
MnTAP intern, Jessica, discussed her project with Washington and Ramsey Counties to
develop a template for food waste and organics management at restaurants in White Bear
Lake, St. Paul and Stillwater, MN. The process will be similar to that in the previous project:
Waste will be analyzed, Jessica will develop site-specific recommendation and training
materials, and the project will result in a model that can be used in other food establishments.
Food that is saved from the landfill using the methods devised for this project will be diverted
to: consumption elsewhere, compost, anaerobic digestion, livestock feed, as limited by its
source, previous use, and composition.
For more information about MnTAP, see www.mntap.umn.edu or email [email protected].
Mandatory Food Waste Composting Program (Susan Darley-Hill, Western Lake Superior Sanitary
District (WLSSD) – Powerpoint online
Susie began by describing the unique purpose, history and geographic boundaries of the WLSSD.
WLSSD is a special purpose unit of government created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1971 to
address pollution problems in the lower St. Louis River Basin. It is governed by a nine-member citizen
Board of Directors.
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The Sanitary District encompasses a 530 square mile area including the Cities of Duluth, Cloquet,
Hermantown, Proctor, Carlton, Scanlon, Thomson and Wrenshall, and the surrounding townships.
The WLSSD facility in Duluth includes a water treatment plant, an organic composting site, a
hazardous waste collection site and a solid waste transfer station. WLSSD also has a solid waste
recycling and disposal site in Rice Lake Township.
Susie’s talk focused on the mandatory organic waste program which affects the following (approx.
200) businesses generating pre-consumer organic waste:
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Grocery stores of 7,500 sq. feet or larger
Restaurants and caterers (licensed by MDH)
Post-secondary institutions with 1,000 or more full-time students that prepare meals on-site
Hospitals and nursing homes having 100 or more beds, and that prepare and serve meals to
employees, patients, guests, or residents.
Food manufacturers/processors of 5,000 sq. feet or larger
(most recently) Assisted living and Correctional Facilities
The program also serves residents and small businesses who volunteer to recycle organic waste –
through six food waste drop-off sites.
Susie reports that more than 3.200 tons of source-separated organics will be recovered for
composting in 2012. The facility will soon exceed its permit level, so WLSSD is seeking a permit
revision. WLSSD produces 2,500 yards of Garden Green compost each year which is packaged and
sold in the Duluth area.
For more information, see the WLSSD website at http://www.wlssd.duluth.mn.us/about.php.
Session Two
Saving Foods Salvaged from Fires, Floods and Other Disasters (Jim Roettger, MDA) – Powerpoint
online
Jim spoke to the group about the inspector’s role in determining the fate of food that has been
subjected to fire, water, wind or other disasters. He defined “distressed food” and “reconditionable
food” and explained who was legal able to salvage food items. Jim counseled inspectors to:
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Check with fire department, or other responding agencies before going to a site.
Prepare for the conditions that might be expected at the site
Determine potential risks/contaminants, physical biological or chemical
Determine the area and products that may have been impacted
Dispose or denature food that must be disposed so that is cannot be salvaged
Take many pictures.
And to “Rule on the side of public health. Embargo , test, condemn or release.
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Darden Harvest Donation Program (Mandy Sedlak, Darden Restaurant) – Powerpoint online
Mandy began her presentation with a video Restaurant chain donates unserved food to needy
families, featuring Chelsea Clinton’s interview with Darden President and COO, Andrew Madsen. The
video can be viewed at Rock Center with Brian Williams.
The Darden Harvest program works in partnership with Food Donation Connection to donate surplus
food to food banks and other charitable organizations across the country. In 2012, all 1900 Darden
restaurants will participate in the program, donating more than 50 million pounds of high quality
food - with a value of approximately $500 million - to families in need.
Mandy ‘s presentation focused on the food safety aspects of this program. Each participating
restaurant follows the same plan, though they implement the plan in different ways through the
chain:
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Restaurant preparation for the Harvest Donation Program – Designate holding areas in
refrigerators and freezers containers to hold food for donation
Build Team Awareness & Pride - Key employees partner with managers to take the lead on
ensuring foods are carefully identified and prepared for donation
Identify Food for Donation - Designate foods during end of night and prepare for donation
Prepare Food for Donation - Cook and cool if necessary, following Darden food safety
practices & FDA standards and documenting temperatures
Freeze All Food for Donation
Food Pick Up
Mandy stressed that all donated food is handled using the same strict food safety procedures that are
practiced for all the food served in Darden restaurants.
Materials for June 6, 2012 (http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/food/pwdu/fsp/)
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June 6 FSP Meeting Agenda
June 6 FSP Meeting Summary
Presentation: FSP Steering Committee, FSP-Plus, Deborah Durkin
Presentation: “Church Lady” Update, Deborah Durkin and Deb Botzek-Linn
Presentation: MDH Epidemiology and Outbreak Report, Trisha Robinson
Presentation: Report on Minnesota Waste Reduction Projects, Sarah Haas and Jessica
Primozich, University of Minnesota Technical Assistance for Business (MNTAP)
Presentation: Mandatory Food Waste Composting Program, Susan Darley-Hill, Western
Lake Superior Sanitary District
Presentation: Saving Foods Salvaged from Fires, Floods & Other Disasters, Jim Roettger, MDA
Presentation: Darden Restaurants Harvest Donation Program, Mandy Sedlak, Darden
Restaurants
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