Intro.

Safety & Sanitation

Week 1: The Big Six

The Big Six Pathogens are Salmonella Typhi, Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS), Shiga toxin-

producing Escherichia coli (STEC, also known as E. coli), Hepatitis A, and Norovirus. They differ

however from regular pathogens due to the fact they originate from an infected person’s feces in very

high numbers and can be transferred to food easily. The symptoms of contracting these fodborne

illnesses could range from diarrhea, vomiting, fever, nausea, abdominal cramps, and jaundice which is

a yellowing of the skin and eyes. The transmission of these pathogens occurs when workers do not

wash their hands after using the restroom, being in contact with a person who is sick, sneezing or

vomitting onto food or food contact surfaces,or when workers touch dirty food-contact surfaces that

contacted raw meat, seafood, or poultry and then touch food.

The most likely suceptable foods to bacteria are beverages and ready-to-eat foods with

salmonella, poultry, meat, milk, dairy, produce, and eggs with non typhoidal salmonella, potatoes,

tuna, shrimp, macaroni, and chicken due to contaminated hands or water having Shigella, and lastly

ground beef or produce contaminated with E. Coli. Salmonella Typhi is prevented with the exclusion of

diagnosed salmonella carriers, washing hands, and cooking to the minimum internal temperature. Non

typhoidal Salmonella is prevented by cooking poultry and egg to minimum internal temperatures,

avoiding cross contamination, and excluding sick workers. Shigella prevention is done by exluding sick

workers, washing hands, and controling flies inside and outside the operation. And the bacteria E. Coli

is prevented when excluding wokers who have diarrhea and diagnosed with a disease from the bacteria,

cooking ground beef to minimum temperature, purchasing only from approved suppliers, and

preventing cross contamination betweeen raw and ready to eat.

 The most likely suceptable foods to viruses are Ready-to-eat foods, and shellfish from

contaminated water having hepatitis A or norovirus. The proper prevention of norovirus is to exclude

staff who either has been diagnosed with Hepatits A or norovirus, washing hands, avoiding bare hand

contact with ready-to-eat food, and purchasing shellfish from approved reputable suppliers.

And the proper prevention of Hepatitis A is identical to Norovirus yet also excluding staff who has had

jaundice for seven days or less.