PWDU - FSP Update - May 9, 2018

Minnesota Department of Health sent this bulletin at 05/09/2018 02:42 PM CDT

Partnership and Workforce Development Unit - Food Safety Partnership Update

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May 9, 2018

Tip of the Quarter: Employee Illness

Part 1: Employee and PIC Responsibility

This Tip of the Quarter is the first part in a four-part series diving into the topic of employee illness at Minnesota food establishments. Our state often receives national recognition for our ability to detect and investigate foodborne outbreaks. But how can regulators and food establishment operators partner to do a better job preventing outbreaks?

Because food employees are the key to preventing food illness transmission, it makes sense that the food code address the role they play in keeping customers free from illness. According to CDC, Minnesota is one of 31 states who have adopted FDA rules about Workers Working While Sick. Minnesota’s food code has two citations related to person in charge (PIC) and employee responsibilities.

PIC must require reporting
Food employees are required to report

PIC must require reporting

Minnesota Rules, part 4626.0040 addresses the responsibility of the PIC to require employees and prospective employees to report:

Foodborne illness symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, jaundice)
Boils and open wounds
Diagnosed illnesses

During inspection, an inspector should ask the PIC, “How are your employees made aware that they need to report illnesses or illness symptoms to you?” Inspectors can then ask follow-up questions based on the PIC’s response.

"We talk about it when they are hired."

An effective follow-up question is, “Can you show me your employee training plan?” Some establishments require food employees to sign paperwork making them aware of their reporting responsibilities. Inspectors should ask the PIC to look at training plans or an example of a reporting agreement to determine compliance with this requirement.

"I'm not sure."

Maybe the PIC is unaware of their responsibility to require employees to report symptoms and illnesses. In this case, the inspector can step into the educator role. FDA, MDH and local agencies all have resources available

MDH Illness Reporting for Food Service fact sheet
City of Minneapolis Food Safety (Food Safety Inspection videos available in several languages)
FDA Food Code (see forms 1-A and 1-B in Annex 7)

Food employees are required to report

Minnesota Rules, part 4626.0055 specifies that food employees must report their symptoms and illnesses to the PIC. Assessing compliance with this requirement can be tricky. If the establishment has an employee illness log, reviewing that is a good place to start. If the establishment doesn’t have a written log available, you can ask an employee, “How are you feeling today?”

"I'm fine, thanks!"

Once the conversation is started, the inspector can follow up with more questions such as “If you were feeling sick, what kinds of symptoms or illnesses would you need to tell your manager about?”

"Not so great, actually..."

In the unusual event that an employee tells an inspector they are ill, you can follow up by saying, “I’m sorry you’re sick today. Do you think it is still OK to be working? Maybe we should talk to the manager.” This can open up a window to learning for everyone: the employee, the PIC and the inspector.

Coming soon...Part 2: Exclusions and Restrictions