The Butte-Silver Bow Health Department is helping local establishments stay up to speed with changing food regulations.
Any “food establishment” – a business that sells food – needs to have a certified food service manager on staff by 2016, said Butte-Silver Bow sanitarian John Rolich.
“There’s a variety of ways of becoming a certified food service manager,” he said. Some companies bring in trainers to conduct classes for their employees, but Butte-Silver Bow has also put on three classes so far this year.
The regulations aren’t really any more stringent in the past, but are aimed at stepping up internal enforcement of existing rules by food establishment staff – “active managerial control,” as Rolich called it.
There are three major categories of health rules, he said:
-- Employee health and hygiene, focusing on things like keeping sick workers at home and hand washing;
-- Proper cooking and storage, which emphasizes adhering to cooking items thoroughly and moving stored items into cool storage to prevent bacteria growth; a
-- Cross contamination, or avoiding using tools for preparing items like raw chicken for other tasks before they’re cleaned or mixing items that could cause allergic reactions.
“These risk factors are being controlled,” when the rules are being followed, he said. But “in the food industry, there’s a huge turnover.”
That can make consistent application of procedures difficult.
By requiring a worker to have specialized training, that ensures that someone is always on staff who can make sure rules are being followed.
“We’ve seen this already in establishments that had this in place before the rule was in effect,” Rolich said. “They have less violations. That should be the goal.”
Details: Butte-Silver Bow Health Department, 406-497-5020.