BOSTON -- As the market for ready-to-eat food heats up, food safety should by rising to the top of the supermarket deli's priority list.
That's what Ed DeLuca, founder of DeLuca Inc., Middlebury, Conn., a manufacturer of fresh refrigerated entrees and sauces, told attendees at the New England Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association's Conference & Exposition here last month.
Leading a seminar called "The Cold Chain Challenge," as part of an expanded educational program at this year's NEDDA conference, DeLuca urged retailers to get up to speed quickly on food safety and to make a routine practice of following Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points principles.
"Meeting the cold chain challenge means adhering to a particular sequence of procedures, from initial production to the consumption of the product, to keep the food safe to eat," DeLuca said.
Time and temperature are critical elements and the HACCP principles act as a guide to minimize contamination of any kind and to keep out microorganisms that cause foodborne illnesses, he pointed out.
"You need to be doing these things anyway. Nobody wants their customers to get sick. I can't urge you enough to get your employees trained in food safety basics. It worries me when I see a box of food being slacked out on a countertop or a table, sitting in its own puddle of water," DeLuca said.
Defrosting of product should always be done under refrigeration, he explained.
"And don't try to chill food you've cooked on-site in your walk-in cooler either. It has to be chilled quickly. That's where time as well as temperature comes in," he said.
While some retailers may not be chilling down food because they don't cook in store, they should still familiarize themselves with the HACCP principles in order to produce wholesome food, DeLuca said.
"I used to think 'wholesome' meant it tasted good, but the real definition means it's food that's free from contamination and from the likelihood that it will make people sick," DeLuca said.
"You're all involved with rotisserie chickens and mixing salads with a dressing. That makes you a quasi manufacturer, so you need to train your people in everday procedures. If an employee is checking the temperature of the chicken by putting a thermometer in its breast, it's wrong. Make sure he knows the temperature has to be taken at the thigh bone," he said.
Knowing what is required to stay within HACCP guidelines could mean staying in business or not staying in business, he added.
"The government is tough. It has no mercy. And President Clinton has said that the USDA will get directly involved in the inspection of supermarkets and restaurants. At the very least they will work through state agencies," DeLuca said.
"So I urge you to get on the offensive. Don't wait until the government starts HACCP inspections of your delis. And listen to your quality assurance director. That's who has the last say. If you override him or her, you may find yourself in jail," he warned.
"If you know what procedures your manufacturer is required to go through, you'll know why you can't hurry him," he said. He went on to explain that retailers can't expect a product to be rushed through the manufacturing process without adequate time to complete food safety procedures.
DeLuca Inc., a USDA-inspected plant, produces fresh, chilled products without preservatives and uses modified-atmosphere packaging to obtain a shelf life of 30 days for entrees and 60 days for sauces.
DeLuca stressed the fact that HACCP principles have to be observed all the way through the manufacturing process, whether it's a rotisserie chicken a retailer is cooking or a full run of entrees that will be packed at a plant.
"It's simple. It's just a matter of following a sequence of procedures."
In an interview after the conference, DeLuca recommended that retailers turn for more information to the National Food Safety Base on the Internet.
Industry and public health organizations, federal, state and local, contribute information to the Internet site, he said. The web site address is http://www.foodsafety.org, DeLuca said.
