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Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Dr. Chip Manuel joined GOJO Industries in 2019 as a Food Safety Science Advisor. In this role, Dr. Manuel conducts food safety related research with the intent to improve public health, serves as a food safety microbiology subject matter expert for internal and external stakeholders, and represents GOJO Industries at conferences as a thought leader in food safety. Dr. Manuel holds a BS, MS, and PhD degrees in Food Science. Dr. Manuel’s area of research expertise is in food virology, specifically control of norovirus in food settings. For information on his research, visit his ORCiD.
Understanding the Food Safety Risks with Reusable Wiping Cloths and the “Red Bucket”
7/11/2023
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
There’s a good chance that you’ve been to a restaurant and observed an employee grab a soaking wet cloth towel from a red bucket filled with solution and then use the towel to wipe a table clean for the next set of guests. But did you know this seemingly routine practice can carry food safety risks if not conducted properly? In this article, we will take a deeper dive into the practice of reusable wiping cloths, exploring some of the potential food safety risks of this practice as demonstrated by recent scientific efforts.
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Salmonella 101: Protecting Against Foodborne Illness
6/7/2023
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Many are familiar with norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the U.S. (we covered norovirus in this blog post) – it made a lot of news headlines over the past several months due to a high number of illnesses. But you may be less familiar with Salmonella – the #1 cause of hospitalization and death from foodborne illness in the U.S., according to the CDC, and the second most common cause of foodborne illness (commonly called food poisoning).
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Top 5 Citations in Food Establishment Inspections & Prevention Tips
5/31/2023
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
It has been 30 years since the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) published the first Food Code, which serves as a model framework for ensuring food safety in retail food establishments – including restaurants, grocery stores, foodservice areas in convenience stores, caterers, and cafeterias in schools, hospitals, nursing facilities, and other institutions. State and local health departments are responsible for licensing and inspecting these foodservice operations and enforcing Food Code regulations, including potentially citing health code violations.
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What is Norovirus?
2/21/2023
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Also By Megan J. DiGiorgio, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC
Senior Clinical Manager, GOJO Industries
CDC data shows that cases of norovirus (aka "the stomach bug") are rising. Recently, there have been multiple elementary schools in the news after outbreaks. You may have even heard from friends who had a recent bout with the dreaded "stomach flu." This blog will cover the basics about norovirus to help you prepare personally and prevent an outbreak at your business/school.
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Food Safety Experts Share Best Practices for Norovirus Prevention in Food Establishments
2/1/2023
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
As we reach peak norovirus season, I wanted to share the below takeaways from a conversation I had with two top food safety experts at the 2022 Food Safety Summit. Hal King, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Active Food Safety and Founder/CEO, Public Health Innovation, and Lee-Ann Jaykus, Ph.D., William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, North Carolina State University, shared best practices to help food establishments prevent foodborne pathogens from spreading at their facilities, with a focus on norovirus.
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Slowing the Spread of Norovirus – Lessons Learned from a Global Pandemic
10/24/2022
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Also By Hal King, Ph.D.
Managing Partner, Active Food Safety and Founder/CEO of Public Health Innovations
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on global public health as well as the food industry. In the U.S., restaurant and foodservice loss of sales surpassed $185 billion between March and August 2020. During the pandemic, the adoption of enhanced sanitation protocols, such as increased frequency for high-touch surface disinfection, thought at the time to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, was widespread. This helped reduce outbreaks of norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the U.S., by over 80%.
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New Research Highlights the Importance of Surface Sanitizer Formulation for Norovirus Control
10/10/2022
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
It’s official: norovirus is back. Despite norovirus outbreaks being at historic lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus, which is the #1 cause of foodborne illness in the United States, came surging back in the first quarter of 2022 with outbreaks peaking at nearly 80 per week in March. Norovirus is a particularly pesky virus for a variety of reasons.
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Back to the Basics for National Food Safety Education Month
9/21/2022
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Did you know that an estimated 48 million people in the U.S. get sick each year with a foodborne illness? That’s 1 in every 6 people! To increase food safety awareness and spread the word on safe food handling practices, federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have deemed September National Food Safety Education Month. In this blog, we go “back to the basics” and revisit some easy food safety principles that we all can practice more frequently, which can help reduce our chances of getting sick from food.
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Unobservable Risks Associated with Reusable Wiping Cloths and the “Red Bucket” Practice
3/9/2022
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
The sights of a restaurant experience can often be as enjoyable as the food: unique dishes being shuffled to tables of smiling families amidst an appealing ambiance, all taken in from the vantage of a favorite spot. Another common sight that can be observed at a restaurant is an employee grabbing a soaking wet cloth towel from a red bucket filled with solution and then using that towel to wipe a table clean for the next set of guests. But did you know that this seemingly routine practice can carry risks if not conducted properly? In this blog post, we take a deeper dive into the practice of reusable wiping cloths within a restaurant and explore some of the hidden, unobserved risks associated with this practice.
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Managing Listeria Outbreaks in Retail and Foodservice Establishments
9/14/2021
By Chip Manuel, Ph.D.
Food Safety Science Advisor, GOJO Industries
Members of the bacterial genus Listeria are frequently found in the environment, soil, and vegetation; however, the species Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) is a significant pathogen of concern in the food industry and is a hardy organism capable of thriving in conditions beyond what other organisms can survive in. L. mono can flourish in various environments or food products, including high-salt environments, moist conditions, and more terrifyingly, at refrigerated temperatures - even below 33.8˚F!
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