Episodes
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Maintaining Equipment
You’d never buy a car and drive it until it breaks down, right? The same goes for your kitchen. Commercial equipment isn’t a set it and forget it investment. It requires a routine maintenance schedule to stay safe and efficient. Take your refrigerators and ice machines. Over time, condensing…
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2nd Annual Magic Valley Food Safety Consortium
No one likes dealing with food poisoning, the cramping, nausea, or worse. But every year, one in six Americans get sick from foodborne illness. Here in the Magic Valley, that’s 35,000 people paying the price for improperly handled food. While most cases pass in a few days, some lead to serious...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 9 | When to Call the Health Department
As a manager or owner of a food establishment, you’ve seen us initiate contact with your operation through unannounced annual inspections, or, on rare occasions when we receive a complaint. But did you know communication goes both ways? So, when should you reach out to your inspector at the…
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 8 | Preventing Cross Contamination Through Proper Dishwashing
When you’re washing dishes at home, a quick scrub with soapy water, rinse, and a towel dry does the trick. But running a commercial kitchen is a completely different ballgame and presents a major food safety risk due to the sheer volume of customers you serve. You cannot just plunge dirty dishes...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 7 | The Science of Cooling
When we think about food safety, we can easily take cooling foods down properly for granted. Some foodborne illnesses’ bacteria thrive at cooling temperatures, especially between 135 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, doubling every 20 minutes, while others produce heat-resistant spores or toxins that...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 6 | Using Test Strips
Twenty percent of the dish machines I check have one thing in common: they aren’t actually sanitizing. Whether the chemical bucket is empty or a pump line is clogged, clear water does not always mean clean dishes. The only way to know your sanitizer is working is to test it. Test strips are...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 5 | Temporary Shutdowns
Sometimes the hardest decision a manager makes is the one to stop service. An “imminent health hazard”—like a power outage, loss of water, or a sewage backup—means you can no longer operate safely. If you can’t wash hands, flush toilets, or keep food cold, you must close your doors immediately....
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 4 | Manager's Checklists
A high-performing kitchen doesn’t happen by accident; it’s the result of consistent habits. Manager’s checklists are your roadmap to ensuring food safety and protecting your business. From opening temperature checks to closing sanitation audits, these lists ensure that nothing is missed when the...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 3 | Date Marking
Listeria and other bacteria can continue to grow even in properly refrigerated food. Date marking prepared foods, opened products, and ready-to-eat food brought out of the freezer is the primary defense from Listeria growing to dangerous levels. Train your staff to date mark any food they…
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 2 | Handwashing
Proper handwashing is the single most effective way to stop foodborne illness. As the manager, you set the standard for safety by your example and your encouragement. This week, take just five minutes to quietly observe your team. Are they taking the full 20 seconds to wash or just doing a quick...
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Focus on Food Safety Episode 1 | Cold Holding Temperatures
Holding food at the proper temperature is your primary defense against harmful bacteria, and it’s something a health inspector always looks for. There’s nothing worse than an inspector discovering your refrigerator at 50 degrees and having to dispose of hundreds of dollars in product. You can...
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Starting the Conversation
This session moves beyond simple compliance to forge a collaborative partnership for public health in the Magic Valley. Led by top local, state, and national food safety officials—including Josh Jensen, J. Wing, Jarryd Samples, and Patrick Guzzle—the panel will open with a brief overview of the...
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The Food Safety Advantage (Matthew Luckock)
Food safety is often seen as a compliance issue, but what if it could be your business's greatest asset? In this session, Matthew Luckock, a Managing Partner at Texas Roadhouse, shares the operational blueprint for building a winning food safety culture from the ground up. Drawing on his hands-on...
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The Most Common Food Safety Violations in Idaho (Jarryd Samples)
Health inspections can feel like a mystery, but every violation has a reason rooted in public safety. In this practical and insightful session, Jarryd Samples, the Food Protection Program Manager for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, will pull back the curtain on the inspection process....
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Beyond Compliance
Food safety is more than a checklist of rules—it's about protecting human lives. Patrick Guzzle, a 20-year veteran of retail food safety, shares his personal and professional journey, which began after his wife contracted E. coli O157:H7. In this powerful presentation, he goes beyond regulatory...