TASK FORCE III DESERT SHIELD/STORM

File: aaacf_54.txt
Page: 54
Total Pages: 273
VI. RECOMMENDED:

	1. Increase the number of food thermometers on the ATH and ATC tables of 
allowance. Inspectors can then share them liberally with food service supervisors and 
workers as part of the effort to gain compliance with sound food temperature controls.

	2. Environmental Health should more aggressively pursue foodhandler education 
efforts in their food safety programs. A pamphlet of symbols and pictures that could be 
used to help convey messages where language barriers inhibit verbal communication 
should be developed for this purpose.

	3. Operational units should inform their Command HQ of source inspection 
conflicts with the U.S. Army. The Command functional manager should communicate these 
concerns to the U.S. Army Veterinary program manager.

	4. ATH clinical laboratories should be provided with the equipment, supplies and 
references required to isolate common foodborne pathogens from stool specimens, such as 
Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, E.coli, Staphylococcus, Giardia and Entamoeba. 
This information is extremely helpful during epidemiologic investigations which seek to 
determine disease outbreak etiology and prevent recurrences.

	5. When evaluating on-base feeding facilities, Environmental Health should 
continue to use the peacetime rating system and should continue to inform medical and 
Wing Commanders when unsatisfactory ratings are given.

	6. Environmental Health should conduct formal investigation of all suspected 
foodborne illness outbreaks and should write and forward detailed reports to Command. 
These should be promptly distributed to all deployed units.

	7. Exercises of ATHs and Second Echelon MTFs should include programmed training 
of Environmental Health in food inspection and food service sanitation tasks. This 
tasking serves a dual purpose. It provides realistic training and demonstrates to ATH 
Commanders the role of Environmental Health during deployments. Foodborne illness 
outbreak exercise scenarios should be written for use by exercise evaluation teams. 
These scenarios should include a requirement to prepare and forward detailed 
investigation reports to Command HQ.

	8. The requirement for a vehicle for shared use by EH and BEE should be added to 
the current medical barebase vehicle UTC. A dedicated vehicle should be justified, 
requested and prepositioned.