September is National Food Safety Month: The Future of Food Safety
Each September we recognize the importance of food safety every day in our operations by celebrating National Food Safety Month. This year’s theme, The Future of Food Safety, emphasizes the changing environment in which foodservice operates. Each week of September has a unique focus:
- Regulation Changes—Staying compliant with new regulations
- Suppliers—Best practices for receiving food
- Consumers—Responding to new trends and technologies
- Employees—Their role in ensuring food safety
Go to www.foodsafetyfocus.com to download resources related to these four focus areas.
At FoodHandler, we believe that food safety should be the focus in foodservice operations every day. This month our blog presents ideas for creating a positive food safety culture, which we believe forms the foundation for a strong food safety program. We are pleased to provide on-going support for operators through webinars, blogs, signage, logs, and other resources. Let us know how we can support you—
The Future of Food Safety is important for all of us. Do something extra this month to focus on food safety—provide a training session, use a table tent to communicate to customers your concern for food safety—let your imagination run wild!
Mitigating Risk in the Overall Food Safety System
In the 1990s, when I took my first food safety class, we learned about a new system called HACCP. Ok, maybe it wasn’t that new, but it sure seemed new at the time. My memory has certainly faded since that class in 1997, but I do recall our discussion in the class about how HACCP would become the norm for all foodservice establishments in the future. Fast forward almost 25 years and the only foodservice operation mandated to have a HACCP program is school foodservice - certainly not the widespread adoption that we thought might come about.
Finding the Food Safety Training Program that is Right for You
Whichever you decide, because some jurisdictions have more stringent requirements than the conference for food protection, check with your local health department to make sure they also recognize the exam before you pay for it.
