Overcome Communication Barriers to Food Safety

There are some practical strategies that can help bridge the training gap, regardless of language spoken. Color-coded equipment and utensils take the guesswork out of the preparation process, helping to prevent cross-contamination of raw meats and other products. Zone isolation reduces cross-contamination between different zones of an operation, isolating contaminants to a particular area. Colored day-of-the-week labels communicate food rotation principles and use-by dates, using color as a guide rather than language. Posters with colorful images depicting refrigerator storage order, food allergens, and handwashing are constant reminders of proper procedures for employees, regardless of cultural background or learning ability. These strategies all help to bridge language gaps that may exist in any operation and can strengthen a food safety program.

FDA research shows that foodservice workers are oral culture learners, learning more effectively through visual demonstrations and storyboards than written text methods. Eastern Food Safety has gone one step further with a series of “show-and-tell” videos, seizing teachable moments and communicating proper food safety practices while crossing multiple learning and cultural barriers.

Our goal is to use whatever tools we can to teach and reinforce safe food handling practices. This is especially true of establishments that may not have corporate support for trainings or a food safety director implementing systems. Whether you are a restaurant owner, line worker, vendor or regulator, we need to act as partners to find workable food safety solutions that will help us all. We need to seize these teachable moments and tell employees not only how to do certain tasks but also why they should be done in specific ways, applying accurate information based on science.

Only by working together can we help keep our customers safe from foodborne illness and our businesses efficient and profitable.

Cindy Rice, RS, MSPH, CP-FS, is president of Eastern Food Safety. Ms. Rice is an epidemiologist, certified food safety educator, and consultant for the food industry, regulators, and consumers. A national speaker and author, Ms. Rice is a food safety expert for Ecolab, writing for Food Safety Solutions, The Griffin Report, and other trade publications. Her own publications include Don’t Pick off the Croutons (an allergy handbook), Pocket Guide to Food Safety, PIC Manual, and a series of online training videos for the foodservice industry. Eastern Food Safety information may be found at www.easternfoodsafety.com. The company may be reached at [email protected].