Public Health in Action: CoronavirusThe first case of novel coronavirus 2019 in the U.S. was confirmed on January 21 in Snohomish County. As of February 25, 14 more have been identified in the U.S. More than 82,000 cases have been reported worldwide, the vast majority in China.
There is still much to learn about this virus. We are approaching this as a serious public health threat. However, the risk to the general public in the U.S. remains low at this time.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that includes the common cold as well as more severe illnesses like MERS and SARS. The 2019 novel coronavirus is a new virus in this family and can cause pneumonia. Other terms you may see to name this virus include: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, or 2019-nCoV. The viruses generally spread through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes. They also spread through close personal contact like shaking or holding hands, or touching an object or surface where the virus has been and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes before washing your hands. Steps to prevent illness include: - Washing hands thoroughly and frequently with warm running water and soap.
- Keeping surfaces and equipment washed and sanitized as usual.
- Staying home if you are sick.
If you are sick, it is important to stay home from work to avoid exposing others. This is true for any illness, not just coronavirus. If you are a manager or business owner and notice that an employee is sick, you should send that employee home. There are many causes of fevers, coughs, and other respiratory symptoms. At this time, there is no vaccine for coronavirus. Treatment is supportive care for symptoms, fluid intake, and isolation/observation. There is no cure for this virus.
Partners around Snohomish County, as well as at the state and federal level, are participating in the response to coronavirus. We are prepared to maintain this coordinated effort. While this virus is new, the steps we are taking to address it are not. Public health professionals work to investigate, monitor, and prevent the spread of diseases every day.
For more information visit www.snohd.org/ncov2019, www.doh.wa.gov/coronavirus or www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. Follow the Snohomish Health District on social media (facebook.com/SnohomishHealth, twitter.com/snohd)
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Proposed Food Code Changes in 2020The food code is currently under review and changes are set to be finalized and adopted in October of this year. We wanted to present those proposed changes to have people start thinking about how those changes might affect their establishment. These proposed changes are not final and can be changed or removed at any time before October. The Washington State Department of Health has created an outline of the top 10 potential changes. They are summarized and explained below.
1. Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM)
There must be at least one employee that is a CFPM. To qualify as a CFPM, the employee must pass one of five national, ANSI certified, tests. The CFPM does not need to be on-site, but they are responsible for training all of the PICs and making sure there is Active Managerial Control. Establishments will have a full EXTRA year to meet the CFPM requirement once the change takes effect. At this time, that would mean October 2021.
2. Employee Health
Employees must be given information/training about reporting illness to the Person in Charge (PIC) and the establishment needs to verify that they gave each employee that information. Reportable illnesses will now include any type of Salmonella, E. coli, hepatitis A, Shigella and norovirus. They must also report if they have diarrhea, vomiting or jaundice.
3. Clean up of Vomiting and Diarrheal Events
“Establishments must have a written plan to clean up vomit and diarrheal events.” The Department of Health plans to come up with sample plans/items to include for food establishments to use as a reference.
4. Bare Hand Contact with Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Foods
Any establishment that wants to have bare hand contact when preparing RTE food, must meet certain requirements and be approved by the Snohomish Health District. These requirements are still being reviewed.
5. Date Marking for 7-Day Shelf-Life
Certain ready-to-eat, refrigerated, perishable foods that are prepared in-house or in opened packages will need to be date marked and used within 7 days. When foods are not properly date marked, rather than automatically having to discard those foods, there will be the possibility of reheating or making those products safe again, depending on the food product.
6. Refilling Reusable Consumer-Owned Containers
“Establishments have the option to allow customers to bring in a clean container to fill, refill, or reuse.”
7. Dogs in Outdoor Areas
Dogs will be allowed in outdoor areas if the establishment has a plan approved by the Snohomish Health District and follows that approved plan. They will also need to notify customers with some type of signage.
8. Mobile Food Units
The whole section on mobile food units was updated to meet new state laws and approved changes. Several of the changes are on plan review requirements, equipment requirement, restroom requirements and commissary usage.
9. Donated Foods
“Several sections were changed to clarify food source and reduce limitations to help safely rescue food. Additional changes to notification are expected.” One possible change is that any place that serves donated food would need to have written approval from the Snohomish Health District.
10. Food-Specific Changes
The temperature for cooking ground meats will change to 158°F or above. Fish must be kept separate to prevent allergen cross-contact. Cross-contact means that the allergen is passed to a food that doesn’t normally have the allergen, such as using the same cutting board for fish and potatoes. Even though these things have the same cook temp, the allergen is not killed. Now the potatoes could make someone with a fish allergy just as sick as if they had eaten the actual fish.
If you would like to stay current with the status of all of the proposed changes, the information can be found here:
https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Food/FoodWorkerandIndustry
/FoodSafetyRules/FoodCodeRuleRevision |
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Become a Tap Refill StationTap is a mobile app that allows users to find nearby places to refill their water bottle on the go. By becoming a partner, you are playing a pivotal role as a part of a movement that is essential in helping eliminate single-use plastics from our environment. Zero Waste Washington, Snohomish Health District, WSU Extension-Snohomish, and other partners are teaming up to help sign up businesses and agencies in Snohomish County. The goal is to make it easy for people to refill their water bottles. |
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Why your business should sign up: - Extra foot traffic
- Community Involvement
- Eco Friendly
- Store brand or affinity
- Highlight what makes your business special (such as live music, free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating)
- Promote menu items
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How it works:
Free to sign up (fill out short business agreement)
Soon your profile will be live on the app
Sign up multiple locations, if applicable
Businesses and agencies agree to…
Provide FREE access to water
(customer facing OR employee fills bottle behind counter)
Put tap cling in your window
Update online information when necessary
(such as changing business hours)
Questions or to sign up, contact:
Marisol Diaz (Zero Waste Washington)
marisol@zerowastewashington.org or 206.441.1790
Heather Teegarden (WSU)
Heather.teegarden@wsu.edu or 425.357.6027
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Food Worker Card RequirementAll food workers in Washington are required to take a food worker card (FWC) class and pass the Washington State FWC test within 14 days of starting work. You can take this class and test in-person at the Snohomish Health District or online at www.foodworkercard.wa.gov. There are other online card sites, but they are not valid in Washington State.
The FWC is valid in the entire state of Washington for 2 years. It may be renewed for a 3 year card within 60 days before the previous card expires. 5 year cards are also available to those with approved, additional food safety training that was taken within 2 years. A certificate needs to be presented at the time of the class for verification. If you are taking this class online, you will need to email a picture of the certificate to ltax@snohd.org. Additional food safety training does not replace the Washington State FWC. No matter what other qualifications a person has, all food workers need a Washington State FWC.
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Manager Certification ClassAt this time, the Snohomish Health District is canceling all future Manager Certification classes. The class and test that we currently have will not meet the requirements of the proposed change to the food code, which would require a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) from an accredited program. We do not want to offer something that will not result in someone meeting that requirement if the law goes into effect. At this time, there are only 5 approved accredited programs in Washington. Here is a link to the 5 programs in Washington: https://www.ansi.org/accreditation/credentialing/personnel-certification/food-protection-manager/ALLdirectoryListing?prgID=8&statusID=4
This page allows you to click on each one and see what might work for you.
A big thank you to everyone who has taken this class in the past. We appreciate your commitment to keeping food safe! |
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