Active Food Safety is excited to bring you Part III in our Emergency Preparation & Response Series.  In Part I we introduced the concept of emergency planning and outlined a few first steps including a discussion of the importance of building relationships with the regulatory authority and writing an approved emergency operating plan.  In Part II we took a closer look at the concept of a master planning matrix.  

You can review Parts I & II by clicking the following links:

Part I

Part II

In Part III we want to introduce you to EmergiProtect©, a digital emergency management tool at your fingertips.  The basic premise is that in the face of an emergency or any situation that threatens the integrity of a foodservice establishment’s food safety, managers might have access to a voluminous emergency manuals but what they really need to know is what to do right now.  Nothing is easier or more intuitive than pulling up a mobile App on a smartphone.

EmergiProtect©  delivers immediate to-do steps in the case of an illness situation (like how to screen employees for symptoms of COVID19 or foodborne illnesses), a boil water notice, an impending natural disaster, a pest infestation, a power outage, and during a bodily fluid spill event. Just handling these few situations quickly and properly can greatly reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreak and now respiratory infections caused by COVID19.

EmergiProtect© is based on science, the FDA Food Code and the principles of Food Safety Management to prevent foodborne disease outbreaks while your food establishment is experiencing adverse operating conditions or unexpected emergencies.  The contents have been vetted by regulatory professionals at the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) with additional input from industry food safety subject matter experts at leading national brands.

EmergiProtect© is best implemented by a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) or Person-in-Charge (PIC) with this training, and every shift on your schedule should have a qualified person using EmergiProtect© to:

• Prepare for a natural disaster like hurricanes
• Manage operations during a boil water notice (when tap water is not safe to drink)
• Prepare for power outages and manage the safety of your food after they occur (especially frozen and refrigerated foods)
• Respond correctly to a customer illness complaint including food allergy (to help recover customers while ensuring your food safety systems are in place)
• Manage employee illness (to ensure employees do not work while sick)
• …and more!

Emergency management, supply chain, risk & safety, training, regulatory compliance and food safety thought leaders as well as owner-operators at leading brands including McDonald’s, Brinker, Aramark, Little Caesar’s, Chick-fil-A and Sizzler USA reviewed the App during its development,  and had this to say about EmergiProtect©.

Regarding first impressions:

• Intuitive and easy to navigate
• Good basic information at your fingertips
• User-friendly
• Good graphics; suitable for operator or shift leader

Regarding the usefulness of content:

• Yes, especially if the stores cannot connect to the company protocols
• Yes, especially when communication is critical.  Good real-time guidance that clears the fog
• Yes, the information is general but very appropriate

Regarding its value:

• We would promote its use within our brand
• We would make it part of our training protocol
• Small companies without robust, professional food safety departments would find it unbelievably valuable
• Absolutely! We would distribute and promote its use among our franchisees

While it can stand alone, EmergiProtect© is not intended to replace but rather to supplement your own company’s emergency planning & response protocols which this Active Food Safety Blog series encourages you to establish.  The beauty of EmergiProtect©  is that it can be integrated into those protocols and that it offers mobile, in-hand, immediate guidance when crisis hits and chaos can prevail without it; when even the most senior veteran operator does not have time to check the emergency manual.

Throughout the App there are reminders to work with your local health department and regulatory authority to create pre-approved emergency operating plans, such as those mentioned in Part I of this Blog series, and links provide access to additional resources such as the FDA Food Code and CDC guidance on how to reduce risk from COVID19.

Perhaps best of all… EmergiProtect©  is FREE!  Please click this link to begin your journey of exploration, discovery, and solution.

Please continue watching for the next installment in our Emergency Preparation & Response Blog series where we will discuss some top-line items of concern during a gas service interruption for those with gas appliances.  

At Active Food Safety we have the expertise to help you on your emergency planning journey whether you are just beginning or already have robust plans in need of review.

Mark Miklos, CP-FS