Bridging the Ethnic Gap

1
Bridging the Ethnic Gap

• Communicating Food Safety at Chinese Food
  Establishments

S. Samuel Wong, PhD
MD Consulting P. O. Box 133 West Boylston, MA
01583 [phone] mdconsulting_at_charter.net
Hudson Board of Health 78 Main Street Hudson, MA
01749 [phone] swong_at_townofhudson.org
2
Chinese Cuisine in America Today

• Diverse
• Traditional American Chinese Restaurants
• Take out
• Dine in (including buffets)
• Mongolian Barbeque
• Dim Sum
• Chinese Noodle Soup Shops
• Hot Pots Restaurants
• Chinese Barbeque

3
Chinese Barbeque
4
Chinese Cuisine in America

• Most are Americanized versions of Chinese
  cuisine.
• Chop suey
• Dark-colored fried rice
• Crab Rangoon
• Fried chicken fingers
• Fortune cookies

5
Chinese Cuisine in America

• Authentic Chinese cuisine on the rise.
• Some offer other Asian cuisines
• Japanese
• Thai
• Vietnamese

6
Sushi
7
Challenges to Regulators

• Communication Difficulties
• Complex Processes and Operations in Most Asian
  Establishments
• Many dishes have multiple complex processes
  risk factors
• Unfamiliar with Many Processes Recipes of
  Chinese Cuisine

8
Communication Difficulties

• Language Barriers
• Cultural Barriers
• Societal Barriers

9
Language Barrier

• The Chinese Language
• Hundreds of Dialects
• Different ways to pronounce
• Some difference in choice of words and
  expressions
• Example ??
• pronounced as tu doe in Mandarin
• means potatoes in northern China, but it means
  peanuts in Taiwanese.
• People from southern China and Hong Kong will
  have no idea what that is.

10
Language Barrier

• The Chinese Language
• Major dialects Mandarin, Cantonese,
  Shanghainese, Min, Fokinese
• Mandarin is the national language
• Written Forms
• Simplified created by the communist Chinese
  government used by Chinese from Mainland China
• Traditional used by Chinese from other parts of
  the world (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc.)

11
Language Barrier

• The Barrier
• Most chefs are first generation immigrants with
  little or no English Language skill.
• Many owners and managers are the same.
• Most sanitarians and food safety trainers are not
  proficient in the Chinese Language.

12
Overcoming The Language Barrier

• Interpreters
• Staff servers, hosts
• School age children of the owner
• Community leaders, ethnic organizations
• Inspection forms in Chinese
• Educational materials in Chinese (ServSafe course
  book, food safety signs, Food Code fact sheets,
  food safety videos, etc)
• Chinese-speaking food safety consultants

13
Cultural Barriers

• Different Standards
• What do you mean its not clean?
• Or hot? Or cold? Or not safe?
• Standards are different between China and the US
• Even standards are different between major cities
  and rural areas in China

14
Upscale Restaurants in Shanghai
15
Upscale Restaurant Kitchen in Beijing
16
Restaurants for Peasants in a Major City in China
17
Typical Restaurant Kitchen in Suburban China
18
Open Kitchen
19
Street Food Vendors
20
Buffet Restaurant
21
Restaurant Kitchen in Rural China
22
Cultural Barriers

• Lack of Experience Knowledge
• Many food employees have little or no prior food
  service experience in China before coming here
• Learn their way up in Chinese restaurants here
• Poor habits from older chefs
• Lack of basic food protection knowledge

23
Cultural Barriers

• Person-in-charge
• Who is it? The manager? The owner? the owners
  wife?
• In most cases, its the chef!
• Male dominance
• Literacy and educational background
• Attitude towards the Authority
• Avoiding conflicts vs. Being compliant
• Schedule high risk operations

24
Societal Barriers

• Very Tight Labor Market for Skilled Chinese Chefs
• Why?
• Much less new illegal immigrants from China that
  are skilled
• Literacy and educational background
• Too many Chinese restaurants
• Results chefs choose the job (not owners choose
  the chef)
• Chef may not agree with owners requirements
• Owners reluctant to let go of a skilled chef

25
Overcoming The Cultural Societal Barriers

• Work with the chef
• RESPECT THE CHEF
• Get the chef certified (ServSafe or equivalent,
  Chinese classes) or at least properly trained
• Review high risk operations with the chef
• Marinating ribs in large tubs or barrels
• Preparation of spring roll filling
• Cooling of cooked items (spring rolls, fried
  rice, chicken fingers, etc)
• Roast ducks, pigs, etc.
• Chinese-speaking food safety consultants

26
Multiple Complex Processes

• Multiple risk factors in a single recipe
• For example
• Roast ducks
• Roast pork
• Spring rolls
• Fried rice
• Unfamiliar with complex recipes

27
Peking Roast Duck

• Complex process (typical)
• Receiving of frozen ducks
• Thawing under stagnant water in large sinks
• Dressing
• Washing Draining
• Blowing
• Marinating
• Precooking
• Drying
• Roasting
• Displaying for sale

28
Roast Pork

• Complex process (typical)
• Receiving of fresh pork
• Trim off fats
• Frozen storage
• Thawing in stagnant water in large sink
• Cut into thick slices
• Marinate in large trash barrels or tubs at room
  temperature

• Roasting
• Cooling at room temperature
• Cold storage
• Reheat in salamander per order, or
• Dicing into small cubes and used in fried rice

29
Fried Rice

• Complex process (typical)
• Receiving
• Dry storage
• Washing
• Cooking
• Cooling (typically at room temperature overnight)

• Rinsing (under warm running water)
• Draining
• Reheating in wok
• Holding (at room temperature)
• Reheating per order

30
Spring Rolls

• Complex process (typical)
• Receiving
• Storage
• Preparation
• Cutting vegetables
• Cutting pork
• Pressing of vegetables
• Cooking of pork
• Mixing of filling

• Wrapping
• Raw eggs as adhesive
• Frying
• Cooling at room temperature
• Cold storage
• Reheating per order

31
Overcoming the Challenge

• RESPECT THE CHEF
• Establish and Maintain good rapport with the chef
  (not just the owner)
• Conduct HACCP-based inspections
• Review these special operations (roast pork,
  fried rice, etc.) with the chef
• Discuss the changes needed on these special
  operations WITHOUT citing as violations
• Goal Achieve compliance through education and
  guidance
• Enforcement as last resort
• Chinese-speaking food safety consultants (Who
  Else!)

32
Typical Violations

• In Asian Establishments

33
PHF stored in ambient temperature
34
PHF stored in ambient temperature
35
PHF stored in ambient temperature
36

• PHF stored in ambient temperature
• 2. Food stored on floor

37
Hot holding violation
38

• Hot holding violation
• Sneeze guard missing

39
Cold holding violation
40

• PHF stored in ambient temperature
• Improper material for multi-use food container
  (carton box)
• Cross contamination (box for raw chicken used to
  hold cooked chicken fingers)

41
Thawing at room temperature (not completely
submerged under running water)
42
Thawing at room temperature
43
Cross Contamination
44
Cross Contamination
45
In-use utensils between-use storage
46
1. Contain not food-grade (trash barrel) 2. No
barrier on dispenser
47
Food contact surface cleaning frequency
48
Bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food
49
Handsink access blocked
50
Cross Connection
51
Dirty dishes waiting to be washed
52
Bridging the Ethnic Gap

• Communicating Food Safety at Chinese Food
  Establishments

S. Samuel Wong, PhD
MD Consulting P. O. Box 133 West Boylston, MA
01583 [phone] mdconsulting_at_charter.net
Hudson Board of Health 78 Main Street Hudson, MA
01749 [phone] swong_at_townofhudson.org