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Food Safety Consulting

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Food safety consultant

Food safety consultants provide specialized assistance to restaurants, bars, and other food manufacturers. This area requires a high level of process-drivenness, attention to detail, and a good understanding of regulations and compliance for restaurants. This guide will help you learn everything you need about food safety consulting.

What is Food Safety Consulting?

Foodservice establishments in the United States must adhere to various safety and food regulations. However, restaurant owners may find it challenging to understand the regulations and renew them. This is why many choose to hire a food safety consultant rather than do it themselves. Restaurants and bars can get food safety consulting to help them meet their regulatory obligations.

Common elements that a food safety consultant can assist with:

  • Analysis and development of food safety plans
  • Training for internal auditors
  • Assessment and Development of a Plan
  • HACCP certification and training
  • Assistance with regulatory enforcement
  • Food Safety Modernization Act Compliance

What are the Job Descriptions for Food Safety Consultants?

While specific requirements for food safety consultants vary from one state to the next, some elements can be found in all job descriptions of food safety consultants.

  • Education: A bachelor’s degree is usually required in a similar field, such as food science or agribusiness.
  • Experience: While the experience required will vary depending on the job; most jobs require at least two to five years. Experience with food safety procedures, checklists, documentation, and training staff is the most important thing. In certain situations, however, education can be more important than experience.
  • Skills: As training and managing large teams are vital parts of the job, employers expect consultants to communicate clearly and effectively verbally and written. As the job involves evaluating reports, multi-tasking is a must.
  • Responsibilities: Providing advice and reports to restaurant owners, answering questions from potential clients, and understanding and managing food safety protocols and procedures are just a few of the core responsibilities for food safety consultants. Food safety consultants ensure that all processes, products, and systems comply with food safety standards.

What is the annual salary of food safety consultants?

Although most food safety consulting jobs are salaried positions at a firm, there are also other types of compensation such as profit-sharing or bonuses. PayScale.com reports that the average salary of a food safety consultant ranges from just over $41,000 up to about $100,000.

Food safety consultants charge an average of $34.76 per hour. These rates are between $15 and $88 per hour at the low end and the high and low ends of the scale. 

The website adds that the average bonus is $2,250 per year, and there is approximately $3,500 in profit-sharing. When it comes to compensation, there are two factors you should consider: experience and location. Consultants in New York City, for example, may be paid more. Still, they may also need more experience than those working elsewhere.

An Introduction To CBT

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An Introduction To CBT

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was developed as a method to prevent relapse when treating problem drinking, and later it was adapted for cocaine-addicted individuals. Cognitive-behavioral strategies are based on the theory that in the development of maladaptive behavioral patterns like substance abuse, learning processes play a critical role. Individuals in CBT learn to identify and correct problematic behaviors by applying a range of different skills that can be used to stop drug abuse and to address a range of other problems that often co-occur with it.

Behavioral Skills

This is a set of behaviors that an individual uses to get accustomed to and manage problematic drug use. Consistent use of these new behavior skill sets eventually develop into a pattern of maladaptive behavior that is repeated over time expecting to fix a problem that will arise in the future.

The type of behavior displayed is characterized by frequent change, emotional reactivity, and cognitive difficulties. Changes in an individual’s mood, feelings, and perceptions are very visible and usually affect both conscious and subconscious aspects of an individual.

Recognizing this happenings is the key to effective CBT treatment. One must learn to manage his or her cognitive rhythms, an increase in changes in mood, physical symptoms including fluctuations of blood pressure and heart rate, and behavioral indicators including anxiety, insomnia, and brain storming.

Cognitive and behavioral disorders are associated with cocaine use because patients frequently show impaired ability to develop mental strategy as well as reduced emotional regulation and insight, both of which are caliber of common CBT treatment programs.

Individuals who do not see the importance of the cognitive and behavioral changes associated with cocaine use and recovery concentrate on addiction problems alone, neglecting the role of psychological disorders in cocaine use problem.

All the systems need maintenance and supervision, allowing for the regular evaluation of cognitive and behavioral changes. One must be sensitive to these imbalances and adjust treatment accordingly. Friendship and support is vital when Language team members attempt to help.

Consistent and interpersonal management of cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal symptoms of addiction as well as other related problems have the potential to determine the effectiveness of CBT treatment.

Impact of CBT Treatment on an Individual

Cognitive behavioral therapy may offer keen psychological counseling to view the impaired functioning of an individual and to set goals and plans to change behaviors. This counseling may also play a key role in working through emotional reactions and/or cognitive distortions via psychotherapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is unlikely to be of benefit to the individual if the individual is not willing to perform the objectives, and be involved in the plan of action.

It has been found that some individuals show marked deficits in cognitive and can develop severe deficits in judgment control during the active period of cocaine use, and a persistent lack of it usually develops in a later period of the plan. This judgment system may make it difficult to sustain continued engagement in drug use.

Cognitive or memory dysfunction may be a factor of cognitive behavioral therapy as working through any type of cognitive difficulty is difficult. During active phase of the program, participants may encounter difficulty in meeting both psychological and logical expectations. However, it has been found that cognitive behavioral therapy is futile at the second phase of active stage of detox, so the team must continue to do outpatient maintenance sessions.

How to Maintain Sobriety

Charles Brown No Comments
rehab facilities

How to Maintain Your Sobriety  

As a recovering drug addict with over twenty years of sobriety, I understand this can be a difficult and complex situation to write about.  Everyone is different, and people use drugs for vastly different reasons.  There’s millions of ways to be an addict, so just to start my article off on the right foot, let’s agree that this is a difficult subject to write about.  

My Experience with Addiction

So instead of discussing the varying commonalities among drug addicts and those who maintain long term sobriety, or other irrelevant statistics, I’m just going to share some experience and practical advice with you.  

For every one person who wants to learn how to stay sober or clean, there are equally as many answers.  Drug addiction is a highly personal thing.  It’s something that many people share, but then again, they don’t.  Some addictive behaviors may be similar, but the inner workings of an addict’s mind is a mystery for each and every one that exists.  In order for anyone, and I mean anyone to first obtain and second maintain sobriety through whatever hard times exist, no matter what happens in life… that takes very serious dedication.

The “dedication” part of it is where so many addicts have trouble.  And, conversely, this makes the argument for me that ongoing support and participation in some kind of regular meeting or group is supremely important in maintaining that dedication.  Dedication can change like an opinion, but if you have someone else helping to hold you accountable, the odds improve significantly that your dedication will not shift off course, which frequently leads to a relapse.

Now, most addicts who want to quit using their drug often enter some sort of substance abuse treatment center while they are highly motivated and even excited.  The first part of that process is going through a detoxification program. Although invariably a challenging part of the process, many feel as they complete their detox, the journey is over.

But as time passes, so can the determination to stay away from their drug.  Some addicts enter the treatment system as a result of external crisis.  Some come in with high levels of motivation for drug treatment, but others have less.

 Regardless of their level of motivation, however, entering a drug treatment facility can be a frightening experience and one that requires a high level of interest in resolving ones’ addiction.  I should also note that regardless of their motivation, the fact that they reached out for help should be commended and supported.    

One time in an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting, someone asked how the old timer’s had stayed sober.  Many of them admitted to slipping and relapsing occasionally, but the simple way to stay sober is just to not pick up the drink in the first place.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Just don’t have that drink.  Just don’t smoke that drug.  Just don’t take those pills.  Words of wisdom, for sure, but hardly easy.

So how does a person not pick up that drink, or stop using that drug? The answer is SUPPORT.  There is no doubt that the first thirty days of any detoxification process may be the most difficult and a lot of close observation and support is necessary during this time.  This is often hard to do in a home environment, especially in today’s world of working parents.  It’s hard to have 24/7 observation over anyone, much less a drug addict who may come up with extremely creative ways to get his or her next fix as soon as a blind eye is turned.  This is where in-patient care can be of the most help.  

In Patient Assistance

keep calm and stay soberWhen someone is getting in-patient care, it basically means they’ve been admitted as a patient into a drug rehab or treatment facility.  It also basically means they can’t leave until the in-patient treatment part is complete.  

Afterwards, they may recommend a half-way house, or possibly ongoing personal and/or group therapy for the initial and long-term maintenance.  Reason being, is that anyone serious addict who has been through treatment more than once can tell you, getting sober is easy.  Staying sober is hard.  

Staying sober has as many challenges as there are stars in the sky.  Addictions have a nasty habit of coming back at just the right time, like a thief in the night.  And the problem is, it usually only takes one use to trigger a full-blown relapse.  Just one.  


So how can anyone avoid this?  Well, for starters, inpatient drug treatment is very helpful in getting you clean.  A half-way house can provide monitoring and counseling, while still giving you exposure (and freedom) to the outside world.  Ongoing group counseling and/or personal therapy is where you’ll find the strength to turn down that opportunity to use your drug “just once more”.  It won’t hurt anything, right?  No, wrong.  

This is because of the nature of addiction.  You can’t be an addict and also have the ability to control your drug.  If you’re a real addict, your drug controls you.  This is important to know in order to fight it off.  Once you realize your drug can easily overpower you if you let it, it’s up to you to let it or not.

 It’s just as easy to pass on a drug as it is to pick it up and use again.  The difference comes from strength.  And we all know, there is strength in numbers.  So there’s your argument for long term AA or NA (Narcotics Anonymous), or a host of other ongoing treatment groups.  

Other things you can do to help maintain your sobriety include:

  • Keep Busy – A drug addict’s worst enemy is boredom, so by keeping yourself busy, you’re also keeping your mind off your addiction, passing time productively, and replacing bad habits with better ones.  
  • Talk – Don’t keep your addiction a secret.  The more people around you who know about your struggle, the more support you’re going to find.  It’s embarrassing the first time you tell someone you’re an addict, but becomes easier over time.  No matter how easy or hard it is to say it, if you do, you’ll likely find that most people will rally around and support you.  
  • Go to Meetings – This is also part of “Talk” above, but just with people who share similar experiences with addiction.  It’s one thing to sympathize with a person, but to have experienced something yourself and to have a better sense of exactly how that addict is feeling is a whole level of power altogether.
  • Seek professional help.  Sometimes, depending on the drug and its’ withdrawal symptoms, professional help is the only way to get clean.  But even if it’s not, you still need a doctor monitoring you, helping to make sure your body is strong and not suffering any serious effects from long term drug or alcohol abuse.  It’s no secret, it’s not uncommon for a serious alcoholic to die shortly after stopping drinking, so having proper medical attention relative to the person and the substance they’re abusing is very important to recovery.
  • Take Care of Yourself – Eat better, go to the Gym, start exercising, whatever.  Do those things you know you need to do simply to make your body feel better.  When we exercise, we feel better.  When we eat healthy, we feel better.  When we get proper rest, we feel better.  Pay attention to your body and start working in time for yourself to “make you feel better” without using drugs or alcohol.  
  • Reassess friendships – This one needs little explanation.  If you have a drug problem and continue hanging around other people who also have drug problems, you’re just making it easier to relapse.  To rid your life of serious drug addiction, sometimes you need to rid you life of people who might cause you to relapse.  
  • Find new ways to enjoy life – Therapy can help you learn to love yourself and enjoy life in ways you weren’t able to before.  Listening to old-timers in your groups can give you insight into the mental changes that take place, over time, in a recovering addict’s mind.  Learn to love yourself.  If you truly love yourself, you’ll take care of yourself better than you ever did before.  

Best of Luck!

Life gives no guarantees, except that it’s never easy.  We all have good days and bad days.  Don’t let the bad ones push you back into your addiction.  If alcohol is the challenge, find a good rehab for alcohol.

Controlling an addiction is a full time job, and one that you really can not do by yourself. Assess your situation now.  If you have an addiction of any kind, admit it to yourself, and get the proper help.  

I want you to succeed.  But start by realizing you are in control, not the drug, and get as much support as you can.  Remember the old saying, “one day at a time”.  You don’t have to strive for a lifetime of sobriety, you only have to strive for a day’s worth… one day at a time.  

Help Staying Sober