Environmental Detective Work Can Curb Foodborne Illness Outbreaks
In foodborne illness outbreaks, it can take days to weeks before victims report symptoms or sources of illness are uncovered. By the time an investigation starts, the potentially contaminated food can be long gone. But, the environment the food was prepared and served in can be stable and helpful in figuring out where an outbreak started and often the cause of the contamination. Certain pathogens, like salmonella, can linger in overlooked areas such as inside equipment or under tables. Food inspectors who know where to look can collect and test them.
Enter environmental sampling.
Not only can environmental sampling help identify sources of contamination but it can also help retail food establishments improve processes such as sanitation.
There is an art to using environmental sampling as a tool for solving outbreaks at the retail food level.
The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) in conjunction with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and several states including Tennessee, New York, Iowa, and California have pushed Environmental Sampling to the forefront with a series of trainings that allow its students to learn in a laboratory type environment.
“This training allows participants to learn where and how it is best to sample an environment,” says AFDO executive Director Steven Mandernach, who also serves on the training team. “Even more important is trying it out – that means hands on learning to use the tools correctly for the most accurate and helpful results.”
“Environmental sampling has been used in food processing for years, but it’s relatively new to the retail world outbreak investigations. This training helps inspectors become better detectives,” says Mandernach.
The hands-on session does look a lot like a scene out of an episode of a detective show taking the participants through the entire process of an investigation culminating with a series of sampling activities. Environmental sampling might require crawling under restaurant equipment or taking apart appliances or serving stations to swab surfaces that could be hiding outbreak-causing clues.
Trainings include practicing the techniques learned in the classroom sessions in several mock environments. Trainings use real world retail food environments.
Teams work in multiple environments to expand their experience. They discuss the most likely locations for bacteria to hide while gloving up and swabbed the suspects with sponges and swabs. The samples are sealed into plastic bags and carefully labeled so clues are preserved for analysis.
These practical exercises are backed up by the why of all the activities. “If you know why, it’s so much easier to understand why sampling execution is important,” Mandernach adds.
Students learn about good locations for sampling, what constitutes good sampling technique, and the importance of documenting and labeling samples. They learn that putting on rubber gloves and preparing sample packets is not as easy one might think.
Next Training Opportunity Optional Box
Registration is open for this unique and effective training to be held February 4th and 6th in Ames, Iowa. A day-long training for those who will be training others will be held after the first session on February 4th – that session is a requirement for the train the trainer session on February 5th. Learn how to train your staff to properly conduct an environmental sampling in retail food establishments for outbreak investigations including practical exercises. These sessions will be held at Iowa State University’s Hansen Agricultural Student Learning Center from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day. Registration is open at the links below.
Environmental Sampling Training
Tuesday, February 4 – https://afdo.org/event-3636692
Thursday, February 6 – https://afdo.org/event-3636700
Environmental Sampling Training Train the Trainer
Wednesday, February 5 – https://afdo.org/event-3636751 (Note you must have completed the training session on February 4th to participate in this train the trainer session and will be practicing delivering the training on Thursday, February 6.)