Keeping Food Safety on the Front Burner

Food safety is something that cannot be put on the back burner in the new year. Restaurants and shops are packed with tired shoppers and hungry diners. Food is at the forefront of every celebration, but is food safety? Food safety cannot take a break, and it should be made even more of a priority at this time of year with the rush of the New Year.

Constant Reminders
An influx of dinners and catering orders can send restaurant staff into a tailspin. They may not have extra staff to help with the extra business, so they may find themselves tempted to sacrifice food safety in favour of speed. Whether it is failing to wash hands in-between tasks, not sanitizing the counterspace or cooking things too quickly or not long enough, failure to follow food safety protocols can result in illness for diners. During the holiday rush, there are a slew of best practices that restaurants need to keep in mind. One of those is regularly reminding staff about food safety protocol before their shifts.

Regular team meetings that discuss food safety are also crucial to maintaining safety. Food safety protocol posters can be placed in high traffic areas in the kitchen to act as a reminder for staff members. Be sure that employees understand why food safety is so important, and why certain safety procedures are in place.

Good Hand Hygiene
Good hand hygiene is important for everyone, but especially for restaurant workers. Hand washing can be one of the easiest things to forget or slack on when employees are busy. Reinforce the proper handwashing technique and discuss when employees should be wearing gloves while they handle foods.

Sanitised Surfaces
Surfaces should be sanitised regularly to prevent cross-contamination and to kill illness-causing bacteria. Sanitising counters will not prove effective if the concentration is not at the proper level, however. Employees need to make sure the solution they are using is at the proper concentration level per the directions on the container to ensure that bacteria is being killed.

Labelling Foods
Properly labelling foods is crucial in every kitchen. Not only will food labelling help you keep foods separate to avoid cross-contamination, but it will help decrease food waste. Foods clearly labelled with their prep date, ingredient list, and use-by date with keep everyone in the kitchen organized and on the same page. The DateCodeGenie® is a great way to make labelling easy and efficient.

These tips will ensure that food safety does not take a holiday during the new year.
Translate »