By breaking the chain of transmission and getting rid of kitchen items that could serve as breeding grounds for bacteria, foodborne illnesses can be avoided.
What's in the Kitchen at Your Hospital? An Introduction to Food Service Hygiene. A major responsibility of infection preventionists (IPs) is to assist the hospital's food services division. A hospital's food services division meets the dietary requirements of hundreds of patients, employees, and visitors in a single day.
What's in the Kitchen at Your Hospital? An Introduction to Food Service Hygiene
According to the CDC, tainted foods and drinks cause illness in 48 million Americans each year. For the purpose of preventing foodborne diseases and preserving a survey-ready workplace, IP's involvement in their food services department is essential. When doing environment of care rounds in these regions, they must be extremely vigilant because food safety can have an influence on anyone, especially the immunocompromised population who can be harmed by small numbers of germs.
The shipping in of supplies is one area that food services occasionally overlooks. The quantity of cardboard and shipping containers in the kitchens should be controlled and limited by the food service workers. Boxes and containers may come into contact with an unidentified contaminant. Shipping boxes might travel hundreds of miles before they arrive at your hospital; as a result, they are vulnerable to moisture, humidity, vermin, and bacterial growth. Furthermore, packaging materials can be an unanticipated source of contamination.
Freezers and refrigerators
The refrigerator and freezer are two crucial kitchen areas that IPs must investigate. Food must be stored in freezers and refrigerators in a thoughtful manner. One can prevent the likelihood of any extra fluid from meat contaminating and trickling down on other products like fruits and vegetables by storing meats, for instance, on the lowest shelves. Shelf liners can also be used as inexpensive tools to build walls and safeguard ingredients. On their rounds, IPs must keep an eye on these placements to avoid cross-contamination.
According to Joint Commission Standard CTS.04.03.33, food and nutrition products must be stored under conditions that are suitable for sanitation, temperature, light, moisture, ventilation, and security. Food service staff must continuously ensure that these conditions are met, and the IP should conduct a verification. Staff members' understanding of and vigilance over these characteristics can be facilitated by training and evidence of expertise. Staff should be able to show that these parameters are regularly evaluated and that a system is in place if they are outside of their ideal window using tools like logs.
Compliance with this requirement should also show that food service staff are keeping an eye out for expiration dates and discarding food when it has beyond its expiration date. For optimum food quality, the dates on food packaging are essential.
Concurrent Infection
The risk of cross-contamination grows along with the demand for food and beverages. A variety of food selections, stations, utensils, and surfaces for preparation and serving are available in the food services section. The most common pathogens that can be found in meals and on surfaces in kitchens and dining rooms include bacteria including Escherichia coli, salmonella, campylobacter, norovirus, and hepatitis A. Before and after preparing meals, surfaces must be cleaned using disinfectants that have been certified by hospitals and manufacturers in order to avoid the spread of these diseases.
Additionally, IPs need to make sure that culinary items are cleaned and stored correctly. Cooking staff members should be cautious about how and with what kinds of meals they use their utensils, and they should avoid using the same utensils for both raw and cooked dishes.
Most significantly, since contaminated hands are the primary method of transmission for the majority of foodborne illnesses, adequate hand hygiene is crucial for preventing all foodborne illnesses. IPs must monitor and confirm that the facility's policies are being followed by the food service workers. As any IP is aware, studies show that simply washing your hands with soap and water can cut the risk of shigella and other types of diarrhoea by up to 35%. IPs can collaborate with management to confirm that gloves and hand washing facilities are easily accessible and can support a setting that encourages good hand hygiene.
Food safety in hospitals can be maintained by conducting regular infection prevention rounds in the food services division. Pathogens can enter through food services and forks and interfere with the intention to enjoy any meal at any moment.
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