LRA Members: Help provide valuable feedback to the La. Dept. of Health & Hospitals

As part of the Louisiana Restaurant Association's advocacy activities, we work in collaboration with state entities that regulate and have oversight for our industry. Last year, we passed an updated permit fee initiative for all foodservice establishments in Louisiana, working in close association with the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH). We planned this modest fee change for over 18 months and had gained the assurance from the Governor's office that if the bill passed, he would sign it into law. (This is one of the few fee bills Governor Jindal has signed during his term.)

The funds generated were dedicated to maintaining our state's outstanding record of food safety in our restaurants, catering operations, convenience stores, hotels and other permit holders. We asked the DHH to add a new position that would provide outreach to the industry while carrying this feedback to the field sanitarian staff to ensure more consistency in site visits and reporting. In addition, they committed to add several new sanitarian supervisors around the state that could provide additional follow-up when a permit holder had an issue with their assigned sanitarian. Another enhancement to the DHH system will be their installation of an upgraded field reporting program that will be consistent across the state. 

We are circulating this electronic survey request from the DHH for LRA members to complete. Mr. Scott Green of DHH, who serves as their quality control liaison, will be reviewing the responses and then meeting with the Chief Sanitarian and Assistant Secretary to assess how the industry thinks they are meeting their responsibilities.

Please click HERE to access the survey. It should only take a few minutes to complete. Your responses will be anonymous and used to assist the DHH in measuring how they are doing and what they can improve on.

The deadline to complete the survey is Friday, August 8, 2014. The survey can be found here. 

Food safety and sanitation core of LRA benefits

As a partner in Food Safety with the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals, the Louisiana Restaurant Association is the largest provider of food safety and sanitation. Since 1999, when the state legislature mandated as least one person at each foodservice establishment complete the eight-hour course, ServSafe®, the LRA has trained nearly 28,000 restaurant employees in the principles and techniques to maintaining a safe environment for patrons to dine.

ServSafe is a nationally-approved
curriculum developed by the
National Restaurant Association and
offered year round by the LRA.

ServSafe is a nationally-approved curriculum developed by the National Restaurant Association and offered by the LRA’s staff of trainers weekly across the state. The new ServSafe Essentials, 6^th edition, was recently released and blends the latest FDA Food Code, food safety research and years of food sanitation training experience.

“This is a trusted food safety program with roots in the foodservice industry,” said Pam St. Pierre, VP of Member Services. “ServSafe is designed to help you protect your customer’s health, improve employee performance and preserve your restaurant’s reputation.”

ServSafe Essentials covers foodborne illnesses, including information on specific foodborne pathogens and biological toxins, such as shellfish poisoning, contamination and food allergens. Other areas covering are purchasing and receiving guidelines, food preparation, holding and serving guidelines, food safety management systems, sanitation guidelines for facilities and equipment and integrated pest control.

“We have a team of Certified ServSafe Instructors that collectively have more than 100 years of restaurant industry or regulatory experience,” said St. Pierre. “They are seasoned food safety and sanitation experts and provide practical, real-world experience to complement your training.”

Primarily managers go through the eight-hour course, while ServSafe Food Handler is offered for front and back of the house staff  in a condensed session of two hours.

Last year, California mandated that all foodservice employees complete the ServSafe Food Handler and more states and municipalities are looking to adopt that practice. Since the mandate, the California Restaurant Association has trained more than 350,000 restaurant staff in the two hour course, which is offered online.

ServSafe Food Handler covers five sections including basic food safety, personal hygiene, cross-contamination and allergens, time and temperature, and cleaning and sanitation. In addition to the full ServSafe course, the LRA also offers to come to your place of business and train your entire staff for a mere $25 per staff member. 

ServSafe classes are held in metropolitan areas across Louisiana and online registration is easy and available 24 hours a day. LRA members pay only $99 which includes the course book and exam. The non-member fee is $150. To schedule an on-site ServSafe Food Handler, please call the LRA at (504) 454-2277.

Interested in a ServSafe class?  You must register at least two weeks prior to the class and your materials will be mailed upon receipt of payments. Course materials and exams are also available in Spanish, but please allow four weeks for delivery of Spanish materials.