Montana has a great program for restaurant employees. Each preparer of foods to the public must go through a special program where they learn at what temperatures food must be served and how to keep the place clean. It is through this program that MT ranks among the lowest in the country for food poisoning. E. coli bacteria is very unlikely in MT because as part of this program they learn all the other important food preparation rules. The signature program? It is called ServSafe. And each employee must complete this program.

I was in a McDonalds, another franchise system, maybe you have heard of it. That they had the certificates of completion hanging in the front of the store to show full compliance and give customers a feeling of security when eating their happy meals and Chicken McNuggets. One great thing about this program in MT is that it only needs to be in one language since all the employees speak English. We congratulate MT on their proactive aggressive attack on disease and food safety. Soon I hope to see this program available on the Internet for everyone, everywhere. It unfortunately will need to be in many other languages. So employees can view the information online and take a test online. Every restaurant from a 500 square foot bar and grill in Key West to the Mexican restaurant in Burlington, WA next to the coin-op carwash with the dirty awnings, along the railroad tracks where we ate at last week.

ServSafe is a great program. We have come so far in this country from refrigerated refer trailers and trucks to walk in energy efficient coolers. We have fixed our problems with poultry, pork, beef and fruit drinks. The dairy industry to the bloods in hospitals we have things other countries still cannot claim. There is no need to run this country into the 3rd world from our lackadaisical approach to our jobs and lives. We have stamped out many diseases and have state of the art everything, we should pay attention to those things we often take for granted. ServSafe is a great program by people who understand the real world.

I would also like to offer another important issue. We need toilet paper, which is strong enough to hold up during use to prevent the spread of E. coli. Businesses are encouraged to buy cheap and thin toilet paper to save money by their CFOs who are beholden to their stockholders to shave costs. The problem is they are actually causing a potential situation in their food preparations. POTWs often ask Proctor and Gamble and other makers of toilet paper to make them easy to decompose, however if it is not strong enough to hold up to the task it causes even a bigger problem with the spread of disease.

If every employee washed their hands with soap and very hot water after the trip to the rest room, and each and every employee knew the importance of heat in food they would eliminate nearly every incident caused in food poisoning at restaurants and QSRs.

Since many restaurants are our customers for my company, I happen to see this issue from an insider's perspective. Having experience selling accounts to companies for window washing and concrete cleaning, we are aware of this situation and we are also happy to be involved with the washing out of Trailers for companies like US Food Services, Sysco, ALDI Foods, and many wholesale produce and meat companies. We understand the necessity to clean the insides of these trailers to prevent the spread of disease and bacteria. This is why we not only use 180-degree+ water at 3000 PSI, but we also reclaim the affluent so it goes no further as moisture can assist in bacteria growth and standing water attracts the laying of mosquito eggs.

SafeServ is an excellent program and it should be duplicated in all countries and all parts of the US. We need to watch our food supplies and pay attention to the risks associated with them.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs