Keeping a sanitary kitchen is paramount for all of us in the food service industry.  As professional Chefs we are on the front lines in that battle.  The Wausau Daily Herald reported on an outbreak of food-borne illness that sickened 40 to 50 people and might be linked to food served at a high school potluck dinner .

Shortly after reading that article I found an MSNBC article by JoNel Aleccia citing an analysis by a university scientist suggesting the contamination is in cooked and ready-to-eat products.  The article quotes Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, chief of prevention and response for a division of the CDC.  “There are no documented cases of people getting Clostridium difficile infection from eating food that contains C. difficile, however, because C. difficile has been found in some retail meats, that possibility does exist.”

The fact that C.diff can survive most cooking methods concerned me and I went on a hunt for more information.

This page on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides information regarding Clostridium difficile with sections on an overview, Prevention & Control, and Data & Statistics.

Wikipedia has much information, too, with a section titled “Notable Outbreaks” citing instances dating back to 2003.

Judith Graham, writing in the Chicago Tribune, discusses the growing rate of C.diff  infections in hospitals and provides a link to HealthMap . An interactive site where you can track diseases globally.

Merck has this information.

I spoke with J. Glenn Songer to clarify my thoughts, and came away from that conversation feeling reassured that I don’t need to ditch my braunschweiger and liver sausage.

The topic does, however, stress the importance of the constant awareness that we must have.   Vigilance, proper temperature controls, and sanitation procedures are the main tools we use in our kitchens to safeguard our diners from worry.

We’ve seen people wearing surgical masks in public to ward off the airborne varieties of invasive bugs. The practice is more apparent in Asian countries with dense populations.
In professional kitchens the use of surgical gloves is common,  but I just don’t see myself sporting them while going about my business in the public arena. That could put an end to my already challenged social life. I’m leaning toward adopting the habit of using anti-bacterial wipes to battle the seemingly endless legions of mutated crawlies we are breeding.

The blog Ideal Bite has a discussion about the merits of disposables versus cloth-and-wash that is worth reading.

Those tools at the end of our arms seem to be the main source of potential exposure.  As a young chef-to-be I learned in my sanitation instruction to always use a paper towel to open the door upon exiting a bathroom for the simple reason that many people don’t. ( Where’s that hand been?)

I think the bleach infused hand wipes might just be the ticket.

Thanks for showing us the way Monk. Let me shake your hand. – On second thought………..