Remembering the Importance of Food Safety During Food Safety Education Month
In the foodservice industry, every plate that leaves your kitchen carries not just flavors and aromas, but also the responsibility of providing safe and wholesome meals to customers. Celebrated each September, National Food Safety Education Month provides a platform for foodservice professionals to reaffirm their commitment to food safety. It’s a reminder that excellence in foodservice operations must always be accompanied by excellence in food safety; a reminder that any great meal begins with safe food as the foundation.
With everything you face as a foodservice operator, why should National Food Safety Education Month be so important for your business? If you’ve read these blogs at all, you have likely read about the importance we place on building a culture of food safety. September can be the month that you refocus your values. Your food safe culture begins with you as a manager, how you interact with your employees and where you place emphasis in your daily operations. A food safety culture values food safety – remember that your priorities can change daily, but your values stay the same. Use September to reaffirm your values with your employees and your customers.
Food safety is not just a regulatory requirement; it helps to establish and build trust with your customers. When patrons dine out, they trust that their meal will be safe to eat. By actively participating in National Food Safety Education Month, foodservice establishments reinforce their commitment to maintaining this trust with their guests.
Food safety may play a behind-the-scenes role, but its importance cannot be overstated.
For most operators, this is a great time to revisit some of our food safety practices that may have weakened during the peak summer months. What better time to do this than during this lull between summer and the holiday season? What are some ways in which you can participate in food safety month? Here are a few ideas to consider.
- Reinforce the importance of food safety training with your employees. Knowledge is the first line of defense against foodborne illnesses. Comprehensive food safety training for your staff should be a goal that all operators strive to achieve.
- If you have a HACCP program, or components of a HACCP program, conduct a thorough audit of the plan or program you have in place. Is it working? What could be improved? Engage employees in the process early on – they are truly the ones who know how it can be improved.
- Revisit your Master Cleaning Schedule, has it been kept up-to-date? Ensure that all equipment and utensils are properly cleaned and sanitized after use and are maintained appropriately. Not only will this help protect the food supply, but it will also help in extending the useful life of your equipment.
- Take a few minutes and double check your food safety supplies. Make sure your employees have the correct amounts and sizes of gloves, handwashing supplies, and cleaning chemicals to use on the job. Also be sure to inventory thermometers, and while you’re at it, make sure they are properly calibrated.
Food safety may play a behind-the-scenes role, but its importance cannot be overstated. As we honor National Food Safety Education Month, let us celebrate the dedication and commitment of foodservice professionals who work tirelessly to ensure that dining experiences are not only memorable but also free from foodborne risks. Risk nothing,
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining, Part II – Back-of-house
In our first blog this month, we discussed the importance of front-of-house practices as we emerge from the pandemic this summer and into fall. Making your guests feel safe will be an important point as we welcome them back to our establishment. The safer they feel, the more likely they are to revisit and this could, in turn, be a competitive advantage for your business.
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining
Spring is my favorite time of year, as we head out of the winter months, welcome warmer weather, and increase the daylight hours. As such, we turnover a new leaf and welcome new life as our grass, trees, and perennials come out of dormancy. This year as the Coronavirus vaccine continues its roll out and we welcome a third vaccine onto the market this morning, perhaps this spring we are turning over a ‘new leaf’ in a much more profound way, as we see light at the end of the Coronavirus tunnel.
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.
