Read the Quarterly Retail Food Newsletter!

September is National Safety Education Month! You, the retail food operators in Broomfield, play an important role in keeping the public healthy from foodborne illness! Take a look at some of the top risk factors that can lead to foodborne illness and the best practices that your establishment can put in place to prevent it:

• Good Personal Hygiene: The main source of viruses associated with foodborne illness is humans. If employees are sick, they need to stay home from work and report their symptoms to their manager. While at work, food handlers should wash their hands frequently, avoid eating or drinking when preparing food, and wear proper work attire.
  • Insider inspection tip: Ensure that establishments have an illness policy that includes employee and manager responsibilities including:
    • Information on when employees should be restricted or excluded from work (including symptoms of illness that should be reported to the person in charge). Check out this resource from StateFoodSafety: The Food Worker Illness Flowchart.
    • Information on the six highly infectious pathogens that can be transmitted by food handlers if working while ill. Check out this resource from StateFoodSafety: Keep Food Safe.
• Proper Cooking: Foods need to be cooked to the minimum safe temperature to prevent bacteria growth that could cause foodborne illness.
• Cross-contamination Prevention: Protect your food from contamination by implementing good food safety practices, such as separating food equipment and utensils after handling raw food products and using wiping cloths appropriately.
  • Insider inspector tip: Consider having specific cutting boards/utensils associated with different meats/fish to avoid cross contamination as meats/fish require different minimum internal temperatures.
    • Check out this resource from the Partnership for Food Safety Education: Get it Straight- It's Safer to Separate.
    • If using wiping cloths to sanitize surfaces, always ensure the cloth sits in a sanitizer bucket to keep the cloth protected from bacteria growth that could occur.
• Proper Cleaning: Always wash, rinse, and sanitize food contact surfaces, equipment and utensils using an appropriate sanitizer every four hours to prevent bacteria growth.
  • Insider inspector tip: Using test strips or DishTemp plates, regularly check the concentration of the sanitizer solution and/or temperature in the 3-compartment sink or dishwasher to ensure proper sanitization is occuring.
    • Quaternary ammonia (quat) sanitizers should be between 200-400 parts per million (ppm).
    • Chlorine sanitizers (such as bleach) should be between 50-200 ppm.
    • DishTemp plates or dishwasher temperature sensors used to measure high temperature dishwashers should indicate the hot water sanitizing dish machine raised the temperature of the dishes to at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using these tips can help your customers stay healthy and safe, which will make them come back year after year!

2024 Food Forum: In years past, Broomfield Public Health and Environment has hosted an in-person Food Forum. This year, we're going digital! The goal of this online forum is to collect your feedback, so BPHE can provide better resources and services to your business. BPHE's retail food program staff want to support local food operators' success! Provide your feedback on inspections, regulatory concerns, accessibility and equity, and more. The forum is open until Sept. 30. Don't delay - submit your feedback today at BroomfieldVoice.com/Food-Forum!

️ Basic Food Safety Awareness Course: The Environmental Health Specialists at the City and County of Broomfield offer a food safety course that can be hosted at your establishment or at the Health and Human Services building in Broomfield! The cost of the course is $100 per hour, and all staff are welcome to join the training. To schedule a food safety class, please call 720-887-2220 or email [email protected].

Additional Resources for National Food Safety Education Month: