Before the news of the peanut butter recall reached its height, operators everywhere were already moving to make sure their supplies were safe. Joann Kinsey, director of school nutrition services for Chesapeake (Va.) Public Schools, talks about how to quickly deal when bad food news hits.
When news of the peanut butter recall hit the airwaves last month, Joann Kinsey, director of school nutrition services for 40,000-student Chesapeake (Va.) Public Schools, was already in action making sure none of the contaminated products were being served. Kinsey says having a good network, not only inside of your district, but also outside has made dealing with recalls easier.
"You can't work in isolation. You have to be part of the broader network of information, especially when it comes to food safety issues. You have to have some kind of protocol set up internally-ours isn't necessarily formal. I knew what items could be affected because we have a list of every product served so I knew we had three items that could be affected. I got on the phone with my suppliers and got them to send in writing that the items we had were OK. I won't just take something by word of mouth; I want it in writing. I then sent that out to my managers who gave it to their building supervisors. That put the issue to rest.
I'm not going to wait to react to something. I'm proactive. Even before my PR person for the district was calling me to ask about the recall, I had already sent him stuff. It's all about knowing the products you serve and having good relationships and trust with your suppliers. Being connected with SNA is also very helpful."