Expert Opinion: Q&A with Chip Manuel, PhD.

GOJO, Inc. recently hired Dr. Chip Manuel as the company’s Food Safety Science Advisor. With a strong passion for food microbiology research and a PhD in food science, Dr. Manuel is an expert in norovirus and Listeria – and continues to publish papers and speak at international conferences to bring awareness to major food safety concerns.

Here is a recent interview Dr. Manuel did about the current state of food safety.

Q.
In the most general of terms, when you hear “Food Safety” what does that term mean to you?

A.
Food safety means that you're producing a nutritious and wholesome food product that is consistently safe to consume. If facilities are doing food safety correctly, they will always be confident in the product they produce.

Q.
What’s the one thing you believe all people affected by food Safety should know?

A.
48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths: that’s how many lives are impacted by foodborne illness each year. In my mind, that’s unacceptable. And let's be honest, we probably have one of the best food safety systems in the world. But still people are getting ill. So, I think there's a need for continual improvement. Those numbers are just staggering. But the numbers are not front of mind for everyday food workers. General food workers or food handlers know that if they do a job wrong, it can result in people getting sick. I don’t think they necessarily know this can result in people dying.

Q.
You’re known for your work with norovirus and Listeria. What interests you most about those pathogens?

A.
Norovirus is responsible for 58% of all the foodborne illnesses in the U.S., so it’s considered the number one cause of all foodborne illness. As a virus, it requires a host to grow, which presents a variety of unique challenges. It can also survive for weeks on surfaces which can make it difficult to control without proper disinfection.

We still don't understand norovirus completely. Scientists haven’t really figured out a way to culture the virus until recently, and even now, it's not perfect. There are still a lot of things we don't know about the virus. How does it replicate? How does it cause vomiting and diarrhea? These are questions scientists are currently trying to answer.

Q.
And what about Listeria?

A.
Listeria is a complex bacteria that has a bit of a dual life cycle. While the bacteria has evolved over the years to be very good at surviving in the environment, it has also evolved to be very good at growing inside of people. It has a unique life cycle that can even trick the host’s immune system.

The other reason Listeria is such a concern is that even though it causes relatively few illnesses every year, it causes about 19% of all the deaths each year attributed to foodborne illness. It is a very serious illness that continues to cause headaches for the food industry.

Q.
As diners have more ways to learn about pathogens and food safety, what are the red flags you believe these diners look for when at a restaurant?

A.
Diners equate a safe restaurant with a clean restaurant. And diners will always take a step back and just look at the overall general cleanliness of the entire place—not just the dining area but also the parking lot, the restroom, etc.

Myself as a consumer, I'm always aware of pests or odd smells. Fruit flies are always a good indication that the restaurant isn’t cleaning something properly. And odd smells could indicate trapped water, backed up drains, or just a general indicator of not cleaning. Sometimes smells can be a bigger concern than the visuals.

And let’s not discount the hygiene of employees too. For example, food handlers not wearing hair and/or beard nets are red flags.

Q.
As we build more and more awareness around food safety, what are the daily, common or easy things restaurants should always do?

A.
First, I would focus on proper glove use. Gloves are intended to prevent bare-hand contact in a food preparation setting, which is very important for preventing foodborne illnesses from agents like norovirus. However, sometimes food handlers incorrectly use gloves. Sometimes there’s a perception that food handlers can touch as many different types of food they want when they’re wearing gloves. But what they forget is that gloves are not worn to protect the worker from the food, gloves are worn to protect the food from the workers.

Second, I would focus on a policy of frequent disinfection of high touch surfaces. High touch surfaces, such as bathroom door handles, faucet handles, etc., can contribute to the spread of foodborne pathogens such as norovirus. Choose to have a policy that includes a daily or twice daily disinfectant schedule - that goes a long way to help prevent outbreaks. I’d love to see a culture of consistency–make high-touch surface disinfecting part of the everyday process within a restaurant.

Finally, I think the entire food industry could improve on compliance. Whether that is handwashing compliance, Sanitation Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cleaning compliance, proper concentrations and use of sanitizers, whatever it is… it’ll be a huge win for the industry if we figure this out. If we always strive for a culture of continual improvement in compliance, we will see a reduction in outbreaks and illnesses.

Q.
There is always room for improvement, but what’s the one thing you believe restaurants do well?

A.
One of the core pillars of food safety involves cooking food to proper internal temperatures before serving, and I think in general the industry does this well. Part of this stems from a high profile outbreak in 1993 related to undercooked hamburgers which resulted in a more general awareness of the importance of internal cooking temperatures. I think the general public is also more aware of this as well, as I continue to see more and more people using thermometers to check internal temperatures of cooked food.

Q.
So what food safety incident led to you putting a spotlight on the work you do? What’s a story you can share that drives your work?

A.
What motivates me today is my belief that safe and wholesome food is a basic need that everyone should have access to. I think that drives me more than anything.

Q.
Now that we know your story, what’s a food safety fact you’ve always found interesting?

A.
It only takes 18 to 1,000 norovirus particles to get you sick. I’ve always found that interesting because when someone vomits, there can be several million virus particles released per vomit episode. Think about how many infectious doses can occur in one event. Literally enough to get thousands of people sick. And on top of that, vomiting can aerosolize the virus, which can deposit norovirus on surfaces in the environment. It really goes to show you why norovirus is such a concern in food service, especially when vomiting occurs in a restaurant.

Q.
And what about myths? What are a few myths or misconceptions about food safety?

A.
Sometimes people think visibly clean means safe from microbes. Not true. There are lots of nooks and crannies where pathogens can hide and escape cleaning and sanitation. The same goes with clean hands. Just because hands look clean, doesn’t mean you don’t have to wash them.

Q.
In this position, what will you do for the foodservice industry?

A.
In my new position at GOJO, I want to work with the industry to share and conduct research that will benefit us all. I want to uncover new information that can help make food safer and hope to create new innovations in handwashing and surface sanitation.

I'm hoping to bring a voice to not only GOJO, but for our industry, and to food safety experts. What I ultimately hope to do is use my expertise to advance food safety – whether that is with regulations or filling knowledge gaps. That's my mission.