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thank you everyone good afternoon i'm autumn schuch i'm the inspection manager for the food safety program within the kansas department of agriculture thank you for joining our first monthly webinar series presentations where we will be sharing some knowledge on a variety of food safety topics we know your lives are very busy but we are encouraged that you have chosen to spend some time with us our staff are always looking for opportunities to engage with food operators outside of official inspections and since we are all zoom experts because of the pandemic we wanted to join the online fund we hope that this web series helps to connect us so just a little bit of housekeeping before we start because that's a necessary evil um i would like to review these with you so all participant microphones will be muted through the webinar you may submit questions during the presentation by using the q a button at the bottom of your screen questions and comments will be monitored and answered by the kansas department of agriculture team regulatory considerations covered today are only applicable to those operating in kansas of course our 30-minute webinar will go quickly today today's session will be recorded and posted online for those who aren't able to attend after this session you will receive an email with a link to the webinar recording and some of the cobid19 resource materials that we have most importantly the email will contain a link to a survey of course and we really would appreciate it if you would take a few minutes to provide feedback as well as ideas for future outreach topics so without further ado i want to do some introduction of our speakers we have a team of three inspectors presenting today about remote inspections this team is based out of the kansas city metro area but don't worry inspections are the same no matter where you are located in the state we have daniel bauer tiffany butler shayna guyton presenting today let's hear from daniel first i just wanted to thank everybody for attending today's webinar i know there are a lot of things you could be doing with your time and we appreciate you taking some of it with us so it's no surprise to anyone that covet 19 has affected almost every aspect of our lives over the last year and we here at the kansas department of agriculture food safety and lodging program are no exception to that rule so today we're going to be talking about remote food safety inspections uh during this covet 19 pandemic my name is daniel bauer i'm a food inspector up here in the northeast area of kansas in the johnson wine dot area later on you're gonna be hearing from tiffany butler and shaina guyton um so is covet 19 a foodborne illness uh in short no the cdc the usda and the fda are not aware of any reports at this time that covet 19 has been transmitted by food or food packaging that said you should still be following covet 19 employee health policies from the fda the cdc and other sources we've been doing remote inspections for the protection of our staff since around may and it's important to note that these remote inspections aren't actually going to be evaluating your covid19 protocol that won't be going on the inspection form at all if we do look at that it's more for the safety of our staff and what do they feel comfortable doing this inspection in person versus remote so what is a remote inspection it's essentially a scheduled zoom meeting between your inspector and you the operator so you are acting as our proctor essentially during this inspection uh while carrying us around in a video conference with your mobile device we'll be asking you questions throughout asking you to take temperatures uh test sanitizers show us documentation things like that um it's really not a different inspection we're still focusing on the foodborne illness risk factors that have always been there and that we've always evaluated we're just doing it in a new way and it does actually replace your in-person routine inspection so something to keep in mind as well some key points of differences between remote inspections and then even in person inspections going forward is that remote inspections are scheduled so you will work with your inspector to find a time that works for both of you it's done through zoom as a platform and because we aren't there actually in person to receive your signature on the inspection report uh we just asked for an email confirmation that you received the report and that services your signature for the remotes again they're still focused on foodborne illness risk factors and they do serve as your routine inspection now in-person inspections going forward are still going to be unscheduled and whenever the inspector arrives they will be masked so we request that you and your staff are massed as well for our safety and yours and we will be evaluating the covet 19 controls in place at the start of the inspection but it's not going on your report and it's not a part of the of the process it's more uh a gauge on if that inspector feels that they can safely perform that inspection um we are it will be a socially distanced inspection as well and again just like all of our other inspections focused on those foodborne illness risk factors but the goal is for these remote inspections to be as similar to an in-person inspection as possible so with scheduling remote inspection and inspector is going to first reach out to you through either email or maybe a phone call to the business or whichever phone number we have on file and we're going to work with you to schedule a time to do the inspection now we don't want you to pick these times that are your peak business hours there's tons of commotion going on in the kitchen you got 12 different projects going at once and we don't want you to be worrying about staying on the phone call with us during that process so pick a time that works for you where you can really give it your full attention and you whenever you do agree upon a time you will get a zoom invitation for that scheduled time so what are some things that you need to have ready for these inspections um you're going to need to have a stable internet connection i think it goes without saying that an inspection done remotely over the internet needs to have a stable internet connection for it to work efficiently you're going to need to have a probe thermometer and some alcohol wipes to sanitize it between items and a cup of ice slurry which is essentially just mostly ice and a little bit of water and that's so that we can calibrate the thermometer there at the beginning of the inspection to make sure it's accurate um you're going to want to have test strips for your sanitizer so that we can record the concentration of those and then you know pest control service records all these things that we would normally ask for throughout an inspection but if you're spending time digging around looking for them it's just going to make it go a little slower so if you have all that stuff ahead of time it just goes a little smoother with that said i'm going to send it over to tiffany to talk more about scheduling and what that process actually looks like so the big day comes and you may be wondering how exactly does this inspection work there are a lot of questions that you may have and knowing a little bit about the process will help you feel better prepared i'm tiffany butler and i will give you a little guidance on how to connect to the meeting the day of the inspection and we'll let you know what the inspector will look for so daniel mentioned that you will get a zoom invitation this invitation will come to your email and once you receive the email click yes to accept the invitation as seen on this slide the zoom link will then appear on your calendar the day of the inspection go to the link that was sent to you it should not require you to enter a passcode or a meeting number all you need to do is just click and you will be taken into the meeting once you click on the link your phone will most likely look like this click on the bottom left to connect to the audio and then you'll want to click to connect over the internet the next step is to unmute yourself if you're not already unmuted and finally to start your video if that's not already started and you'll be ready for the inspection so what now well each inspector may handle the inspection a little bit differently but you can expect some consistency on what you will be asked and what you will need to show them be ready to discuss your employee illness policy to check your thermometer for accuracy with the ice slurry that daniel talked about and look at your last pest control inspection report and if you have a variance or a hasset plan the inspector will want to discuss those things as well as many other questions at some point the inspector will want a brief tour you may be tempted to want to hold your phone down so you can see the inspector's face but then the inspector will be looking at the ground by keeping your phone up walking slowly and following the inspector's lead this will allow the inspector to get a good idea as to what is happening in the kitchen when the inspector lets you know it's time to start taking temperatures remember to have your alcohol wipes ready again just follow the inspector's lead show them what you have and that will aid them into making the best decision as to what the instructional where it will go from there washing your hands at this step is essential at some point during the inspection you will be asked to demonstrate where washing looking at the mop sink and taking temperatures of the water again just follow the inspector's lead the inspector will review with you what was found at your food establishment and give you guidance as needed be sure to ask questions lastly expect an email copy of your report to come shortly along with educational materials so the next part of the presentation shaina will give you some hints to help the inspection to be even more successful hi my name is shayna guyton and i'm an inspector in the kansas city area johnson county and i would like to thank tiffany and daniel for their portion of the presentation and covering what to expect during a remote inspection and the how-to since we've been doing inspections for a little while um due to the covet 19 um there are some things that we've learned to be helpful in the process so first as the operator we say do not be nervous this inspection is this same approach as it has always been nothing has changed we're still covering the same things and it has helped to remember that our common goal is food safety this approach is a great opportunity for dialogue between you and the inspector so some helpful tips when scheduling your inspection you want to schedule during the time that's most convenient when you have enough staff please do not schedule during a time where it's like your lunch rush or dinner rush it's also been recommended that headphones and earbuds have been helpful with combating the noise level within the establishment having alcohol wipes for your food probe thermometer to prevent cross-contamination with the different foods and food types also having an extra food thermometer on hand in case the one that you've selected it got knocked around or may have fallen onto the floor we wouldn't have to stop the inspection but we can continue on where we left off and last but not least ask questions if you're unsure of anything also what we've learned having additional persons have been helpful if it's to have an extra set of hands to assist with equipment your mobile device etc also if you need a interpreter um that's welcome as well so while on the zoom call you want to make sure that you're using your rear facing camera so that way you may see what you're seeing and also that you're using the device that you are most familiar with if this is your first zoom call please allow yourself an additional five to ten minutes before signing on and also if you're having problems with the cyano or zoom please reach out to your inspector for assistance once on the zoom call allow you time for the audio and the video to connect some zoom challenges it's just like anything else with an app and your internet connection there may be spots within the establishment that have weak signals or you may lose signal if this happens to you say if you're walking into your walking cooler don't panic just walk back to the area where the signal was strong and know that we will get through this together so let's bring it all together so before the meeting you want to make sure that you have the necessary equipment ready whether it's your cell phone or tablet making sure that that's charged and you have your food probe thermometer also you want to have the documentation that was requested at the scheduling by the inspector ready to go if you have questions please ask also it has been recommended that having an extra set of hands has been helpful and know that this is still the same inspection approach as it always been and to not forget that the reason why we're doing this is to be safe well thank you daniel tiffany and shayna my name is adam inman and i'm the assistant program manager for the food safety and lodging program at the kansas department of agriculture and i'll be spending the next few minutes with you during our question and answer session and i'd like to introduce at this point dana ladner who's the manager of kda's compliance education and agency support program dana's been monitoring the q a in chat and we have a few questions coming in so we'll get to those and then please any other questions that you have please get those into the q and a we'll get those answered as as best we can great thanks adam that was a wonderful group of information from those folks really appreciate the time we have had a couple questions come in uh daniel i'm going to throw these uh first two to you please because they kind of went with the beginning of the presentation with it uh someone wants to know what if the signal breaks up and we can't complete the remote inspection yeah it's a great question and it's definitely something that uh that arises from time to time so inevitably different parts of the building have different signal strengths so anytime that we encounter that we just kind of ask you to back track to where we have the strongest signal we try to call in again if it becomes a repeated issue then maybe we'll try something else um the second question here that says since we're out in western kansas uh we don't have internet service our little processing plant will face time work so it's an option that we could do to through the cellular service rather than your wi-fi and inevitably you're gonna enter a walk-in a big metal box and signal might cut out or something so we just backtrack and try to try to reconnect great um really appreciate that with it we had one come in and let's uh throw it to someone here with the kda team on what documents will be requested other than the pest control information i'll take that one okay so um so what documents other than pest control we will also look to confirm that you have your kda license posted and as well as if you have a house up plan or a variance plan and if you do you you know that you have one we'll look at those um plans as well um and also if you have surfsafe certification even though it's not required we we look at that just just because it's always nice to have did i miss anything daniel or shayna sometimes maybe if the certain documents couldn't be produced right then we might ask for photo proof of the documents for certain scenarios great um we had a question in come in and adam i'm going to throw this one to you when covet is over do you anticipate that zoom scheduled inspections will continue to be used i believe that we will continue as a zoom or other virtual presence platforms to some extent our goal of course is always to be good stewards of our our funding sources and so they they allow us to do um be more efficient in some some of our inspection activities so we can do follow-ups quickly particularly in parts of kansas where we have long drive times even though we have inspectors all over the state we could do some quick follow-up type of inspections for certain issues that are they're easily documented electronically so we'll do it in some fashion i think we're all looking forward to the time when the kobe emergency is is a not so fond memory and getting back to more normal types of activities well great well something that's really come up on a couple of these questions are from new business owners so out to the team we had one that came in and said i'm a new business owner is it required to have my pest control documentation at that time and i'm also new to the industry what tips might you have for me getting in as a new business owner i'll take that one so as a new business owner we don't expect unless you've already had pest control um services that have documentation also if you view our website or reach out to your inspector when scheduling the inspection there are documentation guides we do provide that list what is expected to have during the licensing well great does anybody else from the kda team uh have anything that they want to add in as a tip for a new business owner that may be out i there i can take something on that um one thing that i know when i was an inspector many moons ago um i think that awareness in your establishment about the pests can enter and that if you can recognize when they arrive it's easier to combat it um sooner than later and so know that it's not unusual to have pests but the quicker you can identify them the quicker you can get control over them so as a new business owner just awareness level is important well great one of the things that's really really popular in the state of kansas and beyond are mobile units they want to know from a question that was submitted are they supposed to have pest control service as well yeah i'll take that dana so we don't have a requirement that any business use a pest control operator but oftentimes that expertise is is well worth the value so encourage folks to to vet various pest control operations in your area you may want to check with with the kansas department of agriculture's pesticide and fertilizer program if you have questions about their licensing status they are required to be licensed as well but work with those operators build a rapport with them and and lean on their expertise but that said we don't have a requirement you can do your own pest control you need to follow all those requirements with pesticide product labels and there's a lot of technical information that you might not think of there's a lot of techniques and expertise that a pest control operator could bring to bear so it really you need to bring that on to fit your situation the best you can i would like to plug that we also have a zoom webinar may 24th specifically two pests so make sure that you look for that um registration opportunity as well thank you oh man and also with the question that came in about the landlord being in charge that's definitely uh has been a challenge over the years from time to time and so that's part of your you know being a tenant paying rent that that needs to be accounted for um so work with them to to make sure that that you're getting the pest control that you need so that it's not impacting your business negatively great one thing that i have found out in working with the food safety team at kda is that a lot of our inspector our former operators in the food businesses and in the industry and i do know that they are always willing to answer questions from new business owners so you know make sure that you reach out to the department of agriculture those that are new to the industry and just ask for your local inspector to to give you a call or zoom and and be able to work through some of those issues with it i do have a coveted question if somebody would like to answer this from the team if you have an employee who tests positive for covin how long before they should work in the kitchen well i'll jump on that one i guess right that's a little hot potato there so that is something that we would refer you to your local health department in the county or if you're in a larger city and work with them to follow those guidelines to make sure that they're not a risk of transmission to the rest of your employees and that into your customers so definitely reach out to the health departments i know that they're stressed right now but if you have trouble with that we can can dig into some specifics and try to help connect you with some resources but really recommend your first contact be with your local health department great daniel i want to throw this back to you we had some questions that were submitted ahead of time and if you just want to go over this again it was will the remote inspection be scheduled ahead of time and what is the protocol for both kda and those in the industry uh for coven 19 yeah um so they are scheduled right so we reach out to you and we find a time that that works best for uh you as the business owner or operator or who or whichever manager you have doing the inspection with us um and then as far as covet 19 you know we're trying to keep our staff safe as well as you save from potentially our staff and so we'll be masked social distanced during the inspection we just ask that that though everybody that we encounter as well is is masked and and keeping that social distance in the workspace as well as during the inspection and we'll do our best to mitigate any risk as well well great we have a number of people that are logged on and we have about five minutes left so if any of our participants have questions make sure that you put that in the question and answer so we can get to them because right now is a really great time to interact with your kda team when they're uh doing their outreach and so this is a great opportunity for you guys so one thing i want to ask and i'd like all three inspectors to answer this for me is we had someone write in when they registered that we've been through one inspection of this type virtually it seems really easy but they worry if the kda team catches everything that they need and all the information that they need to make sure that they're safe for their customers so of everybody all three kda inspectors will take a quick stab at that please yeah so we're trying to make it as similar as possible to an in-person inspection so that's where working with you the operator and and having that good working relationship to be able to ask you certain questions um you know get honest responses and then and then kind of be methodical and uh purposeful in how we go about the inspection as well but so the inspection is an opportunity as the operator to present the most honest picture it's not about us wanting to thank you for something but it's an opportunity for growth so it helps us to help you with the honesty of what you're presenting and we're asking questions according to the risk base of your your type of establishment so it's a lot of thought process that happens before we even begin the meeting and i agree with um what both shayna and daniel said as well and we're mainly going to be focused on the um high risk like shayna was touching on and all of those aspects and so we aren't going to be quite as detailed as we normally would be but we try to make it as close as possible well great tiffany if you just want to stay on um uh question is how do you determine if an inspection will be remote or in person so right now pretty much the whole we um we go by if the state is um all red i don't know if anybody has seen that map and so if um so right now pretty much most of them are being done remotely um if you have a low risk or a medium risk facility um we have the option to come out if there's like only one or two employees so you might um we might pop in if there's just if it's a small um establishment like that but if it's like a um full service restaurant most of the time it will be done remotely well great um we have just about two minutes left with it so i want to get through as many questions as possible for the kda team will food trucks be inspected remotely as well yes we're inspecting food trucks remotely apparently and shaina if you just want to stay on would my regular inspector be in charge of my remote inspection in most cases yes but there have been times where other inspectors have stepped in to help with remotes great we had another question on pest control but like uh autumn said we're going to follow up with some additional information on that uh we talked a little bit about a question about returning to work as adam stated we need to make sure that we get back to your county your county health department on that so the last question i'm going to ask for our team today before we're done is uh the person writes in that they're new to this is there a guideline or checklist that can be provided to business owners to best prepare and change practices now prior to this new type of inspection i'll take that one if it's something that i commonly refer to um let's see i don't know if my picture is coming up but if everyone can hear me good okay um so there we do have within our educational handouts a self-inspection sheet and so we can connect that resource to our website where you're going to view the recording but it's a great self check and it hits all the high points all the high risk practices that people need to be aware of and so it's a really really great tool to use recommended well great um we are at the end of our time like i said we have a couple questions but we've answered those uh already with that with it without with that autumn i'm gonna turn it back to you for the wrap-up sounds good thanks dana so thank you to everyone for attending our today's session uh this recorded session will be posted on our website website like i've mentioned and later this week and along with the registration for next month's webinar covering cooling and reheating of foods so look for the survey i'm in the near future and please help answer those survey questions to assist us with planning future outreach sessions thank you very much