According to the Center for Disease Control, one in six Americans will become sick from food poisoning this year with 128,000 needing hospitalization and 3,000 dying. Nearly two in five cases of food poisoning come from dining out.

Ricardo Cano of The Desert Sun recently did a multi-part story on the cleanliness of Coachella Valley restaurants and food preparation facilities. During the two year period ending June 2014, the Department of Environmental Health inspected 1,865 food businesses with 151 not passing inspection. Seventeen of the local restaurants inspected permanently closed with six businesses that are still operating after failing three or more inspections.

ShareKitchen is proud to share with you that we consistently receive a perfect score of 100/A on our inspections and received a Certificate of Recognition by the Department of Environmental Health for having exemplary food safety standards. Food safety and sanitation is critical to keeping our community and families healthy. This means storing foods at cold enough temperatures to prevent the development of bacteria and germs that can lead to norovirus (food poisoning). It also means maintaining a clean kitchen and worker hygiene. Improper food handling and storage can lead to illnesses that affect children, pregnant mothers and the elderly the most.

ShareKitchen offers ServSafe Food Manager Certification training once a month at our location in Cathedral City. ServSafe is an extended safety and sanitation training program by the National Restaurant Association. All food service businesses, including places you might not think like convenience stores, are required to have at least one Certified Food Manager on site. This person is responsible for the overall safety and sanitation of the food facility. The program at ShareKitchen is a four hour course followed by a two hour exam. For class dates and registration please visit: www.ShareKitchen.org/servsafe

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