Addressing the needs

ESR1-05

An estimated 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths were caused by food-borne diseases in the United States in 1999, according to the National Centers for Disease Control.

South Dakota is no exception. According to the South Dakota Department of Health, South Dakota saw an estimated 60% overall increase in enteric diseases. These are often associated with food-borne illness.

A majority of the reported cases can be traced to public eating establishments. The increase in consumption of restaurant food has been accompanied by an increased risk of illnesses transmitted by food handlers. The report did not include the incidence of Norwalk Virus, which has become the leading cause of food-borne illness across the state and nation.

Handling food safely is a health issue; it is also good business South Dakota has approximately 3,000 foodservice establishments licensed at any given time by the South Dakota Department of Health. This does not include hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living centers, and public schools.

The money spent on eating away from home is important to the business climate of this state, and the cost of an outbreak of food-borne illness from unsafe food handling can be devastating to an establishment.

Handling food safely is not only a health issue, it is also good business. The National Restaurant Association uses the following statistics to show the financial importance of safe food handling:

• On a national level, the average household spent $2,235 or $894 per person on food eaten away from home (2001).
• In South Dakota 2,172 eating and drinking establishments employed 25,700 people with a projected sales estimate of $764,183,000 (2000).
• The amount of food dollars spent eating away from home in South Dakota is higher than the national average by $150 (2000).

ServSafe® is the curriculum of choice
Since 1997, South Dakota law has required that at least one individual in each foodservice establishment be a Certified Foodservice Manager. The Department of Health approved the ServSafe® course as the curriculum of choice for this certification. Three other courses have also been approved to meet this requirement:

• TAPS (Training Achievement Program for Sanitation), specifically used by a grocery store chain out of Grand Forks, N.D. It has a national proctored exam.
• National Sanitation Foundation Foodservice Manager Certification Program.
• Dietary Managers Certification Program Certified Food Protection Program.

These courses can be offered through a traditional classroom, the Internet, or by CD-ROM. All participants are required to pass a proctored nationally approved exam.

These courses are excellent educational programs that contribute to reducing the unsafe food-handling risks associated with food-borne illness. Many foodservice operations certify more people than required by the state because they know the importance of handling food safely.

Who teaches ServSafe?
The Department of Health must approve all ServSafe® instructors. Those teaching ServSafe® in the state of South Dakota are:

• South Dakota Retailers Association.
• SDSU Cooperative Extension Service.
• HRS Foodservice Company (based out of Aberdeen)(no classes scheduled).
• Mount Marty College dietetics program.
• Restaurant owner in Lake Norden.
• SDSU academic one-hour credit course beginning in Fall 2005.

The Department of Health maintains a calendar on its website that lists all classes being taught. The SDSU Cooperative Extension Service (CES) offers approximately one course to every eight taught by the South Dakota Retailers.

Nineteen classes are identified for January through May of 2005. Seventeen of these classes will be offered by the South Dakota Retailers Association, one will be offered by CES, and another will be offered by a restaurant owner in Lake Norden who will receive assistance in teaching the course from the local Extension educator. The administration of that course is entirely conducted through the local business.

Very rarely is a class canceled because of a lack of participants. New owners, foodservice managers, and employees who need to be certified are continually entering the workforce.

The CES and the South Dakota Retailers Association are establishing a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the teaching of ServSafe® courses. New courses offered by the CES are not being scheduled until the Memorandum of Understanding is completed.

ServSafe® lessons cover food from purchase to leftovers
ServSafe® was developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). NRAEF certifies instructors and markets their certification program through the state divisions (South Dakota Retailers Association).

The ServSafe® course and other food safety courses address food-borne illness risks associated with the mishandling of food through the entire system (purchasing to serving as a leftover). The course is 8 hours long (except for many hospital and school personnel who require more hours). Following the course, participants take a 90-question exam and are informed of their score within 2 weeks. A score of 75% is required for passing.

Instructors must purchase the book, exam answer sheets, videos, curriculum, and other educational resources through the South Dakota Retailers Association. Some costs are the following:

• Text book with the exam answer sheet for each participant, $54.00
• Exam answer sheet by for each participant, $30.00
• Videos/DVDs, $452.00 (introductory offer $352)
• Curriculum—instructor CD-ROM, $249; instructor tool-kit, $349
• Other expenses—travel, postage, lodging, copies, refreshments.

These expenses are passed on to participants in the course. The fee that CES presently charges is $95.

Besides offering courses to all types of licensed foodservice establishments, CES educators and the CES food safety specialist work directly with school foodservices, hospitals, and nursing homes to assist them in maintaining their certification. These facilities have a separate national organization that has specific requirements for foodservice manager certification. The School Foodservice Association requires a 10-hour course.

A recent example highlighting this work features a small rural school in western South Dakota that needed to certify eight people while they continued to provide their daily services. It would have been very costly and inconvenient to this small facility to send people to a course that was not provided locally. CES responded to this need.

ServSafe® is a very intense course and requires studying a 10-chapter textbook while memorizing and applying many new terms and concepts. The educational background of those taking the class ranges from no high school education to advanced degrees. There is also great diversity in age—from 18 to over 70. Instructors prepare the participants to pass the exam and help the participants identify and change unsafe food handling practices in their establishments.

CES involvement (2002-2004) is in rural South Dakota
CES educators started teaching ServSafe® courses at SDSU to students in dietetics in 2001. In the spring and summer of 2002, communication with the South Dakota Department of Health identified a need for ServSafe® courses to be delivered in more remote parts of the state while also providing a recertification process for food workers who took the initial ServSafe® course 4 or 5 years earlier. CES responded to this need by working with CES educators with a strong background in food safety and nutrition.

Eight CES educators are certified by the National Restaurant Association and have obtained approval from the Department of Health to teach ServSafe®. CES ServSafe® instructors do not teach ServSafe® or recertification courses in Sioux Falls, Pierre, or Rapid City. This need is met by instructors from the South Dakota Retailers Association.

CES has taught a total of 29 ServSafe® classes, certifying 431 foodservice personnel. Classes have been taught in the following communities:

White River
Parker
Eagle Butte
Yankton
Mitchell
Lake Andes
Mobridge
Timber Lake
McLaughlin
Huron
Sturgis
Watertown (no longer offering)

CES has also assisted the private industry in teaching ServSafe® courses (a restaurant owner in Lake Norden and the dietician for HRS Foodservice Corporation). This has involved a total of five courses certifying approximately 120 people.

CES works with South Dakota Child and Adult Nutrition Services to provide a 10-hour ServSafe® course at its conference and School Foodservice Institute. In eight courses over 150 school foodservice personnel have been certified. Not included are in-services that some Extension educators have provided for their local schools, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living sites, and Headstart staffs.

Recertification course (2004) was developed by CES
CES also has responded to the need for recertification by developing, with the South Dakota Department of Health, a recertification curriculum, Serving Food Safely in South Dakota is Good Business, for foodservice managers.

This 4-hour course (including exam time) is recognized only in the state of South Dakota. The course was designed to meet the standards of the South Dakota Food Code and to address the critical safe food handling practices that are of concern in the state.

An estimated 280 people completed the 4-hour recertification course in 2004. The response from participants has been very positive. One of the benefits they receive is that, as licensed foodservice managers, they do not have to repeat an 8-hour course and take another national exam.

Approximately 20 people (CES and non-CES) have been trained to teach this course, taught across the state primarily by 12 CES educators.

Recertification was offered in the following communities in 2004:

Parker
Yankton
Belle Forche
Sturgis
Hayt
Aberdeen
Mitchell
Chamberlain
Lake Andes
Mobridge
White River
Redfield
Martin
Hot Springs
Winner

The HRS Foodservice Companies dietician assisted in developing the curriculum, and the South Dakota Beef Industry Council and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration provided funding to assist in initial development and implementation costs.

Employee training is an ongoing need
Since the foodservice industry experiences a large turnover of employees at all levels of the industry, foodservice managers have overwhelmingly identified employee safe food handling training as an ongoing need.

CES has developed several employee fact sheets for foodservice managers to use in their establishments. These consist of one page with specific safe food handling information on one side and a worksheet on the other side. CES is also in the process of developing a video for foodservice establishments to use in training their employees.

The South Dakota Beef Industry Council is providing funding for the video, and a grant proposal has been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration to assist in covering expenses.

Food biosecurity network is in place
The safety of our food in South Dakota is vital to the agricultural, processing, and retail industries and to consumers. Safe food delivery is critical in context with the potential threats to the world food supply.

Other audiences targeted by SDSU family and consumer science CES educators include volunteers serving food to large groups, operators of temporary food stands, specialty processors, and youth.

As food safety trainers and educators work together across the state, their efforts provide a unified network in meeting the food safety needs of the people of South Dakota.

Resources:
Meyer, L. Survey of needs for recertification of foodservice managers. Research project presented for Master of Science, Family and Consumer Sciences, Nutrition Food Science, and Hospitality Specialization, South Dakota State University, 2003.

SD DOH Public Health Bulletin, December 2004.

Post evaluations
The post evaluations and those distributed at the completion of a training session overwhelmingly state the value of the course. Some of the following comments were made:

• “While I did not specifically use the fact sheets, all information was used and discussed at the seasonal re-orientation.”

• “All the information serves all food business well. I find that your class helps greatly when I try to teach my employees. You do a great service and foodservices benefit from their managers being better informed. Thanks.”

• “Kept the training moving… Discussions were interesting to listen to… very impressed… good opportunity to update knowledge and skills… instructor very helpful.”