Sliced tomatoes have some new rules , but need clarifications

[GotRocks]

Due to a salmonella outbreak years ago, sliced tomatoes are now considered a potentially hazardous food.
I can understand that, when they are not cooked, and served as an RTE product (Salads, & such)
What I am not getting an answer to; is if you only use them on pizza, when they are cooked as a topping with a finish temperature well above the 165F minimum to kill Salmonella.

 

[RobT]

It’s my understanding that anything over 165 degrees would kill it.

A call to your local health Dept should get your answer .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GotRocks]

It’s my understanding that anything over 165 degrees would kill it.

A call to your local health Dept should get your answer .

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah see. My local health department doesn’t know a heck of a lot of anything outside what is printed in their books, they are well known for mis-citing incorrect statutes and trying to apply rules where they do not apply,
We get “What I’d like to see” instead of what the actual law is. I have gone over their heads so many times to get clarifications at the state level, I should have an express elevator installed.
They’ll choose words to take out of context in a rule, but ignore the rest paragraph.

A memorable issue was an inspector telling me that we are required to cook steaks and roasts to a minimum temp of 135 degrees for a time no less than 112 minutes, she ignored the italics text of that paragraph that this does not apply to whole intact muscle meats such as steaks and roasts.
Another issue was curing/smoking our own bacon, she say the word “Curing” in a paragraph about potentially hazardous products, but ignored the part about “As a method of preservation” I went through the same issue years ago because she mistook cooking BBQ is “Smoking as an act of preservation”

between the labor force, and inspectors who do not know their materials, it’s enough for me to want to call it quits soon.

 

[noreason]

I once got into an argument when all the sudden my inspector decided the hot water in the bathrooms wasn’t hot enough. Said it had to be 160 degrees fahrenheit to kill germs… I told them I’d love to see you wash your hands from a 160 degree tap…

These guys walk around in their white coats like they are some sort of scientist but they are far freaking from it.

 

[Tom_Lehmann]

I would think that the acidity of the tomato would also help???
Since the salmonella typically comes from a source of external contamination washing/rinsing them prior to use in an approved sanitizer should do the trick. Good grief how do they want you to serve watermelon, above 165F?
You’re going to need a hot line to the University’s Food Science Department.
Are you sure it’s not something in the water up there???
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

 

[GotRocks]

I would think that the acidity of the tomato would also help???
Since the salmonella typically comes from a source of external contamination washing/rinsing them prior to use in an approved sanitizer should do the trick. Good grief how do they want you to serve watermelon, above 165F?
You’re going to need a hot line to the University’s Food Science Department.
Are you sure it’s not something in the water up there???
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

Water?
Nobody drinks water around here, Because fish fart in it.
The sliced fresh tomato deal I can understand because of recent salmonella outbreaks , but inspectors are supposed to look at your menu and nowhere does our menu have fresh tomatoes served without them being cooked on a pizza, we do not do salads either, this is from the feds, and my state adopted the fed code entirely http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceReg...yAssistanceandTrainingResources/ucm113843.htm

This is Wisconsin!

 

[rgjujitsu]

We do oven dried tomatoes on sandwiches, slice thin, salt and pepper, in a 250 oven for about 30 minutes on a sheet pan wire rack. sweet intense flavor and now they are cooked!

 

[bodegahwy]

Just read the whole piece in the link above… It looks to me like as long as tomatoes are kept refrigerated and used within 24 hours of being sliced there are no issues.

 

[GotRocks]

Just read the whole piece in the link above… It looks to me like as long as tomatoes are kept refrigerated and used within 24 hours of being sliced there are no issues.

Yup, but that applies when serving as an RTE products, my inspector is barking at me trying to apply those rules where they do not apply/