People getting sick

Do any of you use the HACCP system in your kitchens?(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) I know a lot of larger chain restaurants use the system but can it be done effectively in establishments w/ smaller staffs? It sounds great in theory and would come in very handy in a situation like this. I'm just wondering how practical it is in reality.

Also, I'm not sure offering someone a free meal from a place that allegedly made them violently ill is going to go over too well. Yes, it's how we appease unhappy guests IN our restaurants therefore it's a natural response to do the same in this situation. But put yourself in their shoes...you just spent the better part of the night doing God knows what in the bathroom and the last thing you want is what made you sick in the first place. We need to show genuine concern for the guests well-being first. Ask questions, get down to the bottom of the matter, do not go into denial mode...because IF they did get sick in your restaurant and you don't find out why, it's going to happen again...and again...and before you know it, you're looking for a new job or worse yet, you find yourself in court.

[Pete]

I have found that most people who call with a food poisoning complaint just want to let the restaurant know what happened and get some empathy for their situation. It is very rarely, if you respond in a positive nature, that they want something out of it. Listen to them, empathize with them, offer to pick up the tab when they come in the next time (sorry Missy but you really should make the offer), but never admit you are at fault. Unfortunately there are those people out there trying to scam others out of money. You never know if you are being recorded and admitting fault could lose you your restaurant.
Always take such complaints as very important and investigate to see if you were somehow at fault. It is up to us to keep food safe and thus the government off our backs. If the government had its way we'd all be eating well done steaks and hard fried eggs to save us from ourselves.

Pete I agree, most people who are contacting the restaurant are not trying to do so just to get some cash, they really just want to let the restaurant to know that hey there might be a problem. As a chef I know (and I am sure that you would agreee) that it is impossible to see what every cook is doing and that they have washed their hands and are using a clean knife. I really apreaciate when someone lets me know of a problem. Ultimately knowing of problems help you keep your ship running smooth and keeps you in buisness longer. I have actually seen several restaurants that encourage patrons by way of a brief message on their menu to point out problems or mistakes.

Great discussion everyone.

Later...

[ChefRon]

We use HACCP and frankly, I hate it. It triples prep time as we must bag sauces and soups, seal the bags and drop them into ice water, then everything must be documented to death. Mostly I work with foreign language crew who can understand little English. Trying to explain the nuances of HACCP to these is like pulling teeth, not to mention that turnover is an issue as well. HACCP is fantastic if you have the luxury of affording a prep supervisor or Sous who can watch prep cooks all day long, but I have to watch the line more than the prep area, so violations will happen.

[youla]

yes Ron we also use the HACCP PROGRAM and it IS time consuming, we have to test food temperature,document it and also keep a sample of each food we make just in case of a n incident most of us hate it and we have a lot of non english speaking staff as well which makes it very hard though there are good and valid points to the program i think you need one person on the floor to do all the haccp testing,documenting etc because i dont have a lot of time. the temperature measuring is quite informative as it is surprising what some of the results have been mainly regarding cold buffet items which are on ice so we have had to change some areas here. the only other thing is taking time off if you are sick...most of us older ones have taken very few sickies because you dont want to let the team down and you know of the workload that will have to be finished well now we need 2 sick certificates one to say we are too sick to work and one to say you are well enough to work!!! a bit overboard I think.but I think just reinforcing the washing of hands constantly or wearing gloves and changing them constantly and keeping equipment and benches scrupulously clean is a big start.

Back to the original Topic for just a quick sec. The likelyhood of teh meat being the cause of the problem is not so great. As mentioned above it was probably something else.
Put your thinking caps on Chefs, How about sour cream based horseradish sauce that usually sits for a while after it has been made of many suspicious components, is handled much and usually is dished up by a less experienced food safety trained staff member like a server.
Or poorly washed parsley.
The type of illness is truly the answere here. a plate with a poorly washed piece of fruit on it for garnish could be a time bomb as well. Salmonella from a cantelope, remember?
The only reason I say the meat itself is more than likely not the problem is that it is whole muscle. Bacteria on meats is almost always occuring on areas that have been exposed to air or other surfaces. That is why signs need to be posted, but really only for ground products. A well handled rare cooked tenderlion is about as likely to get you sick as licking your fingers while counting money.... While that is gross, it is true.

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The last post said it right! Lets remeber that ECOLI is on the OUTSIDE of beef, So when we slice a tenderlion the bateria has been transfered to the cut sides of the beef. When cooked . . ecoli killed. The problem is with ground beef, when the bacteria is ground in with the rest of the meat (stuff that is not contaminated). We as professional chef, like it or not, are the ones responsible for the cleaniness of the kitchen and the food served. Not having enough crew is NOT a good reason tho let things slide. If you need more people take to the GM or owner, and if ou are the owner, find it in your budget to get someone. When some one sues for for a couple of million the $35,000 a year you'll spend on a good Sous is pocket change!!