National Food Safety Education Month: The Basics about Pathogens

This year, the theme of National Food Safety Education Month is "Get Smart About Foodborne Illnesses: Understanding, Managing, and Preventing Outbreaks." We'll be highlighting the educational material here because they are great references for everyone in the food service industry. Week 1 at the Food Safety Focus website is a refresh on pathogens, and week 2 is all about how to respond to an outbreak.

Pathogens -- and especially the Big 6 -- are a big part of the ServSafe® Food Protection Manager class. For many students it's the first time that they're hearing about these illnesses, but the bottom line is that being aware of how dangerous they are makes us better food handlers. And what happens if there is an outbreak in our operation? Simple mistakes can lead to huge health consequences for our customers. Not only is education important, but following standards for mitigation are crucial. Knowing how to work with your health department and following procedures for investigations help us navigate the result of an outbreak.

Head over to our website for a full list of resources you can save, share, or print from these first weeks of National Food Safety Education Month 2024 -- these are great ways to help refresh everyone from managers, to kitchen staff, to hosts!