I’m a stickler for food safety. Ask my students. They’ve heard it a million times:
Wash your hands often.
Change hand and dish towels frequently.
Sanitize kitchen sponges.
Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables.
Keep hot food hot and cold food cold.
Pay special attention to the handling of raw fish, poultry and meat.
And never eat raw eggs!
There’s a lot we can do in our own kitchens to protect our families from food-borne illness. But what about eating in restaurants?
In my dictionary, kosher means “fit” or “proper”. So I would hope that a kosher restaurant would pay some attention to cleanliness and food safety.
Think again.
My own painful experience involved salmonella poisoning from raw egg “hidden” in the salad dressing at an expensive Manhattan restaurant. I reported them to the health department. But my husband still checks on their status occasionally via the internet. He found this in the recent records of the New York City Health Department:
Sanitary Violations
1) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2) Pesticide use not in accordance with label or applicable laws. Prohibited chemical used/stored. Open bait station used.
3) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
4) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
5) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
6) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
7) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations.
8) Cold food held above 41 degrees F (smoked fish above 38 degrees F) except during necessary preparation.
9) Hot food not held at or above 140 degrees F.
Wash your hands often.
Change hand and dish towels frequently.
Sanitize kitchen sponges.
Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables.
Keep hot food hot and cold food cold.
Pay special attention to the handling of raw fish, poultry and meat.
And never eat raw eggs!
There’s a lot we can do in our own kitchens to protect our families from food-borne illness. But what about eating in restaurants?
In my dictionary, kosher means “fit” or “proper”. So I would hope that a kosher restaurant would pay some attention to cleanliness and food safety.
Think again.
My own painful experience involved salmonella poisoning from raw egg “hidden” in the salad dressing at an expensive Manhattan restaurant. I reported them to the health department. But my husband still checks on their status occasionally via the internet. He found this in the recent records of the New York City Health Department:
Sanitary Violations
1) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2) Pesticide use not in accordance with label or applicable laws. Prohibited chemical used/stored. Open bait station used.
3) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
4) Hand washing facility not provided in or near food preparation area and toilet room. Hot and cold running water at adequate pressure not provided at facility. Soap and an acceptable hand-drying device not provided.
5) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
6) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding.
7) Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor of food operations.
8) Cold food held above 41 degrees F (smoked fish above 38 degrees F) except during necessary preparation.
9) Hot food not held at or above 140 degrees F.
Kosher? Yes (There’s even a kashrut supervisor on the premises.)
Safe? Not in my book.
What can you do?
Some cities, including New York, post restaurant inspection reports on the internet. If not, ask your local health department about the restaurants you frequent. If there’s a problem, let the manager know that you won’t eat there until they clean up their kitchen.
Don’t endanger your health or the health of your family and friends.
Support kosher restaurants that care about food safety. Let them know that it’s as important to you as their kosher supervision.
Some cities, including New York, post restaurant inspection reports on the internet. If not, ask your local health department about the restaurants you frequent. If there’s a problem, let the manager know that you won’t eat there until they clean up their kitchen.
Don’t endanger your health or the health of your family and friends.
Support kosher restaurants that care about food safety. Let them know that it’s as important to you as their kosher supervision.
Live in New York? Visiting Soon?
The New York City Health Department's list of restaurants included 53 with the word “kosher” in the restaurant’s name. I looked at those and found only three that failed to pass the city's health inspection. But those three failed big time, with scores of 47, 54 and a whopping 85.
I did a random check of restaurants under supervision of one of the larger kosher certification agencies. The majority passed inspection. Two notable exceptions: The restaurant where I got salmonella received a score of 76. It’s “sister” restaurant, under the same ownership, got 37 points.
Diner beware!
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