Hello, my name is Ron and I'd like to introduce you to the Food Safety-matters website. I chose the name purposely because the word, matters, is a double entendre, meaning it has two interpretations. As a noun, matters refers to 'a subject that requires attention,' and as a verb, it signifies 'to be of importance.'
So, food safety 'matters' (noun) refers to the processes we utilize to ensure that foods are safe to consume. Food safety 'matters' (verb) relates to why that is important, which can be summarized in the statistics below.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on their website of April 29, 2024, posted the following:
'Each year, roughly one out of six Americans, or 48 million people, get sick; 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne illnesses.'
No one should get sick or die simply because of the food they consumed.
As if the human cost is not enough, the CDC added on the same website the economic costs associated with foodborne illness prevention. How much do foodborne illnesses cost us in the US each year? $15.5 billion in 2013 dollars. The USDA Economic Research Service released revised cost estimates for these illnesses, showing inflation alone increased the cost of these foodborne illnesses by almost $2 billion to $17.6 billion in 2018 dollars!
I believe we can all agree that food safety matters do matter. This site is committed to assisting everyone in recognizing ways to ensure that only 'safe food' is served and consumed, including offering food safety training and food safety certification for better practices.
Thank you for your visit - I hope I may be of service.
There are many websites that currently deal with food safety. What makes my website unique? I believe it is a combination of my academic training and 7 years of fieldwork experience that provides me with the expertise to assist others in resolving issues related to foodborne illness prevention.
To begin, I am a Registered Sanitarian in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. I was employed in three Public Health Departments in each state, where I served as Supervisor of the Food Safety and Inspection Program for a total of 7 years. During this time, I conducted hundreds of on-site inspections of restaurants, taverns, grocery stores, school kitchens, catering operations, and itinerant food booths at fairs and festivals. Therefore, I have encountered and assisted in resolving many of the food safety issues that commonly occur in these establishments. I am confident that I can assist you with issues pertaining to refrigeration, ware-washing, food prep, temperature control, code compliance, hygiene, and more.
Additionally, as part of my health department appointments, I functioned as a Staff Epidemiologist. In this capacity, I was responsible for investigating disease outbreaks in the community, focusing on foodborne illness prevention. Accordingly, I have investigated many cases of foodborne illness outbreaks (i.e., food poisoning). This responsibility was assigned to me because of my academic training. I hold advanced degrees in microbiology and have instructed classes on food sampling and laboratory analysis at the University of Washington. In September of 1984, while employed in Oregon, I assisted during a major incident involving the Rajneeshee cult, which involved members seeding salad bars with salmonella at ten different restaurants, resulting in 751 people becoming ill, many of whom were hospitalized. I helped interview those who became ill and delivered samples to the lab.
I have conducted joint inspections of food processing plants with federal agents of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
I have been a member of the National Environmental Health Association for 18 years and served as President of the Treasure Valley Chapter of the Idaho Environmental Health Association. I have been a featured speaker at various regional and national seminars where I spoke on "Environmental Growth Factors of Contaminants in Outbreaks of Foodborne Illness."
I have designed curriculum for the Hospitality Division of Mt. Hood Community College for the class titled "Food Safety and Sanitation" and taught the class for five years, emphasizing the importance of food safety certification.
I am a certified Instructor/Proctor for the ServSafe Manager Training Program of the National Restaurant Association, continuously serving in this role since 2008. In the interim, I have instructed numerous classes, with student numbers well into the hundreds.
I am also a certified Instructor/Proctor of the Prometric Certified Professional Food Manager Program, which designates that I have demonstrated the necessary skills and competency to train candidates for food safety manager certification.
To achieve the goal of any food safety program, it is essential that individuals involved in the preparation and service of food are well trained in recognizing how and why foods may be unsafe, particularly in the context of foodborne illness prevention.
We provide comprehensive food safety training classes that lead to Food Manager Certification. Our classes are primarily taught in the ServSafe format, but we also offer the NHEA Professional Food Manager Certification as an alternative. All classes meet ANSI standards, ensuring that participants receive quality food safety certification.
My academic background in microbiology and adult education has shaped a presentation style that stands out. I have transformed traditional classes from mundane and boring into exciting, relevant, and enjoyable experiences for learners.
Additionally, I am open to partnering with any agency or individual to collaborate in instructing their class presentations or assisting in proctoring any exams online, further promoting effective food safety training.
Over the past seven years, I have conducted on-site inspections of a diverse array of food service establishments, which has made me very familiar with the issues confronting food service managers and their employees. My expertise in food safety training enables me to effectively address and resolve challenges, ensuring compliance with local inspection agencies and NSF standards, while also focusing on foodborne illness prevention. I am here to help you achieve food safety certification and maintain the highest standards in your operations!
If you require assistance with issues that may span long time frames, particularly in the realm of foodborne illness prevention, I offer you the option to retain my services without incurring an hourly consultation fee. By choosing this service, I remain 'on call' to your firm and am as close as your cell phone, laptop, or tablet, ready to support your food safety certification and food safety training needs.
If you are seeking a speaker on any aspect of food safety, including foodborne illness prevention, for a conference, seminar, workshop, or trade show, please contact us with your proposal. Our service customizes presentations and content to suit the dynamics of your specific audience. As an experienced adult educator, I understand that it is the delivery, not just the content, that creates engaging presentations. My conversational style ensures the applicability of food safety training topics, captivating the audience and enhancing comprehension.
I tailor all presentations to the audience's needs, allowing me to use highly technical terminology when addressing food scientists or simplified language for less technical audiences, especially when discussing food safety certification.
If you are not actively seeking a speaker for your food safety training, but would like assistance in the design of a presentation or short course focused on foodborne illness prevention, we can help you with that as well. I have written curriculum for seven college courses at various levels of instruction, including food safety certification programs. I can provide suggestions for topics, develop course themes, perform research (if required), create visuals or handouts, etc. My goal is to assist you in developing content that meets your time constraints while effectively addressing food safety.
Ronald Froehlich M.S.T. R.S. is dedicated to foodborne illness prevention through effective food safety training and food safety certification programs.
