Modernist-Cuisine-Vol.-1-Small

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FOOD SAFETY
Researchers establish the scientific
basis for food safety in the laboratory, but it’s up to
cooks to apply that knowledge in the kitchen. To
do so properly, we must ask ourselves two main
questions: “How can I prepare food that is safe?”
and “Am I following the appropriate laws and
regulations?”
To answer the first question, you must learn
how to apply a series of scientifically basedbut
often deceptively simpletechniques. Thorough
hand washing, for example, is arguably the single
most important way to improve food safety, yet it
is so simple that many people take it for granted
and either don’t do it well or don’t do it at all. In
the preceding chapter, we discussed other simple
steps that help to ensure safe food preparation;
we’ll discuss hygiene in this one.
To answer the second major question related to
food safety, you must know what rules to follow.
Laws and regulations govern a variety of kitchen
practices because food safety is a matter of public
health. It’s not just a good idea for cooks in restaurants
or other commercial settings to follow these
rules; it’s the law! Your kitchen will be shut down
or you will face other punitive measures if you do
not comply.
There’s also a substantial set of informal food
safety recommendations that carry less regulatory
weight than laws but boast a far wider sphere of
Cheeses made from raw milk are banned in many countries, yet
millions of Europeans consume them without incident. The United
States has a crazy patchwork of different raw cheese regulations.
Federal government standards forbid raw milk cheeses aged less
than 60 days to be imported into the United States or to cross
state lines, but individual states have their own rules for cheese
made and sold within their borders. As a result, 24 of the 50 states
do allow raw milk cheese; the remaining 26 states ban it. Raw milk
cheeses can be made and sold in New York, for example, but are
banned in New Jersey. In Canada, most provinces ban raw milk
cheese aged less than 60 days, but Quebec allows them. How can
the same food be safe in one place and unsafe in another?
influence. You can’t read a cookbook or foodrelated
web site without encountering this wellmeaning
counsel. “You must cook chicken to 74 °C
/ 165 °F” or “Pork needs to be well-done to avoid
trichinellosis.” In many cases, the advice has been
passed down for generations, and these word-ofmouth
directives have become as influential as the
official rules.
In a perfect world, the practical steps that make
food safe would match those specified in the rules,
regulations, and informal recommendations, and
everybody would be able to learn and follow one
clear set of guidelines. In reality, food safety
regulations are often complicated, contradictory,
and unsupported by scientific evidence. Rules in
one part of the world can differ markedly from
those in another, for example, yet it seems unlikely
that pathogenic bacteria are really all that different
in New York City, London, and Paris. The guidelines
our mothers gave us may be no better. Some
“commonsense” notions about keeping food safe
are merely incomplete; others are outright wrong
and dangerous.
To help make sense of all the conflicting,
incomplete, unsound, or truly confounding
regulations and advice, this chapter will explore
the current state of food safety rules. We’ll use the
term “rules” to cover official regulations as well as
informal recommendations. We’ll review the
source and scientific basis of some procedures and
dispel misconceptions about others. We’ll seek to
illuminate the rule book for the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), and we’ll also
propose our own short list of food safety rules.
Finally, we’ll provide some instruction on how to
comply with official regulations and follow other
crucial tenets of food safety.
DISCLAIMER:
This book cannot and
does not substitute for
legal advice about food
regulations in the United
States as a whole or in any
U.S. legal jurisdiction. Nor
can we guarantee that
following the information
presented here will prevent
foodborne illness.
Unfortunately, the many
variables associated with
food contamination make
eliminating all risk and
preventing all infections
virtually impossible. We
cannot accept responsibility
for either health or
legal problems that may
result from following the
advice presented here. If
you operate a commercial
establishment and serve
food to the public, consult
the rules and health
regulations in your area.
164 VOLUME 1 ·· HISTORY AND FUNDAMENTALS
FOOD SAFETY 165