MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Autumn 2008
Volume 2, Issue 4
DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
PWDU Quarterly Update
Partnership and Workforce Development Unit
The Special Event Issue
ABOUT THIS ISSUE:
WE-Fest, 50,000 and Growing
Whether a food or water-borne
outbreak should occur at a funeral
lunch for 30, or a music festival with
50,000 attendees, many elements of
our preparedness and response
should be the same.
By Glenn Donnay, MDH/EHS
Background
Our mission is prevention first. Our
response must be established prior to
the event, and should address each
affected person/entity to the best of
our capabilities.
Special events can be particularly
challenging for public health on all
fronts, including prevention, planning, response, and recovery.
This is the first issue—but not the
last—that will address the work we
do in preparation for special events,
and in response to any emergencies
associated with them.
In This Issue
WE-Fest:
1-3
Giardia, Giardiasis
4-5
U.S. Women’s Open—1
6-7
U.S. Women’s Open—2
8
R.N.C.
9-11
Minnesota State Fair—1
12
Minnesota State Fair—2
13
MEHA, FSP, Why don’t we
do it in our sleeves?
14
Delegation Agreement links
PWDU Contact information
15
WE-Fest Country Music Festival is
one of the largest outdoor events in
Minnesota. WE-Fest is held for five
days each August, at the Soo Pass
Ranch and Amphitheater, four miles
south of Detroit Lakes.
WE-Fest has been held in Minnesota since 1983. Daily attendance
by concert-goers can exceed
50,000 people. It takes more than
2,000 workers to staff the event.
There are now more than 9,000
special event campsites at Soo
Pass and adjoining, leased areas.
The smaller, 10-K or Ten Thousand
Lakes Music Festival is held for four
days in July at the same site. The
10-K campers tend to be younger,
use primarily small tents, and travel
extensively with a series of concerts
throughout the United States.
In the past, a number of unlicensed
vendors have attempted to operate
during the 10-K. These have been
pretty effectively shut down. New
vendors that have arrived each year
are selectively reduced, resulting in
a smaller group of more responsible, better operators.
Many of the regular WE-Fest
vendors use the 10-K as a setup
and final preparation for WE-Fest,
which has about four times as many
attendees and staff.
The Site
The City of Detroit Lakes provides
sewer and water service for Soo
Pass, and there are three independent wells on the grounds. Many large
campground areas, and central
concert and vending operators are
scattered over 800 acres. State
Highway 59 runs through part of the
west area, and the Soo Line Railroad
travels through part of the east area.
There are high, rolling hills in many
camping areas, and the main concert
area is on a large, high sloping hill
which provides a long view down to
the stage—a natural amphitheater.
Refrigerated trucks containing food
and beverages are gathered at staging areas throughout the site. Most of
the vendors, event coordinators, and
other staff use 110 leased golf carts
to access wide-spread vending and
support service locations.
Preparation for the festival season
takes all year. Some of that work
includes: booking the entertainment;
media work and publicity; signing-up
promotional sponsors; organizing
security, medical coverage and
chaplain services; ticket distribution;
and upgrading facilities and repairing
existing structures.
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PWDU Quarterly Update
WE-Fest, continued
Photo, courtesy of WE-Fest
Taken during the day—before the big crowds arrive . . .
In 2008, a WE Be Green program was established to
recycle tons of solid waste. This program was assisted by
the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and a
75,000 dollar grant. Prior to arrival, campers were told to
pack reusable tableware instead of plastic and styrofoam.
On arrival, campers were given two plastic bags - a dark
one for trash and a clear one for recycling. The clear one
was to be used for all aluminum, plastic, glass, metal,
cardboard, and paper.
The Soo Pass Ranch site is also used for other purposes
throughout the year. This September, a major, multi-county
emergency training drill was held at Soo Pass. The drill was
attended by hundreds of fire fighters, Sheriff’s deputies and
posse members and their horses, ambulance crews, EMTs,
public health nurses, staff from an area hospital, water
rescue diving teams, Chaplains, and other emergency
response staff. There were also 46 volunteers who acted
the part of victims at staged scenes during the drill.
Public Health Services
Prior to the start of WE-Fest, three public health sanitarians, Rebecca Tonneson, Dave Wroblewski, and
Glenn Donnay have final meetings at the MDH Fergus
Falls District Office. Each sanitarian gets their name
badge and car identification. Together they decide
which areas will be inspected daily, and where and
when they will meet during the event.
Cell phones numbers are verified and maps are
reviewed, as we set out for a major party event for the
concert attendees and a large and challenging work
event for the next four or five days for our work team.
The three of us all enjoy the challenges, and the support we can provide to ensure safer campgrounds, and
better food handling and sanitation.
We also strive to maintain good relations with everyone
we contact; often hundreds of people in a day.
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PWDU Quarterly Update
WE-Fest, concluded
Some days go very well, and other days are really challenging. Our main activities are: daily inspections of many
food and beverage vendors; campground inspections;
and our interactions with security staff, WE-Fest employees, and a lot of happy campers and concert-goers.
This year drinking water protection staff did a complete
review of water delivery after a series of problems
occurred at another large concert event. Water issues
checked out quite well at WE-Fest.
Two years ago I ran into a large line of cheering, mainly
female fans, waiting for a current singing star behind the
main stage. I stopped, looked at the adoring crowd blocking my progress to the Artists’ Food and Hospitality Area,
and thanked the main gate guard for setting up such a
great reception for the local sanitarian. “Nice try,” he said.
I delayed the inspection of that area, and started with
inspecting a few small bar services until the band bus
and star could get in and set up.
We fest is a city of more than 50,000 people!
In Conclusion
We have not had major problems at WE-Fest in recent
years. This is partially because we arrive well prepared,
and deal with small issues quickly. We get great
cooperation at all levels - management, vendors, state,
and local government.
Our previous work to inform and educate has resulted in
many issues being dealt with before we arrive. The
people we work with are great at putting on major
concerts and managing huge groups. Throughout the
year, they work with us and update us so we can do
some of our best work of the year as sanitarians.
In 2008, we worked with major new plans and venues.
(Thanks to Laura, Gary, Todd, Colleen, Wendy, and
others who helped to work it out.) We are confident that
there will be improvements for each upcoming year; that
we will keep moving ahead and addressing new
challenges.
Photo, courtesy of WE-Fest
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PWDU Quarterly Update
Bug of the Quarter: Giardia intestinalis
The following is from a CDC factsheet
found at: http://www.cdc.gov/
ncidod/dpd/parasites/Giardiasis/
factsht_giardia.htm ]
Giardia can be spread by:
•
Accidentally putting something
into your mouth or swallowing
something that has come into
contact with feces of a person
or animal infected with Giardia.
•
Swallowing recreational water
contaminated with Giardia
(such as water in contaminated
swimming pools, hot tubs, spas,
fountains, lakes, rivers, springs,
ponds, or streams).
•
Eating uncooked food contaminated with Giardia.
•
Accidentally swallowing Giardia
picked up from surfaces (such
as bathroom fixtures, changing
tables, diaper pails, or toys)
contaminated with feces from
an infected person.
What is giardiasis?
Giardiasis is a diarrheal illness
caused by a one-celled, microscopic parasite, Giardia intestinalis
(also known as Giardia lamblia).
GIARDIASIS in MINNESOTA
REPORT for 2007
During 2007, 904 cases of Giardia
infection (17.4 per 100,000) were
reported. This represents an 18
percent decrease from the 1,105
cases reported in 2006 and an 18
percent decrease from the median
number of cases reported annually
from 1996 through 2006 (median,
1,105, cases; range, 851 to 1,556).
Of the total number of Giardia
cases for 2007, 40 percent
represented positive tests during
routine screenings of recent
immigrants and refugees.
The median age for all casepatients reported in 2007 was 19
years (range, 1 month to 102
years). The median age among
non-immigrant cases was 36 years
(range, 1 month to 102 years).
Twenty-two percent of cases were
less than 5 years of age, and only
16 percent of cases were over 50
years of age.
Overall, 5 percent of case-patients
were hospitalized; 10 percent of
case-patients over 50 years of age
were hospitalized. No outbreaks of
giardiasis were identified in
Minnesota in 2007.
Once an animal or person has
been infected with Giardia intestinalis, the parasite lives in the intestine and is passed in the stool.
Because the parasite is protected
by an outer shell, it can survive
outside the body and in the environment for long periods of time.
During the past two decades,
Giardia infection has become recognized as one of the most common causes of waterborne disease
(found in both drinking and recreational water) in humans in the
United States. Giardia are found
worldwide and within every region
of the United States.
How do you get giardiasis and
how is it spread?
The Giardia parasite lives in the
intestine of infected humans or
animals. Millions of germs can be
released in a bowel movement
from an infected human or animal.
Giardia is found in soil, food, water,
or surfaces that have been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals.
A person can become infected
after accidentally swallowing the
parasite; and cannot become infected through contact with blood.
What are the symptoms of
giardiasis?
Giardia infection can cause a variety of intestinal symptoms, which
include: diarrhea; gas or flatulence;
greasy stools that tend to float;
stomach cramps; upset stomach or
nausea.
These symptoms may lead to
weight loss and dehydration. Some
people with giardiasis have no
symptoms at all.
How long after infection do
symptoms appear?
Symptoms of giardiasis normally
begin one to two weeks (average 7
days) after becoming infected.
How long will symptoms last?
In otherwise healthy persons,
symptoms of giardiasis may last
two to six weeks. Occasionally,
symptoms last longer.
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PWDU Quarterly Update
Giardia and Giardiasis, concluded
•
•
Who is most likely to get
giardiasis?
Anyone can get giardiasis. Persons
more likely to become infected
include:
•
Children who attend daycare
centers
•
Child care workers
•
Parents of infected children
•
International travelers
•
People who swallow water from
contaminated sources
•
•
•
Backpackers, hikers, and
campers who drink unfiltered,
untreated water
Swimmers who swallow water
while swimming in lakes, rivers,
ponds, and streams
•
Can giardiasis be easily spread
to others?
A Giardia infection can be very contagious. Follow these guidelines to
avoid spreading giardiasis to others:
Do not swim in recreational
water if you have Giardia,
and for at least two weeks
after diarrhea stops. You can
pass Giardia in your stool and
contaminate water for several
weeks after your symptoms
have ended. This has resulted in outbreaks of Giardia
among recreational water
users.
Avoid fecal exposure during
sexual activity.
streams.
•
Do not drink untreated water
during community-wide outbreaks of disease caused by
contaminated drinking water.
•
Do not use untreated ice or
drinking water when traveling in
countries where the water
supply might be unsafe.
If you are unable to avoid using or
drinking water that might be
contaminated, you can make the
water safe to drink by doing one of
the following:
•
Heat the water to a rolling boil
for at least one minute, OR
•
Use a filter that has an absolute
pore size of at least one micron,
or one that has been NSF rated
for "cyst removal."
•
If you cannot heat the water to
a rolling boil or use a recommended filter, then try chemically treating the water by
chlorination or iodination.
How can I prevent a Giardia
infection?
Practice good hygiene:
•
Wash hands thoroughly with
soap and water.
•
Wash hands after using the
toilet and before handling or
eating food (especially for
persons with diarrhea).
•
Wash hands after every diaper change, especially if you
work with diaper-aged children, even if you are wearing
gloves.
•
Protect others by not swimming if you are experiencing
diarrhea (essential for children in diapers).
People who drink from shallow
wells
Contaminated water includes water
that has not been boiled, filtered, or
disinfected with chemicals. Several
community-wide outbreaks of
giardiasis have been linked to drinking municipal water or recreational
water contaminated with Giardia.
Wash hands with soap and
water after using the toilet,
changing diapers, and before
eating or preparing food.
Avoid water that might be
contaminated.
•
•
Do not swallow recreational
water.
Do not drink untreated water
from shallow wells, lakes,
rivers, springs, ponds, and
Using chemicals may be less effective than boiling or filtering because
the amount of chemical required to
make the water safe is highly
dependent on the temperature, pH,
and cloudiness of the water.
Avoid food that might be contaminated.
•
Wash and/or peel all raw vegetables and fruits before eating.
•
Use safe, uncontaminated water to wash all food that is to be
eaten raw.
•
Avoid eating uncooked foods
when traveling in areas with
minimal treatment and sanitation systems.
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PWDU Quarterly Update
Everything I need to know about emergency management ...
Written and spoken instructions
need to match
At the end of one day, shuttle
buses were redirected to handle a
larger load for one of the remote
lots. Even though volunteers were
standing by the buses with bullhorns saying, “This bus goes to
Southdale,” people did not want to
board that bus because the bus
signs stated “Normandale.” In an
emergency where evacuation time
or mass dispensing is critical, the
disconnect in messages could be
disastrous.
Volunteers who feel appreciated
and have a clear task will do almost anything
[In June, Jane Braun, Deputy Director
of Emergency Preparedness, MDH,
volunteered at the US Women’s Open
golf championship in Edina. Here is
Jane’s perspective on her experience.]
Being part of a national golf championship provided a chance to observe many of the same aspects
found in emergency management.
In fact, Gina Adasiewicz from Dakota County and I spent nearly an
entire shift discussing how all the
things we saw could be applied to
mass dispensing!
Training and exercising can be
disguised as fun
The volunteer appreciation party
held a couple days before the
championship provided an opportunity to test the parking and shuttle
buses, information staff, volunteer
meal ticket procedure, merchandise
sales staff, and signage. Plus, letting us walk the course allowed us
to become familiar with it and made
us more knowledgeable volunteers.
Many of the volunteer jobs involved standing in the sun for
hours, holding people behind
ropes, or having to repeatedly turn
people away from places they
wanted to go. The work could be
tiring or stressful. But, more than
3200 people paid $100 apiece for
the privilege to do it. The USGA
had a special area for volunteers
that had entertainment, good food,
and prizes. The chance to do
something interesting and to help
with a major task motivated everyone. Plus, the freezer full of Dilly
Bars really perked people up.
Unity of command is important
With dozens of committees, 18
holes, and multiple buildings and
tents to cover, it was critical to
know who to contact with our questions. Volunteers clearly knew who
and where our area captains and
committee chairs were, we knew
how to reach them, and we knew
to take direction from only them.
Just-in-time training works
One morning, no area captain was
available for one of the assignments. The committee co-chair
recruited a woman who had worked
that area the day before, gave her a
radio lesson, a cheat sheet and
some pointers, and the recruit
turned out to be one of the best
captains I worked with.
People who receive adequate
information are more likely to
exhibit desired behaviors
One evening, we had severe
weather and needed to evacuate
the golf course. Patrons of the corporate boxes were relocated to
various tents. Individuals in those
tents who received radio updates
stayed where they were supposed
to be. Those who had no updates
wandered out during the storm
looking for information.
People who know their jobs well
and have the right equipment can
do an amazing amount of work in
a short period of time
Page 7
PWDU Quarterly Update
… I learned from the U.S. Golf Association
We were given a 32-page booklet
at orientation that included almost
every detail about dozens of topics. But, the short e-mail that was
sent a couple of days before the
championship explained what we
needed to know on our first day
was very helpful.
quickly because they provided useful information and the choices on
the screens made sense. We were
able to easily answer many questions for others around us, which
provided a service and reduced
pressure off the information booths.
Talking points make things go
more smoothly
At the orientation session, the
committee chairs told us some of
the issues we would most likely
encounter and provided suggested
phrases to handle some of the
stickier ones. This provided polite,
consistent messages for guests.
When the severe weather cleared,
an army of people with leaf blowers,
rakes, and carts descended on the
course. They had an entire course
completely cleaned up and playable
in less than 45 minutes after a huge
rainstorm with damaging winds. It
was amazing to watch how each
person knew his or her job; that the
order of the tasks was precise; and
that all the equipment was staged
so as to be immediately available.
People will embrace technology
that is intuitive
Anyone holding a credit card from
one of the major sponsors was
able to get a BlackBerry that gave
real-time scores, player locations,
biographies, etc. Staff gave a oneminute tutorial on the major
screens while we waited in line to
pick up the devices. People of all
ages were using the devices
Identification needs to be unique
and easily read or seen
Volunteers and staff were easily
identifiable by a different shirt color
for each major role, making it clear
who belonged where and what s/he
was supposed to be doing. On the
other hand, wrist bands that determined which guests could go into
certain private areas all looked the
same and had printing that was too
small to read, leading to extra work
and occasionally miffed patrons.
Brief and timely instructions are
more easily followed
Photos on pages 6-9 courtesy of Time Inc..
Little things are critical
The clubhouse had one person assigned just to fix players’ shoes.
One bottle of bug spray made all
the difference in the world for about
20 volunteers on an early morning
shift. The staff had clearly thought
things through and anticipated the
likely problems that could arise.
Page 8
PWDU Quarterly Update
U.S. Women’s Open—Another Perspective
Sherry Engelman, City of Edina
The US Women’s Open Golf Championship was held
June 23-29, 2008, at the Interlachen Country Club in
Edina. Nearly two years before the event, the City of
Edina set wheels in motion to prepare for the Open and
its anticipated 150,000 attendees.
Prior to the Women’s Open, planning meetings, led by
the United States Golf Association (USGA), were held on
a regular basis with Interlachen staff, participating
vendors, and Edina officials and staff. Key to the success
of the event was the USGA organizational leadership and
the coordinated efforts by all.
A year before the Women’s Open, City of Edina staff from
the building, fire, and health departments toured a large
scale metro tournament to acquire a vision of what was to
come. We saw first hand what a massive endeavor it
was, what was involved, and how the weather controlled
everything.
The environmental health concerns we focused on included: food; beverage and water safety and security;
noise; garbage and potential infestation; public restrooms
and handwashing facilities; and recycling. During the
planning meetings, we developed controls to address
these concerns.
In the months before the tournament, we reviewed
menus and food handling procedures with the caterers
and discussed equipment needs, food transportation, and
refrigeration. This also gave us the opportunity to build
relationships with the caterers.
All caterers employed certified food managers. However,
because they did not have the sheer number of employees needed to cover the event, volunteers were enlisted
from non-profit organizations for additional help. Food
training became essential.
Interlachen Country Club is nestled in a beautiful
residential area and has no on-site parking for an event
this size. Special arrangements were needed to:
deliver food, supplies and beverages to Interlachen, and
then onto the course; remove garbage and recyclable
materials; and shuttle spectators, volunteers and
inspectors from off site parking.
Two months before the tournament, things started to
change. Behind the glorious tournament scene, a
separate village emerged with numerous semi-trailers and
refrigerated trucks, an enormous amount of food service
equipment, tents of all sizes, generators and more
generators, communication centers, bleachers, media stations, satellites, roll-off dumpsters, and other resources.
Make-shift kitchens and staging areas were set up in tents
throughout the golf course to serve more than 40 hospitality tents, skyboxes, and concession stands. This was our
home away from home for nine days. Truly, golf attire,
comfortable walking shoes, sunscreen, and sunglasses
were essentials to job performance.
A couple of days before the tournament, we conducted
“final construction inspections” to ensure that the
temporary facilities met health code requirements.
Once the tournament began, we conducted daily, routine
inspections. Interlachen provided their usual food and beverage venue inside the clubhouse. A private caterer
provided food/beverages on the golf course for the public.
An out-of-state caterer traveled with NBC TV to serve their
150 employees. Ten separate caterers served breakfast
and lunch to 2,000 event volunteers.
The primary caterer used a local school kitchen for a
commissary and hired school food service employees to
help with production. All food service staff was very
professional and we encountered only minor issues for
correction. We did not receive any reports of illness.
Quite obviously this event took priority over routine work
schedules. Urgent matters were addressed. However, less
serious issues were delayed. We learned that the time
spent planning for the Women’s Open was worth its
weight in gold.
On actual event days, we and the vendors knew what to
expect because we did our homework ahead of time.
Fortunately the weather was exceptional! Things went
very smoothly as planned, resulting in a safe and successful event.
It was a
wonderful
career
opportunity
to be involved
in the US
Women’s
Open.
Page 9
PWDU Quarterly Update
Inside the Secure Zone: Food Safety Inspections at the RNC
By Kim Carlton, City of Saint Paul
Much of the area directly surrounding the Xcel was a
secure zone; credentials from the RNC were required in
order to get inside of the perimeter. Five environmental
health specialists from the City of Saint Paul were paired
up with five FDA food specialists to work inside of the
secure area. The five teams were responsible for overseeing food safety and protection for the convention attendees. Every day, we covered two offsite catering facilities, two large onsite catering kitchens, a banquet
kitchen, several pantry areas, several temporary kitchens, and a restaurant that was taken over by CNN for
private events.
With thanks to Greg Abel, FDA; Bill Gunther,
Mark Kaisersatt, and Barb McMonigal-St. Dennis,
City of Saint Paul
A few weeks ago, the City of Saint Paul had the unique
opportunity to be involved in a National Special
Security Event. The Republican National Convention
was held in Saint Paul September 1-4, 2008. Unlike a
“normal” special event, preparations for the RNC
started nearly a year beforehand.
Preparation
Our office (like many others) started in May with the
FDA Spring Assignment. Pre-operational inspections
were done, and ALERT food defense training materials
were distributed to 22 food establishments within half a
mile of the Xcel Energy Center. During the inspections,
food samples were also collected and sent to the FERN
(Food Emergency Response Network) labs.
The week prior to the convention, we did another round
of the same FDA exercise. Additionally, short inspections were done in conjunction with distribution of the
Advanced Practice Center’s (APC) “Protecting the
Public’s Health During Large-Scale or Special Events”
packets to food establishments near the Xcel.
Scope of the Operation
During the convention, everybody in our office was
working on something related to the convention. Half of
our staff was working outside of the security perimeter.
Inspections were done at the special events on Harriet
Island and at the State Capitol. Short, risk-based
inspections of food establishments downtown were
done as well. Five inspectors managed to do 164
inspections that week.
The same teams worked in the same locations from day
to day rather than rotate to different locations. This led to
some long days, but in this type of event it wouldn’t have
made sense for us to rotate. We got to know the staff,
they got to know us, and we didn’t have to slow them
down during their busy prep times by continually asking
about their processes and what they were doing.
Focus on Risk
We focused on risk factors for foodborne illness during
the inspections. The temporary kitchens that many of the
caterers were working out of never would have passed
the “floors, walls, and ceilings” requirements.
We were concerned with making sure that the food was
cooked, cooled, transported, received, reheated, and
served within the critical limits for food safety. We
focused on ensuring no bare hand contact with ready-toeat foods, final cooking temperatures, cooling times, and
using time as a public health control.
Page 10
PWDU Quarterly Update
RNC, continued
•
One of the main concession stands was used by the
offsite caterers to finish off the foods that were prepared at their other locations.
•
Another prep and staging area was set up in a curtained-off equipment maintenance area on the convention floor, right next to the Secret Service HazMat
team.
•
The walk-in cooler for one of the onsite caterers was
turned into a cold sandwich assembly room.
•
Refrigerated trucks were parked on the loading dock
for extra cold storage space.
Everywhere you looked, you could find food.
Most of the caterers were very good about keeping time
and temperature logs for their food. We were able to
avoid discarding a lot of food that was out of temperature
simply because good records were being kept. We knew
that the food was going to be consumed or discarded
within the required time frame. During the few occasions
when we could see that critical limits weren’t going to be
met (cooling, for example), we were able to work with the
caterer to figure out what the corrective action should be.
Extraordinary Circumstances
The temporary setups were many, and varied:
•
•
The media lots had full restaurant-style kitchens, set
up with rented equipment in tents.
A staging area for the caterer that served the Senate
and House cloak rooms was the Xcel laundry room.
More Challenges and Creative Solutions
A restaurant that was taken over by CNN was serving ten
times their typical number of meals per day. They were not
equipped for the volume of food that they were serving.
They set up a prep area in the basement storage area and
hooked up an oven outside of the back door. Due to space
limitations, everything had to be made fresh each day, and
discarded if it wasn’t used.
Some of the concession stands in the Xcel were turned
into hot air depositories. The cameras, lights, computers,
and other equipment in the suites gave off so much heat
that ductwork was rigged up to vent the heat into the exhaust hoods in the otherwise-unused kitchens.
Due to the “no-drive” zone downtown, deliveries could only
be made between midnight and 6 a.m. The offsite caterers
had to take that into account when preparing the food that
Page 11
PWDU Quarterly Update
RNC, concluded
had to be served the following day. One of the caterers
realized the first day that they needed to drastically
tighten up their cooling procedures, since they didn’t start
their production until 5 p.m. each night.
On the last day, in order to avoid any conflicts between
the McCain party's arrival and protest marches, many of
the meal orders were moved up an hour or two earlier
than scheduled. This caused a panic in many of the
kitchens, but they managed to get the food out in time.
The caterers often had to deal with often unforeseen circumstances. After most of the first day’s sessions were
cut short due to Hurricane Gustav, many of the catering
orders for private parties were canceled, leaving the caterers with a lot of food and an opportunity to get creative.
The Salvation Army received a shipment of alreadyprepared hors d’oeurves, including cremini mushroom
tartlets and beef tenderloin sandwiches. In one instance,
a caterer brought a rolling rack full of prepared food from
one of their locations to another. It had been out of
temperature control for two hours by that time. They were
intending for the food to go to the speakers’ rooms, but
just before they were going to deliver it, the entire area
was put on lockdown for more than an hour because
some Very Important People were coming through. They
ended up discarding the entire rack full of food.
Over the course of the convention, the five teams inside
of the perimeter did 138 inspections, covering 45,405
meals. There were a lot of long hours involved, but the
intense focus on risk factors was a great reminder of
what is important when it comes to doing food safety inspections.
Our goal should be to ensure that the food going out of
the establishments in our jurisdiction is safe to eat. Considering that there were no outbreaks detected at the
convention (to date), I think we can safely say that we
were successful in reaching that goal.
Photos on pages 9-11, courtesy of Kim Carlton
Page 12
PWDU Quarterly Update
MDH and the Minnesota State Fair
Germ City Numbers—State Fair 2008
•
Germ City was open for 12 days, 12 hours a day (11 the
last day), or 143 hours.
•
Teams of Germ City volunteers covered 36 four-hour
shifts.
•
Of the 36 shifts, 15 were staffed by 4 volunteers, 15 by 5
volunteers, and 6 shifts by 6 volunteers.
•
Twenty-one of the 36 shifts were staffed completely or
partially by families (parents and children, husbands
and wives, other partnerships).
The 12-day Minnesota State Fair is a big event for staff of
the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) every year.
•
One hundred twenty-three (123) Germ City volunteers
(ages 11 to 60+), worked approximately 684 hours.
Staff from MDH Environmental Health Services Section
(EHS) and the Department of Agriculture (MDA) must
inspect the establishments of every vendor serving food
to the fair-going public. The MDH booth in the Education
Building keeps MDH employee volunteers from throughout the agency very busy distributing informational
material and handouts, answering questions, and hosting
the “Wheel of Health Game.”
•
Germ City was visited by somewhere between 12,000
and 15,000 people during the Fair.
•
Germ City visitors used 36,000 paper towels, 54,400 mils
(34,816 tablespoons) of soap, and about 1,200 footpumped gallons of water.
•
An unknown number of bottles of Glitterbug Potion were
applied to the hands of visitors.
Photo, courtesy of MDH
MDH, local public health staff and others also worked at
the Minnesota Food Safety Partnership “Germ City”
handwashing display. Germ City was the guest of MDA at
their exhibit in the Horticulture Building. Germ City visitors
tested their hand-washing skills by seeing pretend germs
on their hands before and after hand-washing.
This year also saw the addition of the Republican
National Convention to the calendar and workload of
MDH, MDA, and many other state and local agencies. A
daunting workload and schedule of events in August and
September provided an excellent opportunity for many
agencies to work together and to hone their planning and
collaborative skills.
Germ City photos, courtesy of Elly Pretzel
Page 13
PWDU Quarterly Update
The Minnesota State Fair
low-up inspections on earlier violators, and made visits to
new vendors and those who had, in previous years, required more attention.
New on the food scene this year were six food stands at
the International Bazaar and the first 18-wheeler mobile
food unit at the Fair. This large, rolling establishment
presented inspection staff with some hot holding and
handwashing issues, as well as a general lack of
organization due to its size, but these issues got worked
out in the first few days of the Fair.
No documented foodborne illness outbreaks have been
identified by our epidemiology staff and there were only
three consumer complaints forwarded to the MDH office.
Photo, courtesy MN State Fair
Steven Diaz, MDH
Another year has come and gone at the Minnesota
State Fair and MDH inspection efforts have been successful again.
With a staff of 12 each day, inspectors from MDH’s
Metro and Mankato district offices completed more than
240 initial, routine inspections. It took an enormous
effort from our staff but every food stand was inspected
at least once in the first two days of the State Fair.
Inspectors observed and oversaw correction of various
food handling violations typical of special/temporary
events. The most common of these were cold holding
temperature violations and improper concentrations of
sanitizers.
Perhaps the most serious cooling violations were discovered at an establishment where the temperature in
one walk-in cooler was measured at 59 degrees F.
Gravy stored in a second, properly operating cooler still
measured 62 degrees F, after “cooling” in five gallon
pails since the previous evenings. Many gallons gravy
were denatured with bleach and disposed onsite. This
establishment, a repeat offender, received several
visits from MDH staff throughout the Fair.
Two of these were illness complaints. A 72-hour food
history completed for each complainant revealed that each
had consumed food from 10 to 12 vendors and had
become ill within two hours of consumption. Foods, timing,
and symptoms did not indicate the likelihood of foodborne
illness in either of the two complainants.
The third complaint was that a vendor offering free drinking
water was allowing fairgoers to refill their personal water
containers directly from the spigots—thus allowing contact
between the spigots and used containers. At MDH’s
request, the vendor re-posted the signs they had in place at
the beginning of the Fair requiring use of vendor cups only.
The only other event of note was a carbon dioxide (CO2)
release into the water supply on block 30 near the Midway
Men’s Club and JD’s Eating Establishment one day before
the official start of the fair. There were no reports of illness
from this event. Chuck Olsen of the Department of Labor
and Industry responded quickly to correct the improper
backflow preventer installation on the fountain drink
carbonators in the area.
After the first two days, inspections staff was reduced
to two inspectors per day. These staff conducted
inspections at fairgrounds lodging establishments, four
large youth camps on the fairgrounds, and the recreational camping area located in the north east corner of
the fairgrounds. Additionally, inspectors performed folPhoto, courtesy of April Bogard
Page 14
PWDU Quarterly Update
Odd and Ends - From Us and Our Friends
MEHA
The Minnesota Environmental
Health Association (MEHA) Autumn
Conference will be held Thursday,
October 9, 2008 at the Broadway
Ballroom in Alexandria.
The agenda, found online at
www.mehaonline.org will include
the following presentations:
We’ve had a request to repeat the
web address for the University of
Missouri Extension Service video,
“Why Don’t We Do It In Our
Sleeves?”
“Are you still coughing and sneezing the way they did during the
plague? Into the air, your hands,
tissues and handkerchiefs?
Then you need to see this video.
You'll learn to cough and sneeze in
places that are less likely to spread
infections and keep germs alive.“
The video and accompanying
poster are amusing, engaging, informative, and available in English,
Spanish, and American Sign Language at:
http://www.coughsafe.com/
The video and poster can be
viewed online. They can also be
purchased through the website.
•
Customer Service, Keys To
Productivity And Dealing With
Change & Negativity, Mike
Kutzke
•
Compact Fluorescent Lights
(CFLs) recycling initiative in
retail stores, Matt Herman
•
Salmonella Outbreak Investigation, Erin Hedican
•
New Minnesota Well Code,
Ronald Thompson
•
Swimming Pools Update,
Steve Klemm
•
Republican National Convention - planning, summary and
lessons learned, Bonnie Holz
and Jim Witkowski
PLEASE NOTE:
MDH EMAIL CHANGING
MEHA
Now we get to be like all the other
state agencies!
MDH email addresses will no
longer include the word, “health.”
instead of
[email protected],
contact us now at
[email protected].
Food Safety Partnership (FSP)
The next FSP videoconference is
scheduled for Weds., October 15,
2008 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Videoconference sites include the
MDH Snelling Office Park (SOP) in
Saint Paul, and MDH offices in
Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud,
Duluth, Bemidji, and Marshall. Note
that additional sites will be added
for the February 18, 2009 and
future videoconferences.
The agenda, will include the following presentations and updates:
•
RNC, Inside the Xcel , Kim
Carlton
•
Sushi Restaurant Outbreak,
Tim Jenkins et al
•
Norovirus, Karen Everstine,
April Bogard
•
Epidemiology Report, Karen
Everstine
•
IARC report, Dave Kaufman
•
CCC2 report, Kris Keller,
Ken Schelper
•
MN Food Safety and Defense
Taskforce report, Elena Yepiz
•
Delegation Agreement Implementation Plan, April Bogard
•
Faith Communities Outreach
report, Karen Everstine, Lou
Ann Jopp
•
Germ City report, Deborah
Durkin
Delegation Agreement
Information and Documents
MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Orville L. Freeman Building
The new Delegation Agreement, its implementation plan,
and products of the workgroups commissioned by the
Delegation Agreement Advisory Council can be found
online at: www.health.state.mn.us/delegationagreement/
625 North Robert Street
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
For more information on the Delegation Agreement,
please contact April Bogard.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/foodsafety
Photo, courtesy of MN State Fair
PWDU Staff Contact Information
April Bogard
Supervisor, Partnership and Workforce Development Unit
[email protected]
651-201-5076, 612-296-8118
Deborah Durkin
Food Safety Partnership, Food Safety Center, UPDATE, Manual
development, food safety education
[email protected]
651-201-4509, 651-295-5392
Tony Georgeson
Rapid inspection software development, maintenance, and training
[email protected]
218-332-5167, 218-770-2119
Steve Klemm
Swimming pool construction, plan review, and inspections
[email protected]
651-201-4503, 651-238-7737
Lynne Markus
Web content, emergency response, factsheet development
[email protected]
651-201-4498
Angela McGovern
Administrative support
[email protected]
651-201-4506
Michael Nordos
Training, Evaluation Workgroup, program evaluation
[email protected]
651-201-4511, 651-775-6234
Cathy Odinot
Training, Manual development, program evaluation, Consulting
Team
[email protected]
651-201-4843, 651-373-7381