Food service facilities pass mock emergency exercise Published April 22, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Amber Kelly-Woodward 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The Nightingale Inn Dining Facility, the Base Exchange food court, the Scott Club, the Cardinal Creek Golf Course and other food facilities feed many members on Scott daily. If any or all of these facilities were to dispense food that was contaminated, the mission at Scott could be greatly impacted. To test the food safety at Scott, an annual food-borne illness outbreak and food vulnerability exercise was held April 15, testing the 375th Security Forces Squadron, the dining facility and the 375th Medical Group. "The exercise had two purposes," said Capt. Derec Hudson, Public Health flight commander. "One was food security-to ensure that only safe food products are allowed on Scott-and second was a food-borne illness outbreak to test our internal processes to see if we had the right protocol and staffing if we were ever faced with a situation." The exercise began at 7:25 a.m., with a pre-staged dairy vendor who went through the Mascoutah Gate carrying a simulated contaminated milk crate. Tech. Sgt. Keith Jessie, a Public Health technician, was on the scene to evaluate the 375th SFS members' actions. "The members at the gate inspected the truck and properly found the contaminated food product and they notified the law enforcement desk," he said. "So they did what they were supposed to do." The exercise continued to the dining facility, testing what would happen if contaminated milk passed through the gate. "The NCOIC of Food Storage inspected the delivery and found the contaminated food," said Sergeant Jessie. "From there he contacted security forces, the facility manager, the delivery truck driver and Public Health." Simultaneously, six simulated patients reported to sick call claiming to have symptoms of a food-borne illness. "The doctor gathered a food history and all the signs and symptoms and narrowed it down to what the cause could be," said Sergeant Jessie. "The patients were then moved to Public Health to narrow down what the cause could be." The exercise concluded successfully. "Overall, Scott takes food security very seriously," said Capt. Hudson. "We did really well, there were no major findings." Public Health conducts food inspections once a month for every facility and twice a month or more as needed for major places such as the dining facility and Scott Club.