Norm Faiola

t has been more than a year since Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and left a massive swath of destruction. Recently, we faced a national foodborne illness outbreak associated with fresh spinach. Hopefully, we will soon know the source of contamination that mandated a recall and voluntary destruction of fresh spinach crops. Also, hopefully, coastal areas affected by Katrina will be farther down the path of rebuilding and resuming normal operations.

Katrina and the latest outbreak related to spinach are examples of how natural disasters and contaminated products create disruptions in our operations. These range from minor inconveniences, for management and guests, to loss of property— and in extreme cases, loss of life.

Your operations cannot be totally protected from disruptive forces, either naturally occurring or intentional (bioterrorism or adulteration of product by a disgruntled employee, for example). However, you can develop plans to minimize the effects to your food and life safety systems. In many cases, the level of disruption to the normal functioning of your systems is more a matter of reaction (or lack thereof) than the magnitude of the initial force.

Do you have crises management plans in place? How often do you dust off the manuals and update policies and protocols? How often do you proactively run through scenarios?

What is one major life blood of any food service operation? What was the major force driven by wind that devastated coastal areas and is an alleged vehicle for contamination in the outbreak associated with spinach? Water! Water is a key component in our sanitation programs. We need great volumes to operate, and we must minimize infiltration of unwanted/contaminated water.

What if you had flooding in your geographical area—or in one of your operations from natural forces or by mechanical failure (i.e., a broken pipe)?

Even minor flooding can cause major changes in operating environments. Water is a vehicle for transmitting all kinds of biological and chemical contaminants. You need a plan for water (read contamination) removal and the cleaning and sanitization of surfaces.

• What can you salvage?
• What should you salvage?
• How do you handle the excess trash generated when contaminated products are discarded?
• How do you isolate contaminated products so no employee or external parties consume them?

WATER SUPPLY PLAN
Disruption in a water supply can mean no water at all or no potable water. The latter is potentially more devastating and not readily apparent.

• How would you know if you are using contaminated water for normal operations?
• How would you know if you are using potable water?
• Do you test the water regularly? Is this an engineering function or a joint function with F&B oversight? Do you have a source for testing on short notice?
• Do the local health department and water authority have systems for warning you of problems?
• Who is the in-house contact and how would this information be communicated to all parties in-house?
• Are you prepared to keep operating with a limited water supply?
• Can your plumbing systems be isolated to keep contaminated water from reaching other units in the operation?
• Are there modified menus to implement?
• Are back-up disposable service wares ready (and stored on “high ground”)?
• Are alternate feeding sites planned to handle a shift in customer volume?
• Are handwashing systems planned at critical locations so staff and guests can maintain proper personal hygiene?

PRODUCT RECALL PLAN
We can and should ask similar questions for product recalls. How did you handle the spinach recall?

• Did you quickly isolate any recalled spinach, in both storage and production?
• If you lease out your F&B operations, did these units have a procedure in place to pull products out of service?
• What were the alternate menu items; how did you communicate them to staff?
• How did you communicate your operation’s position to the public?

Here are two examples, but when developing plans include loss of power and other utilities. And don’t forget another area, namely an internal foodborne illness or flu outbreak, that sidelines many employees. Considering the “what ifs” now is far easier than after the fact. Prior planning in a more relaxed setting beats problem solving on your feet (when they may be in 12 inches of water).

Norm Faiola, Ph.D., is associate dean and associate professor, Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management, Syracuse University. Email Dr. Faiola with questions or comments: nafaiola@syr.edu.