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A high-end Toronto grocery storewas recently ordered shut down temporarily due to public health violations. The event focused attention on food safety. Writer Anjum Nayyar spoke to Professor William Navarre from the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Genetics, who looks at bacterial virulence and food safety about common problems targeted in an inspection.

Q. What things do inspectors generally look for during the inspection of a restaurant or food store or other place where food is sold?  What are the most common problems they find?

A. What they’re trying to control is bacterial infection in the food and viruses in the food being ingested by people. Their method of doing it is to make sure food is being refrigerated, countertops are being kept clean, that there are no pest issues. Improper refrigeration is most certainly a huge issue.  If they have a butcher department and are preparing the meat, then food preparation must be done with good practices. For example, they must ensure that juices from raw chicken do not get on the same countertop that they use to make a tossed salad. Keeping track of expiry dates is also important. 

Q. What causes a food establishment to be shut down?
A. Typically it’s when they’re not following proper procedures and could get people sick. Improper storage of food, not refrigerating well, improper mixing of raw ingredients, evidence of not washing hands after going to the bathroom and pest issues. It’s rare, however, that pests get people sick; rather they’re an indicator of bad hygiene and improper food storage in general

Q. How can surfaces act as transmission sites for bacteria?

A. Most bacteria can’t grow on a steel countertop. There are no nutrients on the countertop for them to feed on. They just stay there and can contaminate other food that touches that surface, especially if the countertop wasn’t cleaned properly beforehand.

Q. How quickly can an insect or pest infestation have an impact in transmitting disease or bacteria?

A. Pests can eat some of the food in a store or restaurant. They get in at night into a bin that has chicken salad for example, and if that has Salmonella, they can track it around on their feet. Rats themselves can be infected with bacteria that can get humans sick with diarrhea as well. Pests are a sign of poor hygiene, but most instances of food poisoning outbreaks come from contamination that occurred on the farm or in food processing upstream of the establishment. 

Q. When cleaning equipment and surfaces, what is necessary to ensure they are clean enough to be safe? Any special cleaning routine or products?

A. Soap is one of the most valuable things we have.  Most bacteria and viruses that cause disease are effectively eliminated by washing with soap.  When we look at the most common causes of food poisoning, they are Campylobacter, Salmonella, Listeria and E. coli bacteria, all of which can be controlled by just cooking your food to proper temperatures, keeping things refrigerated and washing countertops. If you’re dealing with raw chicken or eggs, just assume it has Salmonella in it.  Good dish soap is essential.

Q. What should a consumer look for when entering a food establishment to determine if it meets cleanliness standards?

A. I can’t give anyone a simple rule. But if you see a restaurant where the people who are handling the money are not the same ones handling the food, that’s a sign they do have good food handling procedures. Consistently wearing gloves when handling food is also a good sign that the restaurant is following proper food safety procedures.