There is a lot to cover and learn about food safety, and there are so many great resources available for your restaurant to help make the process of staying in compliance more manageable. Last week, we went over some safety basics, such as hygiene, best practices for handling food and the incredible technology that will be the future of food safety. Our goal this week is to cover a few more food safety basics and easy ways to keep all employees up to date and in the know..
Adequate Training
Training every employee correctly is going to be key in ensuring everyone is up to code on all of the best practices, rules and guidelines. Your restaurant could have the best food safety procedures in the world, but it won’t do you any good if your employees are not properly trained to follow those procedures. You want them to learn how your restaurant labels food, stores food, how you avoid cross contamination, how to properly wash hands, and any other safety measures you have in place. Get as specific as you can in this training. For example, when you tell them how to wash their hands, be specific about all the factors that require hand washing like eating, drinking, using the restroom, handling chemicals, cleaning off tables, etc. Food safety is important, so it would be well worth your time to have refresher training a couple of times a year. This will reiterate the importance of the matter and also allow a specific time for employees to ask questions if they need to.
Do Your Homework
Make sure you are up to speed with the government’s guidelines. Before you create training for employees, you want to know you have covered all your bases and are giving them accurate information. You can start by looking up the FDA food code and seeing if your procedures align with the governments.
Disposable Tools
Does your kitchen use disposable tools, like sponges? If so, do not overlook this aspect of food safety. Make sure you are discarding sponges regularly. Bacteria can build up over time, eventually making people sick.
Date Marking
Date marking is for refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods. This helps to control the growth of listeria monocytogenes and is recommended by the FDA. When implemented correctly, it helps to assure the food is discarded before the bacteria can cause any foodborne illness.
There are many aspects of food-safety and all are equally important. Take time this month to review what policies you have in place, how you are currently implementing them and what you can do to improve these practices in 2023.
