Abstract：
In late 2020, dried wood ear mushrooms, a low-moisture food ingredient that had been imported and sold to restaurants, were linked to a foodborne outbreak of Salmonella Stanley, which sickened 55 individuals across the United States. These mushrooms are commonly used in Asian cuisine. It is unclear if the contaminated dried wood ear mushrooms that caused the foodborne illnesses were improperly handled during preparation. The objectives of this study are to assess the handling practices, risk perceptions, and food recall experiences of dried wood ear mushrooms in restaurant kitchens among Asian restaurant managers and chefs. We conducted a series of telephone interviews with managers and chefs of Asian restaurants in the United States who used dried wood ear mushrooms in making dishes. After reaching information saturation, a total of 25 restaurant managers and chefs participated in the interview. Our results showed that 76% of the participants did not keep track of package information, such as expiration date and lot number, and many participants reported using cold water for rehydration. Wood ear mushrooms were blanched before being used in all cold dishes and most stir-fry dishes, but less commonly in stew or ramen. Some participants (16%) did not view dried wood ear mushrooms as a raw food ingredient, and 16% did not perceive that low-moisture food ingredients constituted microbiological food safety risks. The majority of the participants had heard of food recalls, but only 17% knew about the dried wood ear mushroom recall, and even fewer had heard of food recalls of other low-moisture foods, like nuts and seeds (9%), and flour (4%). While this study shares similarities with previously published studies evaluating the handling practices of consumers and restaurant employees with respect to meat and poultry, it makes a distinctive contribution to the field of food safety as the first-of-its-kind to study the handling practices of a low-moisture food ingredient: dried wood ear mushrooms. This unique ethnic food ingredient has been associated with a past outbreak and multiple recalls in the United States. The findings of the study show the need to develop food safety educational programs that are tailored toward Asian restaurant food handlers and provide guidance to develop risk communication strategies for this niche audience.
摘要：
2020年底，干木耳蘑菇，一种进口并出售给餐馆的低水分食品成分，与食源性斯坦利沙门氏菌的爆发有关，这让全美55个人患病。这些蘑菇通常用于亚洲美食。目前还不清楚导致食源性疾病的被污染的干木耳蘑菇在制备过程中是否处理不当。这项研究的目的是评估处理实践，风险认知，以及亚洲餐厅经理和厨师在餐厅厨房中对干木耳蘑菇的食物回忆经历。我们对美国亚洲餐馆的经理和厨师进行了一系列电话采访，他们使用干木耳蘑菇制作菜肴。达到信息饱和后，共有25位餐厅经理和厨师参加了采访。我们的结果显示，76%的参与者没有跟踪包裹信息，如到期日和批号，许多参与者报告使用冷水进行补液。木耳蘑菇在用于所有凉菜和大多数炒菜之前都被烫了，但在炖肉或拉面中不常见。一些参与者（16％）没有将干木耳蘑菇视为生食成分，16%的人认为低水分食品成分构成微生物食品安全风险。大多数参与者听说过食物召回，但是只有17%的人知道干木耳蘑菇的召回，甚至更少听说过其他低水分食品的食品召回，像坚果和种子（9％），面粉（4%）。虽然这项研究与以前发表的评估消费者和餐馆员工在肉类和家禽方面的处理做法的研究有相似之处，它为食品安全领域做出了独特的贡献，作为研究低水分食品成分的处理方法的首例：干木耳蘑菇。这种独特的民族食品成分与美国过去的爆发和多次召回有关。研究结果表明，有必要制定针对亚洲餐厅食品处理人员的食品安全教育计划，并为该利基受众制定风险沟通策略提供指导。
