very important to plan out how
the kitchen will handle cross
contact.”
cross
contamination
vs. contact
Hired as a chef at Walt Disney
World, Orlando, Fla., in 1998,
Joel Schaefer, CCC, CHT,
served in the then newly
created position of culinary
development and special
dietary needs manager from
2005 to 2009, handling about
160,000 special needs meals
per year. Schaefer is now
president of his own company,
Allergy Chefs, Inc., based in
Jacksonville, Fla., specializing
in food allergy and special
diets training, as well as
product development. He has
developed a unique training
program to teach food allergen
safety to the foodservice
industry. Meanwhile, his first
book, Serving People with Food
Allergies: Kitchen Management
and Menu Creation (CRC
Press), will be released soon.
Clarifying the distinction
between cross contamination
and cross contact—and how best
to avoid both—has long been
one of Schaefer’s top priorities.
“A food allergy is an immune
response to a food protein,
also known as an allergen,” he
says. “These proteins cannot be
destroyed by heat, so the use of
common cooking equipment is
not a safe cooking procedure.
The only way to remove a food
allergen from a cutting board,
serving utensil or cooking
equipment is to properly
wash and sanitize the items
following proper HACCP
[Hazard Analysis & Critical
Control Points] procedures.”
For example, if you’ve made a
salad with green peppers, but
the guest is allergic to green
peppers, you can’t simply
remove them from the bowl
then serve the same salad.
“Change gloves, wash your
hands, use different utensils,
a different bowl and make the
salad from scratch,” Schaefer
says. “It’s about training—and
having empathy for the
customer. They’re putting their
life or their child’s life in your
hands. If you have a question,
tell the guest, so they can
decide to eat the item or not.”
At the Student Center Tally
Food Court at Ball State
University, Muncie, Ind.,
chef Jason Reynolds, CCC,
does not hesitate to check
the ingredient label if he has
uncertainty. He and his staff
aim to handle everything as
if everyone has a food allergy
or is a vegetarian. All utensils
and cooking equipment,
including the grill, is
designated “for burgers only,”
“for chicken only,” etc.
“We post details of the menu on
an electronic menu board and
include many of the ingredients
in the title,” Reynolds says.
“A lot of our recipes are from
scratch, so we know what’s in
them. If our staff doesn’t know,
they’re told not to guess. I’m
always out there at the chef’s
station, so they know to ask
me, and if I don’t know, I’ll go
check the labeled ingredients of
items we’ve used.”
Late this summer, Gary Jones
stepped into the new position
of culinary dietary specialist for
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Jones, who has held a variety
of positions on the Disney team
since 1986, has this advice
for aspiring culinarians: “As
a culinary student, you think
in terms of HACCP, checking
sanitation and safety every step
of the way. You also need to
know all the ingredients plus
points of cross contact and
what’s physically on either side
of you during prep and on the
serving line, or you could make
someone really sick.”
New York-based award-winning
journalist Karen Weisberg has
covered the issues and luminaries
of the food-and-beverage
world—both commercial and
noncommercial—for more than
25 years.
TOP EIGHT TRIGGERS
The eight foods that trigger
approximately 90 percent of all
food-related allergic reactions are:
1MILK
2 SHELLFISH
3EGGS
4PEANUTS
5 TREE NUTS
6FISH
7WHEAT
8SOY
FOOD ALLERGY RESOURCES
The Culinary Institute of America’s
ProChef website, www.ciaprochef.
com/foodallergies, offers recipes
and videos with leading food
allergy experts.
Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network,
www.foodallergy.org/section/for-food-industry-and-food-service,
provides free resources such as
posters and chef cards, and tips on
welcoming guests with food allergies.
National Foundation for Celiac
Awareness, www.celiaccentral.org,
offers printable guides, recipes, a
list of gluten-free manufacturers
and other educational resources.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/
FoodAllergens/ default.htm, provides
resources for consumers and industry
regulation information.
