Reducing Waste, Raising Safety: Smart Strategies for Managing Food Waste
In the face of increasing food prices and an ever-increasing demand for foodservice operations to reduce the amount of food wasted, foodservice operators are increasingly looking to implement and develop programs to help stem the amount of food wasted in their businesses.
Across all sectors of the food supply chain, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has estimated approximately 32% of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted. In the foodservice industry, 85% of the unused food is thrown out, only a small amount is recycled or donated.
Managing food waste effectively while maintaining high food safety standards can be challenging, but it’s a crucial part of running a sustainable and customer-centric foodservice business. While it may not be evident at first glance, food waste and food safety are closely related. When food is discarded improperly or not stored correctly, it can lead to contamination, pest infestations, and the spread of harmful bacteria. Improper disposal of food waste also increases the risk of cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
Managing food waste efficiently involves balancing the need to minimize waste with the responsibility of ensuring food safety. Foodservice operators must make sure that food is discarded safely, and that they are not creating unsafe conditions in the process.
One of the most important steps in managing food waste is proper food storage. Make sure to have a standard operating procedure for storing leftover food or surplus ingredients. This involves using the FIFO (first in, first out) method; ensuring older products are used first helps. Keeping track of expiration dates is also key in this regard.
When storing leftovers, ensure they are sealed in air-tight containers to maintain freshness and prevent contamination. Label containers with dates and contents to ensure they are used in a timely manner.
Over-ordering ingredients and large portion sizes are common contributors to food waste. By adopting portion control techniques, foodservice operators can reduce waste and help ensure that food safety is maintained.
While some food waste is inevitable, it’s essential to dispose of it properly. Recycling and composting food waste not only minimizes landfill waste but can also improve the overall hygiene and safety of your operation.
For food scraps that can’t be repurposed, composting offers an environmentally friendly way to dispose of waste. However, composting needs to be done properly to avoid attracting pests and creating unsanitary conditions. Designating separate bins for food waste, recyclables, and general trash helps ensure that food waste is properly discarded, minimizing contamination risks in the process.
…Food donation laws vary by region, so foodservice businesses should stay informed about local rules regarding food donations, including food safety protocols for donors.
In many cases, surplus food can be donated to local charities or food banks. However, donating food comes with its own set of food safety considerations. Operators must adhere to food safety guidelines to ensure donated food remains safe for consumption.
Food donation laws vary by region, so foodservice businesses should stay informed about local rules regarding food donations, including food safety protocols for donors. The health inspector is always a great place to start with questions related to the laws in your local area.
An often-overlooked aspect of food waste management is training staff to handle food properly. Employees should be well-versed in food safety protocols, including safe food handling, storing, and discarding practices. Regular staff training can help reduce food waste while maintaining high standards of food safety. Encouraging staff to be mindful of waste, whether by reusing ingredients or taking steps to reduce excess waste, can lead to significant improvements in both food safety and waste management practices.
Managing food waste while maintaining food safety is a delicate balance in retail foodservice operations. By implementing effective storage, portion control, recycling, and donation strategies, foodservice businesses can reduce waste without compromising the safety of the food they serve. Risk Nothing.
Developing Good Food Safety Habits
Good habits and habit development are something that has fascinated me for several years. If you’ve attended any the training programs or presentations that my colleagues and I have conducted through our Center for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs, you’ve likely heard me opine about the importance of habits and how habits are created. Many times, in foodservice operations we wonder why our staff don’t follow the food safety practices we have established in our operation. Perhaps they don’t wash their hands when they are required, perhaps they just don’t use the proper method of handwashing, or perhaps we find that they don’t complete our HACCP logs as often as our program dictates should occur. And while we can stomp our feet and say “it is their job, they should just do it”, it really isn’t that simple. We can’t order people to change, although if we could, business and human resources would be so much simpler.
Getting Your Playbook for Food Safety Organized
As anyone who has ever worked in a foodservice operation knows, from the time food is received in your establishment to the time it is served to your customers, following proper food safety practices is crucial. What many don’t often think about is this time really should extend from the time the manager places their orders with their suppliers (including which purveyors you utilize), through the time the food is consumed – even if that consumption occurs off your premises and days after the original order was picked up by the guest. This is something that has certainly been highlighted by the pandemic as customers across the nation are utilizing take-out, curbside to go, and third-party delivery options more so now than ever before.
Getting Started with Building the Infrastructure
Hopefully in our first January blog, we convinced you of the importance of establishing an infrastructure within your operation to support a safe food culture. So, how does one go about doing this? Well, like any major project, break it into small bites. In our opinion, having a written guide for employees that documents expectations related to food safety basics of employee health and hygiene, temperature controls, and cleaning and sanitizing is the first step. Having this documentation serves as a reference for training and helps fulfill the mission of most foodservice operators which is to serve safe, quality food.
Food Safety Resolutions for the New Year
Finally, 2020 is in our rearview mirror and we can all turn the page to 2021! Resolutions for the new year might be more of the same from prior years (lose weight, exercise more, less screen time, etc.) OR you may have identified new practices to implement in your operation. If the latter, likely goals included some practices related to food safety – especially given the turmoil of 2020 and heightened concern by customers. It is our philosophy that attention to safe food handling practices is a win-win for any operation because of the direct relationship between food safety and food quality, which in turn leads to customer satisfaction. This past year has also demonstrated that attention to safety can affect the bottom line. Thus, the topic of our first SafeBites webinar for 2021 is on the topic of the return on investment of food safety, it is scheduled for January 20, so register now and please plan to attend.
