 Extreme heat has become a way of life in recent summers. The past seven years have been the seven hottest years on record. Further, the number of heat waves each year have tripled since the 1960s, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Those already-high temperatures skyrocket in a busy restaurant kitchen. Hot temperatures are not only dangerous for older workers but a drain on productivity. In a recent article in The Washington Post, Chad Asplund, a sports medicine physician and the executive director for the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health, said there are similarities between athletes and minimum-wage workers when it comes to pushing physical boundaries in the heat. “I have seen studies that demonstrate that errors for indoor workers start going up 1 percent at every degree above 77 degrees, and that once you get higher than 92 degrees, you start losing your productivity,” he said. While the restaurant industry lacks regulations when it comes to managing heat in foodservice kitchens, expect that to change as more parts of the U.S. experience unseasonably high temperatures – and think now about how you may need to adapt your business to provide relief, in the form of breaks and substitute staff.
 There are almost always warning signs when a product recall is in your future, according to food safety expert Rob Kooijmans. In a recent interview with New Food, he said it’s a common mistake for people in the industry to overlook the signs – but being more vigilant could mean avoiding a food safety incident that harms someone and damages your reputation. Kooijmans said early warning signs include food safety-related complaints and repeated negative feedback from customers about a particular product or batch. When this happens, checking internal food safety protocols is important, as well as monitoring supplier food safety issues, since he said half of all recalls are the result of problems related to the supplier.
 At a time when resources are scarce at restaurants, investing in food safety may not feel like a key priority. But the costs of letting it slip can be substantial: According to a study from Johns Hopkins University, the cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak at a quick-service restaurant ranges from $4000-$1.9 million and escalates to between $8,300 and $2.6 million for a fine-dining restaurant. To make sure you apply your resources in ways that make the biggest difference to your business, Steritech advises restaurants use a bell-curve model across their locations, with the high-risk, repeatedly low-performing stores and the low-risk, repeatedly top-performing locations receiving fewer resources than the middle section. While these mid performers may be underestimated, this group is often where operators can identify changes that result in significant, scalable solutions that have a big impact across stores.
 It almost sounds counterintuitive in light of how food safety has grown in visibility and importance over the past few years: When it comes to making changes to your food safety program, incremental adjustments are best. In a webinar presented by the National Restaurant Association, Chris Boyles, vice president of food safety at Steritech, said it’s critical to be able to track changes over time to demonstrate how well a restaurant is performing. Each time an operator makes a major change to their food safety program, it’s that much more difficult to track progress over time. Consider quarterly reviews as well as annual verification that the program aligns with business goals. When adjustments are needed, make them individually, on a cyclical basis, and in order of priority so your efforts are easier to track.
 A visit from a health and safety inspector can cause anxiety in a restaurant, but it doesn’t have to. Spreading the responsibility for food safety across your team can help everyone gain the confidence they need to present your facility well. At a time when turnover remains high and resources are stretched, weaving automated learning tools into the fabric of everyday tasks can help. First identify your basic needs when it comes to training so you can gather resources that address past problems and new processes. While every employee should be given high-level training, follow-up training should be continuous and built into the flow of work, with checklists and mini lessons accessed via mobile device so they accompany the employee and be updated in real time.
 According to FEMA, a single inch of floodwater can cause $26,807 in damages. Beyond financial harm, floods can pose risks of mold and structural damage to your facility – not to mention risk the safety of your food. Climate instability has made many cities more vulnerable to flooding through hurricanes and rising sea levels, so it makes sense to take precautions to protect your structure and limit potential damage. A Modern Restaurant Management report advises that outdoors, operators keep gutters clean and ensure that downspouts and exterior walls direct water away from the building so it doesn’t pool and seep below the foundation. Inspect and maintain the roof and windows to prevent leaks. Finally, using water detection devices placed near sump pumps can alert you to moisture and the start of flooding before it becomes a disaster.
 Unionization is on the rise at restaurants right now, and recent efforts to unionize several Starbucks locations and one Chipotle location have made headlines recently. In the case of Chipotle, employees of the Augusta, Maine store said faltering food safety practices, a rise in cross-contamination and negligence about employee safety contributed to their efforts. As restaurant operators continue to feel squeezed, which naturally pushes them to make difficult compromises about staff and safety, it’s critical to continue to prioritize communication with staff. A recent Nation’s Restaurant News report, which shared the views of labor attorneys on opposite sides of the issue, indicated that employers need to demonstrate to employees that they are listening actively to their concerns in order to find solutions – not simply reacting to demands.
 As summer wanes and cooler weather returns, flu season – and perhaps new Covid strains – are just around the corner. Take time now to put your business in a stronger position to respond to (and ideally prevent) staff illness. Fine-tune your cleaning and sanitation practices, as well as review your sick-time policy. Consider what potential medical benefits, such as a telemedicine benefit, might be useful to staff and workable for you. At the very least, make sure everyone is on board with proper and frequent handwashing – and provide sanitizer throughout your facility as an extra precaution. Adherence to proper handwashing procedures could go farther than anything else in helping to keep your team healthy.
 At a time when food prices are escalating faster than they have in 40 years, it’s all the more critical to minimize food waste. That includes not just measuring ingredients precisely and using nose-to-tail approaches to food preparation, but also being able to readily monitor the freshness of food and the presence of pathogens. As your kitchen becomes more connected, ensure you have the capability to be alerted promptly to the growth of bacteria or other indicators that your food isn’t as fresh as it could be. Kitchen sensors can now help track these things, and the prompts may be opportunities to not only avoid a food-safety incident, but also to cut costs by adjusting necessary ingredient quantities and take the load off of an already-stretched team.
 Short-staffed? Who isn’t? While being shorthanded can lead to food preparation mistakes and safety problems, you can take steps to minimize your risk. On a regular basis, review what tasks are taking the most time and attention from your staff. Consider how to automate and/or simplify them with such helpers as precise ingredient dispensers; pre-measured, -cut and -seasoned ingredients; probes that monitor the functioning of appliances and notify staff of problems; digitized food safety logging; and digitized ordering that prompts guests to alert back-of-house staff to an allergy.
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