Program Details

Practice Type:	Promising
Program Name:	Don't Gamble on Food Safety
Organization:
Web site:
Overview:	During these times of budget cuts, staff shortages, and intense media interest about food safety, it is more important than ever for local health jurisdictions to work closely with the food service industry towards common food safety goals. Partnerships, teamwork, and cooperation summarize how the relationships need to be viewed. To maximize valuable training time for food service workers, the health department has developed an adult learning tool, “DON’T GAMBLE ON FOOD SAFETY,” that is truly an “out of the box” approach for most trainers. Rather than lecture, this concept is inclusive, fast-paced, and requires the participants to demonstrate their own food safety knowledge. It has a pre-arranged (allowing for maximum staff participation) Family Feud game show format, but with several twists. Teams of food service workers compete against one another for prestige, points, and prizes. A few “casino” props can elevate the theme. Acting as host, the health department staff guides the participants through team selection, competition, and conclusion, where concepts are tied to the main objective—understanding the critical issues in their specific, menu-related food service program. The show’s three categories are: WHAT’S SICK AND WHAT’S NOT: Symptoms of Food Borne Illnesses, FOOD HANDLING GONE WRONG: How we can incorrectly handle food at work and at home, and FOODS THAT GROW GERMS: Potentially hazardous foods that grow germs if left in the Danger Zone. Manager and staff feedback suggests this training has heightened general food safety awareness and accentuated the key role each individual plays in a good food service program. Feedback has shown it to be an excellent team-building tool and relevant to their work.
Year Submitted:	2004
Responsiveness and Innovation:	The need for reducing the number of food borne disease outbreaks in this country is staggering, given that 76 million confirmed cases are reported annually and that 350,000 of these cases require hospitalization, with 5000 deaths. It is a huge challenge to get food service workers to adopt practices based on the food safety knowledge given to them in training. It became clear that giving workers the “why” behind the rules would often make following these rules worthwhile for them. If they understand the “why,” they are more likely to comply. Considering the poor results of many of the inspections of food service establishments, it is apparent that more effective training tools are needed.. Skills and information learned from in-house training, city/county/state mandated food worker training, and on-going training need to be reinforced. Furthermore, these current methods need to be re-evaluated and designed to make a more positive impression on the food workers and to result in permanent changes in behavior. “Don’t Gamble on Food Safety,” allows the training to pinpoint the weaknesses of a particular program. It also uses the teamwork concept that is an integral part of every successful team in any industry. Whether the message is proper hand washing, thermometer use, or when to stay home due to illness, workers need a reason to buy into the suggested behavior. Most training sessions involve a lecture-style presentation with or without audiovisual support and/or demonstrations. Lectures and demonstrations can be dull and monotonous. They may lose the workers quickly if the instructor is not careful to keep their attention. Responding to a common concern that food safety training is dull, this tool involves the food workers in a competitive atmosphere. Managers and staff have praised this as a turning point in their programs.
Agency and Community Roles:	The role of a public health agency is to make this program available to food service establishments. The health department makes contact with a site and explains the basic format. If the site is interested in the program, the office supplies the staff time, casino decorations, and handouts to be given out at the end of the game. The food facility operator orchestrates the scheduling of staff to be available for the selected date and time, plus the room with dry erase board, seats, and prizes if desired. Some managers have encouraged attendance from different job categories; such as server, cook, bar staff, and front desk staff, providing a good mix of team members. At the event, key members of the restaurant management open the “game show.” This reinforces the concept of working in partnership for this common goal of heightening awareness about food safety. Taking a team approach with management adds to the credibility of both the public health agency and the site management by reducing the adversarial atmosphere, which may be common in regulator/regulatee relationships.
Costs and Expenditures:	Labor is the primary cost for both the local health agency and for the food service establishment, because training is face-to-face. The “game show” can be run with one health department person although two is better. Setup time is variable, depending on props. The cost for labor for the food service manager goes up with the size of the group. Funding sources for the food service establishments have come from their corporate/campus budgets. The value of the training is perceived as far greater than the initial costs—as evidenced by the fact that program staff have been invited back for repeat presentations. Grants might also be a source for academic agencies like vocational technical colleges or culinary programs. Again, feedback has proved that the expense was reasonable and worth the commitment. As the facility is not charged for this service, they perceive it as a bargain. They are also grateful for the fact that the training is done for them. It is one fewer burden on their already hectic schedule.
Implementation:	The need for reducing the number of food borne disease outbreaks in this country is staggering, given that 76 million confirmed cases are reported annually and that 350,000 of these cases require hospitalization, with 5000 deaths. It is a huge challenge to get food service workers to adopt practices based on the food safety knowledge given to them in training. It became clear that giving workers the “why” behind the rules would often make following these rules worthwhile for them. If they understand the “why,” they are more likely to comply. Considering the poor results of many of the inspections of food service establishments, it is apparent that more effective training tools are needed.. Skills and information learned from in-house training, city/county/state mandated food worker training, and on-going training need to be reinforced. Furthermore, these current methods need to be re-evaluated and designed to make a more positive impression on the food workers and to result in permanent changes in behavior. “Don’t Gamble on Food Safety,” allows the training to pinpoint the weaknesses of a particular program. It also uses the teamwork concept that is an integral part of every successful team in any industry. Whether the message is proper hand washing, thermometer use, or when to stay home due to illness, workers need a reason to buy into the suggested behavior. Most training sessions involve a lecture-style presentation with or without audiovisual support and/or demonstrations. Lectures and demonstrations can be dull and monotonous. They may lose the workers quickly if the instructor is not careful to keep their attention. Responding to a common concern that food safety training is dull, this tool involves the food workers in a competitive atmosphere. Managers and staff have praised this as a turning point in their programs.
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