![]() Is your team always inspection-ready? If not, having interim inspections can help your team develop the procedures it needs to form better habits – and make the actual inspection not such a big deal. Get an up-to-date copy of your local health inspector’s evaluation criteria and use it to fine-tune your existing procedures and division of tasks during each shift. If you’re in the midst of onboarding new staff and concerned about having tasks fall through the cracks as you get everyone up to speed, it can also help to use task management software to generate lists of tasks for employees to carry out. This can keep people on track regardless of how long they have been with you and who is around to assign tasks. ![]() Summer is salad season. But the abundance of leafy greens available means restaurant operators have to be extra vigilant about food safety. Germs found on raw produce cause a large percentage of foodborne illnesses in the U.S. and are a major source of E. coli infections, in particular. Increasingly, indoor farms are popping up around the country to enable year-round growing of greens. As these greens are grown in water instead of soil and also harvested and packaged indoors, they offer a lower-risk alternative to greens grown outdoors. Amid food safety risks related to extreme weather, supply chain vulnerabilities, pathogens and pesticides, does your restaurant have a plan to gradually transition to safer suppliers? ![]() Sliced lemon (or lime) is a popular request in any restaurant, whether you’re serving a cocktail, a soft drink or a carafe of water. Just make sure your staff are being mindful of food safety when slicing, handling and storing these items. While various nonscientific studies of lemon safety in restaurants have made overblown headlines over the years, there are risks to be aware of. Research conducted in 2019 by the University of Florida’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Citrus Research and Education Center and Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences found that Salmonella can survive on lemon and lime garnishes and transfer into chilled beverages. Keeping the slices chilled on ice and in refrigeration decreases the growth of Salmonella on the fruit surface. It’s also important to minimize the risk of cross-contamination when preparing and handling lemon and lime as there is no step to remove or kill pathogens when they contact the fruit surface. Handling the slices only with clean tongs stored outside of the container can help. ![]() Let’s face it: The optics of food safety have become much more important since the pandemic started. Food safety is not only important to protecting your business behind the scenes. It’s also become something to showcase to guests so they trust you’re committed to protecting them – and it can also help you attract business from competitors who don’t make their safety practices clear. If you haven’t already, consider making your food safety commitment a key part of your marketing. The National Restaurant Association’s ServeSafe Dining Commitment, for example, enables restaurants to place the SSDC logo on their front door, website, menu and other materials to show guests you’re doing your part to protect their safety. ![]() Restaurant work is physical labor – and at a time when it’s more challenging than ever to have a complete team ready to work, it’s important to do what you can to prevent on-the-job injuries. Consider how you’re managing manual-handling risks. Heavy or frequent lifting and carrying of bulk food containers can cause back injuries, as can reaching up or down into awkward or difficult-to- access spaces. Markel Insurance advises operators to store heavy items at a height between workers’ hips and chest, or to use carts to move heavy items from storage areas and coolers. Limit repetitive lifting where possible and ensure that when it must happen, workers are lifting with their legs and with the load directly in front of them and close to them. Adapt other areas in the restaurant that may not seem like big risks but can pose repetitive stress injuries, like pass-through windows that are too high or deep. ![]() Reusable menus are so 2019 – and they are also among the grimiest items in your restaurant. If you want a more eco-friendly alternative to paper menus, consider blackboard menus, digital menus or menus available via QR code. The transition away from the large, reusable, multi-page menu doesn’t have just safety benefits, either – it can also help you make more frequent changes to your food selection, encourage you to whittle down your menu and allow you to focus on delivering a smaller variety of items especially well. ![]() Summer often coincides with a spike in food poisoning as hot temperatures help foodborne pathogens thrive. The CDC advises that all perishable items are refrigerated within one hour, particularly if it’s 90°F or warmer. If you’re preparing food and serving guests outdoors, make sure employees are wearing gloves and using tongs for serving. Provide hand sanitizers or wipes if a handwashing sink isn’t immediately accessible. Finally, take extra care with marinades and sauces that may have touched raw meat and could spread bacteria to cooked foods through direct contact or splatter. When removing cooked meat from the grill, always use clean utensils and a clean plate. ![]() Do you keep salt and pepper shakers on your tables, or even containers for condiments like ketchup and mustard? They are the kinds of items less likely to be cleared from tables between guests – and are therefore likely to be among the grimiest items in your restaurant, according to research from The Rail. If you haven’t done so already, edit down the items you keep on each table that guests are apt to touch. Ideally, provide packets or reusable containers for guests who request these items. If you need to keep the items on tables throughout the day, make sure they are included in your cleaning and sanitizing routine. ![]() It's more than enough to make you lose your appetite: One of the least sanitary places in a restaurant is the ice machine – not what anyone wants to hear, especially during the season of cool drinks. As The Rail reports, a 2006 study found that 70 percent of ice in ice machines contained more bacteria than the water in a toilet. How can you avoid this, right now? A weekly cleaning with a chlorine solution can keep mold and slime at bay, while a water softener or phosphate filter can prevent scale buildup. Have the machine professionally serviced on a regular basis as well. Look for traces of mold, slime, scale or sediment in your ice machine regularly, and use a clean scoop (stored outside of the machine) to scoop ice. ![]() Cleaning tools such as sponges and wiping cloths can become contaminated with bacterial pathogens and harbor these contaminants for more than two weeks, according to a recent study by researchers at the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. The researchers found that E. coli, Salmonella and S. aureus survived for up to 16 days in sponges and 13 days on microfiber towels washed in sterile water – and that sanitizing solution is ineffective at sterilizing these tools after four hours. Are you replacing sanitizing solution frequently enough in your kitchen? |
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