The Importance of Air Gaps in Providing Safe Food to All
Late last month, I was exploring job tasks that are important for entry-level foodservice managers to understand related to food safety. The usual items that you would suspect were on the list were certainly included – foodborne outbreaks; temperature danger zone; physical, biological, and chemical contamination; personal hygiene and proper glove use; HACCP systems, etc. But one thing I noticed was missing that really is integral to protecting the food supply in any foodservice operation is air gaps.
I thought back to when I was starting my management career in foodservice, and I know I was certainly aware of what an air gap was, but looking back now, I certainly took them for granted. After all, I was managing a foodservice operation that had been opened since the 1960s. Certainly, all the plumbing had air gaps in place, and it wasn’t something that I had to worry about – or so I thought.
There have been instances where a lack of air gaps did cause illness – and most have been in established operations. For example, a few years ago, a popular quick service Mexican restaurant in California caused over 100 customers to contract Norovirus. Upon investigation, the health found that contaminated water from a sink that lacked proper air gaps had likely caused the outbreak.
Air gaps may be a dry subject to discuss and learn about, but they are a critical component of food safety…
If you are not quite familiar with what an air gap is, it is a vertical space between the water outlet and the flood level rim of a sink or other plumbing fixture. Essentially, a physical separation between potentially contaminated water and the source of fresh water. It is designed to prevent any backflow of contaminated water into the freshwater supply. This is especially important in areas where food is prepared, cooked, or served and plays an important role in preventing the spread of harmful bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens that can cause foodborne illness.
Why are air gaps so vital to protecting public health? When water pressure drops in a plumbing system, a vacuum can form, causing water to flow backward and potentially contaminate the freshwater supply. An air gap prevents this from happening by creating a physical barrier between the water source and the potentially contaminated water. Without an air gap, contaminated water can easily flow the water supply, ultimately contaminating food and causing illness.
It is important to note that air gaps must be properly installed. But they must also be properly maintained to be effective. Regular inspections and maintenance are critical to ensuring that air gaps are functioning properly and protecting against cross-contamination. I was reminded of this last week as I was drawing water for a mop bucket in our foodservice lab at the university – and I caught myself filling the bucket with the hose in the mop water, failing to keep the air gap that is needed to protect the water supply. What is the solution? Cutting the hose, making sure to keep it long enough to be able to effectively fill the mop bucket, but short enough that an employee (or in this case, me!) cannot stick the hose in the mop bucket.
Air gaps may be a dry subject to discuss and learn about, but they are a critical component of food safety in any foodservice operation. Following best practices for air gap installation and maintenance will help any foodservice operator protect their customers and ensure 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.
