What I Didn't Know About Food Safety Could Kill You

As part of the culinary program, I had to take and pass a sanitation course that lead to a ServSafe Certification.

The intent of the class was to prepare me to look at sanitation the way an owner or manger might.

After 10 weeks of this class and a 93 on the exam (woot!) I can now bore you with all sorts of facts on physical, chemical, and biological food contaminants.

I can also recite the required safe temperatures for all food products as they pertain to receiving, storing, cooking, and holding.

I can even develop a plan to protect food from terrorist attacks or deliberate contamination by employees or rival businesses. Yes, this was really in the textbook.

However, after learning all of this information and more, I find myself dissecting every restaurant experience, of which there have been few, on a whole new level.

I know which foods are most easily contaminated and exactly what illnesses they can cause.

Three thousand people die needless deaths each year from forborne illness. 3,000!

48 million get sick. That's 1 in 6! And symptoms can take up to six weeks to develop!

But, I really wish I had know this information all those years ago when I was a waitress.

I fear I may have unintentionally made lots of people sick.

I usually kept a towel in my pocket to wipe tables.

I frequently took dirty dishes from tables to the dish pit without washing my hands before moving on to a new task.

And, believe me when I say the in the roughly 8 years I waited tables in 3 different restaurants, I NEVER saw anyone wash lemons before cutting them to go on glasses or temperature check the salad dressings.

Knowing what I know now makes me wonder how even more people don't get sick. Actually, they probably do. They just probably don't know it is a forborne illness.

So, please take this as a fair warning that I am going to be a pain in the ass to go to a restaurant with in the future unless I know the kitchen staff.

But, really, we should just skip eating out and you should come over for dinner. I'd rather cook for you anyways. :)