Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Going Nuts

I am a little pissed off today. I woke up this morning to hear of another recall, this time its pistachios. What is going on in these plants. At our hotel we have 2 kinds of health inspections, one is done on the state level that happens a few times a year. The other inspection is done by a company that our corporate office hires to come in. This inspection is like the states inspection on steroids. The inspector is ruthless, which he should be as he goes through our property. Even if my temperatures are off by 2 degrees, it is a violation. My question to the health department is, how are we suppose to protect our customers when the raw ingredients are contaminated? Are these products being tested before they leave the factory. If someone knowingly distributes unsafe product, they should be jailed. Its murder playing with people's lives like this.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Chef,
The problem lies within the company. USDA & FDA have strick HACCP guide lines for meat and fish not on nuts. The nut company should have GMPs & SSOPs in place to prevent this. The FDA is cutting inspectors due to the budget and this is the result. The nut company should have in place 3rd party audits. Your hotel does them and so does mine and I'm sure you will agree they are tuffer than the state inspections.
Keep up the good work!