You Can Make a Difference in Patron Safety this St. Patrick's Day

Austin, Texas - March 16, 2008 - As Ireland's national holiday of St. Patrick's Day approaches this year, millions of Americans will find themselves celebrating along with the Emerald Isle whether they are Irish or not. Along with food, festivities and fun, lots of green beer and other alcoholic beverages will be consumed at our nation's eateries and drinking establishments.

As beer, wine and liquor sales see a sharp spike during holidays such as St. Patrick's Day so can your liability as an establishment operator, seller or server. Most states in the US operate under "Dram Shop" laws, which put liability of 3rd party damage caused by selling alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person or minor in your hands. When selling alcoholic beverages, public safety becomes your responsibility. It is your responsibility to protect the public, by not allowing people to become intoxicated, and by refusing service to a minor.

Alcohol seller server certification provides training on how to be a responsible alcoholic beverage seller or server. In many cases you may be required by your state's alcohol laws or your internal company policies to take alcohol seller server training. Learn2Serve has provided online alcohol safety certification to over 100,000 managers, bartenders and waiters. Originally starting as an online TABC certification program for Texas, the website now offers state and county specific alcohol safety courses nationwide. With St. Patrick's day around the corner, Learn2Serve provides some helpful information to help you become a responsible seller or server:

• Be observant for cues and clues of intoxication. Look for the tell-tale signs of intoxication such as slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, loss of inhibitions

• Do not allow intoxicated patrons to leave your premises and get behind the wheel. Offer any such patrons a safe cab ride home and document the incident. If your patron refuses, you may need to inform him or her that the police will be notified

• Keep an eye out for 2nd party sales if you are not a 21 and up establishment. Clues for this include a mixed age group with an of age person making frequent trips to buy alcohol. Ask for a valid I.D. for each drink ordered

• Know your valid forms of identification and I.D. everyone who may be in question

• If someone is drinking very rapidly, slow down service by not going by the table as often or providing water before the next round of drinks

These are just a few recommendations taught by any alcohol safety training program. Under no circumstance should the information provided here serve as legal advice or substitution for obtaining your alcohol seller or server certification that may be required of your state or employer. For more information about alcohol seller server certification training, visit www.learn2serve.com. Learn2Serve offers courses nationwide for certifications including the TABC Certification, Illinois BASSET certification, California Responsible Beverage Training and more

For more information contact:

Contact:
Albert Lilly
VP, Marketing
press@360training.com
512-539-2682

China…Got (Safe) Milk?

The Chinese food safety system is learning that lesson the hard way when contaminated milked killed four babies and endangered the lives of 53,000 more, according to the article, “UN urges China to revamp food safety after milk crisis.”

The Chinese must change their entire food safety system and introduce new amendments that will regain the trust of the Chinese people and the rest of the world. The Chinese government needs to train food companies in proper inspection of food products in the most effective manner, or the crisis will never end. Not only does it affect the domestic market, but the global market as well. “Made in China” will soon become “Made in Contamination.”

Food companies need to utilize all of its resources and ensure that workers will do their jobs properly and honestly. If not, people will start losing confidence in their government system. It is sad to hear that laziness and complete disregard for a person’s well-being cost the lives of four babies.

How is it possible that a country in today’s modern times is still not able to produce clean consumable products? The regulation in China has the government taking responsibility instead of individuals being accountable. To put it plainly, if you can do what you want and never get in trouble, would you care how strict certain rules and regulations were? I think not.

Learn2Serve.com is happy to announce the State Approved Texas Food Handler Certification Course!

Learn2Serve.com is happy to announce the launch of our newest course, the State Approved Texas Food Handler Certification Course!

This 100% ONLINE Texas food handler course is all you’ve come to expect from Learn2Serve, but now it’s approved throughout the ENTIRE State of Texas!

So if you’re tired of going to the county or city health department where you live just to find out where to sign up for the local classroom version, go ONLINE and take it with us!

Since our course is only $10 for the general Texas Food Handler Course, you’ll definitely safe yourself some money, as well as the time and hassle of having to attend an onsite class.
Learn2Serve also has a very special offer for food handlers in the City of Plano, Texas.

Now, food handlers in Plano can get their course purchased along with all local health department fees in one fail swoop for $30!

Get certified at www.learn2serve.com!

Good and Bad Food Combos

When making decisions on food pairings, people generally do what tastes best. Sometimes this is OK, sometimes it is not.

It all depends on how the foods will chemically react to one another inside of your body. And as always, science constantly has its two-cents to put into the equation. Here are some of the latest food pairing “do’s” and “don’ts”:

DO’S:

Steak and Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous veggies, such as broccoli and cauliflower, contain certain compounds that can help rid the body of carcinogens. Namely, the carcinogens formed on the meat through the grilling process. Of course, it’s always better practice to cook meat slowly until it’s done, but the grill probably isn’t going anywhere for a while, and a little burnt taste is often preferred.

Avocado and Tomato

Antioxidants get a lot of press these days. And for good reason. Tomatoes are known to contain large amounts of lycopene, an antioxidant that can help protect against prostate cancer, other forms of cancer, and other serious diseases. Hence, tomatoes are known as a “super food.” But mix tomatoes with avocado and what do you get? A super food on steroids. The fat in the avocado allows your body to absorb seven times more lycopene.

Spinach and Oranges

Spinach, as Popeye would have you believe, is good for you as it’s high in iron. However, to get the most out of your spinach, you need vitamin C. That’s where the orange comes into play. The vitamin C converts the iron in spinach, and other veggies like broccoli, into a form that is more easily absorbed by the body.

DON’TS:

Alcohol and Energy Drinks

It seems to be the trend these days, but as more information is coming out, the general consensus of the medical community is that mixing alcohol and energy drinks can be quite dangerous. This is because the stimulants found in energy drinks (caffeine, etc.) and the fact that alcohol is a depressant, confuses the nervous system. This can cause heart palpitations, breathing problems, and in severe cases, heart attack and/or stroke. It is generally advisable to give a couple hours time in between the consumption of such beverages.

Alcohol and Diet Soda

The lack of sugar in the diet soda makes your body process the concoction at a faster rate. In turn, this can cause you to become drunk faster. This is because the calories found in a sweet mixed drink slow the emptying of the stomach, which causes your small intestine to absorb the alcohol at a slower rate. Take those calories away though and you may find yourself stumbling around a bit quicker than you had anticipated.

Coffee and Breakfast Cereal

In this instance, antioxidants are the culprit. Polyphenois, an antioxidant found in coffee, black tea, and some herbal teas, can actually hamper your body’s ability to effectively absorb the iron found in most breakfast cereals. The solution? Have your cup of joy before or after the cereal.

Sweet Science

Government scientists, with financial backing from Mars, Inc., are taking the first steps in a five-year journey to map the genome of perhaps the most-loved plant on the planet: the cocoa bean.

The project is a peculiar one, especially in light of the scientific community’s usual emphasis on mapping the human genome and other biological entities that seem…well…more important than the cocoa bean.

The end- goal of the project is to more effectively combat crop diseases in the cocoa.

Though virtually no cocoa is harvested in the U.S., crop diseases account for an annual $700 million in global losses for cocoa farmers. Domestic farmers who grow things like almonds and raisins depend a great deal on chocolate, so the belief is that the project should eventually yield positive results for many different types of farmers in many different countries.

Another welcomed result of the project may also be that producers will be able to make better tasting chocolate products, an idea that most anyone could get excited about.

The scientists’ first step is to catalog the entirety of the more than 400 million parts of the cocoa genome. Next, they will be able to concentrate on the parts of the double-helix that are of particular interest and importance to farmers and candy producers alike.

Although Mars Inc., the makers of M&M’s and Snickers candies, are footing the bill for the research, the results will be made public, even to the company’s competitors.

"For us, the fact that Hershey has similar information that every other chocolate company in the world has, that's fine," said Howard-Yana Shapiro, Mars' global director of plant science.

The belief is that there will be too much information for any one company to catalog and effectively analyze anyway.

Shapiro said he did not expect improvements in yields from research would lead to larger overall cocoa crops, but did say that higher yields would allow farmers to devote some of their land to other lucrative crops that could make them more money. This coupled with the potential for better tasting chocolate products could make for a sweet future for chocolate lovers the world over.

FLORIDA ALCOHOL SERVER COURSE

Learn2Serve now offers a full solution for insurance liability relief for alcohol-serving establishments in the state of Florida.

Establishments whose servers take the Learn2Serve 3-hour Florida alcohol safety course and stay current with the 1-hour refresher course may eligible to receive insurance discounts, and Learn2Serve’s training also offers mitigating benefits if an incident does occur.

Learn2Serve has a relationship with many large insurance companies such as USLI and Centrex, so interested managers should check out www.learn2serve.com and contact their insurance companies to see if they can receive insurance discounts and increased liability protection.

How to Minimize Liability in the Texas Hospitality Industry

Until 1987, Texas law did not impose liability on establishments who “over-served” patrons. The statute that changed that is known as the “Dram Shop Act”. This law dictates that an establishment could be held liable for civil damages on proof that:

1. At the time that the provider sold or served the alcohol, it was apparent that to the provider that the recipient was obviously intoxicated to the extent he/she presented a clear danger to him/herself and/or others, and
2. The intoxication of that individual proximately caused the damages suffered.

In addition to this civil liability, the Dram Shop Act also provides that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission can revoke the alcohol permit of a provider who violates the provisions of the statute.

That being said, selling alcohol can be risky for an establishment, but the Dram Shop Act does provide for a “safe harbor.” Under this “safe harbor,” and establishment is protected even if its employee’s actions violate the act. To be protected, and establishment must meet three requirements:

1. The employer required its employees to attend a TABC approved “seller training program.”
2. The employee(s) in question actually attended the training, and
3. The employer did not directly or indirectly encourage the employee to violate the act.

In a recent interpretation of the statute, the Texas Supreme Court further defined the burden of proof on the each of the three elements, and clarified the standard for a finding on the third. The court concluded that the defendant (provider) retains the burden of proof for the first two elements, and the plaintiff for the third.

At least 42 states have statutes similar to the Texas Dram Shop Act, although some states do not permit the intoxicated person to sue for his/her own injuries, while some others impose a cap on the amount of damages.

The best thing for an establishment to do is:

1. Be up to date on current laws in their state(s)/area(s) of operation. Consult your legal representation.
2. Make sure employees understand the policies of the governing bodies of said state(s). This can be most effectively done through state-approved seller training.
3. Take advantage of any liability relief offered through the statutes of governance. The money saved by avoiding litigation will more than offset the potential money lost by cutting patrons off when they have had questionable amounts of alcohol.

There are many different companies offering alcohol training for servers, and they do so through many different mediums. The traditional forum is in a proctored, live setting with an instructor physically on the premises. Online solutions, however, are becoming increasingly popular in the hospitality industry due to their time-saving, convenient, and cost-effective means of delivery. Check out Learn2Serve for your online hospitality training needs as they have something for pretty much every state.