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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1980)
THE BATTALION THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1980 Page 5 es Stopping food poisoning Brazos County health department holds classes "»! By LYNN BLANCO JNI Battalion Staff 1116 si? .thirty minutes after Bob ate at a sea- ' ast !’» food restaurant, he began to get sick. ms ad; At first he thought he had eaten too. ut '« much; later it was suspected that he> was a victim of toxic food poisoning. sadiM no confirmed toxic food jnjJyBoisoning cases have been reported ](.- in the Bryan-College Station area 1 i lince January, contamination by f ^foodhandlers is the major source of ; .i l 1 food poisoning, said Jillaine Stiller, ii( ' lab director for Brazos County Health Department. And there are Isappe many more unreported cases. Usual- S, En ly people think they have eaten or iovlijtfflpnken too much, she said. lOanmjS Under an old city ordinance, pas- eenin jing a tuberculosis (TB) test and blood tests were needed to establish if a foodhandler is healthy. 15-tt . In January, the City of Bryan pas- “fEDSf sed an ordinance changing these re- quirements. amdiijjt People who work in eating or I ttiea drinking establishments, grocery >ts. stores or day care centers now obtain I a health card by attending a three- hour class given by the Brazos Coun- | j 1 ^ ty Health Department. The course II ’ L ' costs $5 and the health card is good for four years. It’s a more practical and educa- ionally sound idea than the previous quirements. Stiller said, adding that TB tests and blood tests found i Very little disease in the community. ! “For example, with the TB test there was never a single case found in more than three years. The blood ill test we used was for syphilis — / Ui which is not a practical way to follow syphilis in the community. You ional could go out the next day and get % both TB and syphilis. And we wouldn’t know if you had TB or n' re( l syphilis for another whole year.” P Bob Monroe, a representative for ;ntisiii the state health department in Au- kaif stin, said many other counties in Texas are turning to an educational ngk program like Bryan-College Sta- :ars I tion’s, but he is not sure of the exact /emis number. )ald( S “The basis for this change is that need the examination of the TB test and edis Venereal disease test has nothing to do with the transmission of these dis- caw eases. Instruction for the foodhand- the; lers will often be better protection ilaw for the public when educating them edve; (thefoodhandlers) in all diseases,” he :oirt said. ofM' Ann Taylor, health inspector for stou the Brazos County Health Depart ment, helps teach the foodhandler’s course three times a month at the Brazos Center. “Education replacing the needle is a great improvement,” she said. The course stress two areas: how germs grow, live and reproduce, and how to prepare food correctly. Emphasis is also placed on good per sonal hygiene. Not all bacteria are harmful, Stil ler said. There are 62 common com- People who work in eating or drinking establishments, groc ery stores or day care centers now obtain a health card by attending a three hour class given by the Brazos County Health Department. The course costs $5 and the health card is good for four years. municable diseases spread by bac teria, of which 40 percent can be spread by food. Salmonella, clostri- dium perfringes and staphylococcus were stressed as causes for food- borne illnesses in the film strips. Bacteria grow best when there are warm temperatures, an abundance of moisture, plenty of time for growth, and high-protein food on which to grow. Bacteria can double their population every 15-20 mi nutes. Major germ sources are foodhand lers, foods of animal origin and pests that inhabit many establishments, especially roaches in Texas. Some ways to prevent contamina tion deal with educating foodhand lers in the importance of good per sonal cleanliness and being aware of what causes foodborne illnesses, Stiller said. James Sandel, manager of 3-C Restaurant in Bryan, agrees that this educational program is needed. “However, the only thing I can see is that attending a class to get a health card is going to be a pain in the you- know-what for my people, but it’s going to be a good thing. “I think it’s bad that the TB test and blood tests aren’t included be cause lots of things can show up on those tests that you wouldn’t want in your restaurant. I think there should be some kind of dual system — both the course and the tests.” Michelle Martin, a student who works at McDonald’s restaurant, attended the course Tuesday. Martin said some of the informa tion was helpful. “But some of the things that were discussed, I thought were Mickey If a person does not have a health card, the health depart ment cites his employer with a violation. If that business scores less than 60 percent on its in spection report, the business could be shut down. Mouse — talked about just to take up your time.” She also said that the price is a little high and the only form of reim bursement would be if she claimed it on her income tax form. Sandel said he would probably reimburse his employees. “However, I think the state ought to foot the bill completely. We didn’t ask for it (the change).” Martin also had a solution for what she saw as a waste of time the class created: “It might be easier to hand out an exam (when you apply for a health card) and those who didn’t pass it would be required to take the class.” About 500-525 health cards have been issued under the new program. And there have been some problems with health violations. Not having a health card is the most common violation, said David Jefferson, sanitarian in training for >CAS the Brazos County Health Depart ment. If a person does not have a health card, the health department cites his employer with a violation. If that business scores less than 60 percent on its inspection report, the business could be shut down. However he said it’s hard to catch a business on this violation because more of these businesses hire stu dents and there is a high turnover rate among student workers. “Foodhandlers are very transient in this town,” said Ruth Maddox, registered sanitarian for Brazos County. “For example, Susy Jane may be cited for a violation in hair restraint one visit. And she may not be there the next time we come to check.” Jefferson said having only four in spectors also created problems. 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