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,
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.
To Toss or Not to Toss? That is the question.
Our first blog for the month emphasized the basic safe food practices needed to keep you and your guests healthy (and happy!), especially during these times of COVID. The impact of foodborne illness can range from an uncomfortable few days to hospitalization or death. Foodborne illness IS preventable and the steps taken to keep food safe also maintain quality of food, and ultimately profitability. Think of attention to food safety as part of quality control and a win-win business strategy. Knowledge about food safety can be helpful when controlling costs as making wise decisions when determining the fate of unserved food can affect the bottom line.
Holiday Food Safety Controls
In case you have not noticed - the holidays are here! We have seen store decorations up since mid-September and early bird deals advertised for several weeks, stretching the typical Black Friday deals throughout the month as retailers strive to ensure market share, while following increasingly stringent mandates for physical distancing
