Among the many concerns that can keep a retailer awake at night is the prospect of selling contaminated food. Operating at a profit is important, but operating safely is even more so. The deaths and illness traced to cheese from New York’s Vulto Creamery last year raised alarms and convinced many retailers to review and tighten sanitation procedures. Unfortunately, a merchant looking for guidance relevant to cheese-counter operations will not find much.
The American Cheese Society is developing some web-based materials to guide cheese retailers in safer food handling. Sarah Spira, content manager for ACS, expects to have resources available sometime this year. In the meantime, interviews with retailers highlighted some common practices that may not be, but probably should be, standard operating procedure.
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