In a restaurant, a food safety issue can snowball quickly into a health and public relations concern. Your employee training can help contain the issue. If and when a guest alerts your staff to a food safety issue, do you trust that your staff communicates in a way that protects customers and maintains trust?
Your staff can manage a reported food safety concern by acknowledging the incident and apologizing without getting defensive. They can record what the guest ate and when, as well as any symptoms they experienced, then agreeing to investigate the cause and follow up with them. From there, your team can review the preparation process of the suspected dish, checking storage, cooking, and serving practices to ensure proper hygiene and temperature control. Inspect the ingredients for signs of spoilage or contamination and verify supplier records. Investigate risks of cross-contamination, such as improper handling of raw and ready-to-eat foods. Were cleaning protocols followed for utensils and surfaces? Examine staff hygiene practices, equipment cleanliness, and the overall kitchen environment for lapses. Review food safety records, including temperature logs and cleaning schedules. If you suspect foodborne illness, notify health authorities and cooperate fully. Finally, take corrective actions, such as enhancing staff training or updating procedures, and follow up with the guest to provide transparency and reassurance. At a time of year when seasonal illnesses run rampant, foodservice operations must manage a difficult balancing act: When an employee feels unwell, should they come to work – or take time away from a busy shift to recover? If you’re like most foodservice businesses, you have a written employee health policy that helps guide your operation’s management of staff wellness. But that doesn’t mean it’s doing its job. According to a recent study by the International Association for Food Protection, over 98 percent of foodservice businesses surveyed have a written employee health policy. Yet when it comes to demonstrating accountability for and awareness of that policy, the numbers drop dramatically. For example, only 9 percent of respondents said they had a wellness check before a shift and 7.5 percent said their policy was reinforced by management. If this sounds familiar, consider how your operation compares to the restaurant brand First Watch, which was awarded the 2024 Food Safety Excellence Award from Steritech. Winners of this award must demonstrate their food safety performance against seven pillars: leadership, communication, standards, training, scorecard, oversight and recognition. In a recent webinar from Steritech and the National Restaurant Association, First Watch food safety leaders explained that their employee wellness policy is something that all staff must read and agree to. From there, the restaurant uses the third-party service Zero Hour Health to manage their health program. All employees are trained that when they feel ill, they have to report to their manager and complete an electronic survey about their health symptoms. Nurses and health representatives from Zero Hour Health review the responses and provide clear feedback (in the form of a green check or a red X) indicating whether it’s okay to return to work and when. Looking at your own operation, do you see opportunity to remove any food safety risks related to employee wellness?
Keep pace with tech’s food safety risks
Technology has brought a number of safety-enhancing changes to foodservice kitchens: Sensor-connected appliances are helping to ensure foods are cooked to the proper temperatures, while voice-activated and touch-free technology are containing cross-contamination risks. However, some innovations have introduced new risks to manage. Tablets and other smart devices with touchscreens, specifically, can pose contamination risks, according to a new study by Queens University in Belfast, Ireland. During the study, participants had their hands and personal devices swabbed to analyze for bacteria. During a 30-minute cooking activity, they touched their smart device almost six times on average. After cooking, around 6 percent of pre-cleaned devices were contaminated with potential food-poisoning bacteria. A Food Safety News report about the study said using antibacterial wipes containing alcohol can reduce contamination on smart device surfaces. However, microbial analysis found that Salmonella and E. coli could survive on tablet touchscreens for more than 24 hours at room temperature, potentially contributing to cross-contamination. In the context of a large residential facility or a business serving vulnerable populations, a safety risk (whether in the front or back of the house) can multiply quickly. As foodservice practices evolve, so should food safety – and the training that supports it, according to food safety expert Francine Shaw. “I encourage food businesses to view advancements in food safety…as meaningful investments rather than mere expenses,” she said in a recent report from Quality Assurance Magazine. “When implemented effectively, the return on investment can be substantial. These initiatives can help minimize recalls, lower labor costs, enhance consumer trust, reduce foodborne illnesses and ultimately save lives.” Food safety is having a consumer confidence crisis. According to a recent Gallup poll, 42 percent of Americans have little to no confidence in the government’s ability to keep food safe. It’s easy to understand why: In 2019, the government issued 330 food recalls. In just the first six months of 2024, there were 578 – and they often generate news headlines. In the current economic environment, foodservice operations must not only entice consumers to spend money on meals away from home, but they must also take extra precautions to demonstrate that the food they serve is safe.
As you prepare to start the New Year, is there room to improve your operation’s approach to food safety? Much of it comes down to culture – that includes making a top-down, daily commitment to food safety, encouraging all employees to take ownership of it, helping staff understand the “why” behind safety precautions and connecting the why to specific tasks, and discussing food safety as a means of improving business (not as a tick-the-box exercise). On that note, consider food safety records to be your friend: They can help you prevent repeating tasks, ensure tasks are carried out correctly and consistently, and improve traceability in case of a recall. What’s more, careful recordkeeping can save you time in the event of a food safety violation by helping you demonstrate that a compliance problem was an isolated incident – not a widespread problem requiring time-consuming investigation. Bringing in a consultant can help you show your commitment to food safety in your operation, as well as reinforce the connection between the potential consequences of a food safety problem and the specific actions needed to prevent one. Contact Team Four if you need a food safety tune-up in the New Year. It’s that time of year when groups are gathering to share festive meals – and often, that involves a buffet table. While buffets provide seemingly high-value experiences to guests at a time when quantity is the new quality, they also pose a range of risks to operators. For one, they generate food safety challenges. Though anyone can get food poisoning, guests who have weakened immune systems, are pregnant, are aged 65 and older, or are younger than five years old are at higher risk of contracting a severe illness due to food poisoning, according to the CDC. When foods are served that are more prone to contamination, or if staffing difficulties prevent you from refreshing food or monitoring serving frequently, it becomes easy for food to be left out for too long, to be mishandled or stored improperly, or for cross-contamination to occur.
Beyond safety, nearly half of the food served from buffets goes to waste, according to Global Research and Consulting Group Insights. Taking steps to change people’s habits around buffets may help – both in improving safety and minimizing waste. Try using smaller plates and serving utensils to encourage manageable servings. Focus on a reduced selection of quality servings so people will be less tempted to sample more than they can eat. Provide cook-to-order stations where possible – and scale down buffet preparation toward the end of a shift (possibly offering individualized ordering as items run low). One study on improving the sustainability of buffets advises making structural changes to the setup of the buffet. Perhaps you can change the layout of your buffet so it’s easier for guests to return for seconds, gamify the meal to encourage guests to sit and savor their food, and provide rewards or discounts for those leaving zero plate waste. A gastrointestinal virus like norovirus can quickly wipe out your team, along with significant numbers of guests. Last year, a norovirus outbreak in North Carolina made headlines when more than 240 people complained of illness after dining at a sushi restaurant. The health risks are even more pronounced for residents and staff in adult care and senior living facilities, where high concentrations of people with weakened immune systems live in close proximity. Norovirus causes about half of all outbreaks of food-related illness – and it can spread to any food served raw or handled after being cooked. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most reported norovirus outbreaks are caused by people who touch or prepare food when they are sick, or by food that comes from contaminated water.
Now is a good time to remind staff of the risks, make sure frequently touched surfaces are regularly cleaned and sanitized, and refine a staffing plan to make sure you’re ready when illness strikes this season. People who are infected with norovirus can shed billions of norovirus particles in their feces or vomit. A person is most contagious when they feel sick with norovirus and during the first few days after they feel better. (Food workers should stay home when sick and for at least 48 hours after symptoms stop.) If a person works with food when they have norovirus, they can easily contaminate the food and drinks they touch. People who consume those contaminated items can also contract norovirus and become sick. It’s important for people who are sick to not prepare, serve, or touch food for others; to wash produce and cook seafood carefully; to practice proper hand hygiene; and to clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces after someone has become ill. When the sliced onions served up on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders were part of an E. coli outbreak that killed one person and sickened 75 others in October, the incident highlighted the importance of partnerships across the supply chain. Problems can always happen, but when you have partners you can trust to be transparent, proactive and collaborative, you help ensure that those problems are quickly identified and prevented from growing. How well does this describe your network – and your interactions with it?
You may gain some peace of mind if you give your supply chain an informal audit to ensure it operates in a way that contains risks. A recent report from Modern Restaurant Management recommended some areas to assess: Break up silos. Moving to an interconnected model ensures consistent processes, data, and practices, which can help you avoid delays and inaccuracies. Make sure you’re built for speed. Recalls demand a rapid response, from the source to the end consumer. Each of your supply chain partners should be able to verify their inventory, remove contaminated items, and contribute to shared reporting in a timely way. Use standard processes. Uniform systems can simplify product tracking and removal if needed. Test your readiness. Run recall simulations with trading partners to clarify roles and identify knowledge gaps. Take clear action. Once a contaminated product is identified, be in a position to share targeted, actionable messages with stakeholders, including instructions and next steps. Finally, use technology to improve performance. It should enhance your traceability, help you automate processes, and enable you to communicate across your supply chain when you need to. When you’re serving a high volume of guests while perhaps also onboarding new staff, working with a reduced team, or managing a new menu in the kitchen, it can be easy for the details of an order to get lost in translation. If you serve guests with visual or hearing impairments or compromised immune systems, or if you’re in charge of keeping track of the health details of the people you’re serving, those risks can climb exponentially. As a result, a person may be served food that triggers an allergy or worsens a health condition. Your ordering technology, paired with training, can be critical here. When you can connect your digital order to a kitchen display system, you shorten the chain of people between the guest and the person preparing the dish – and ensure the item that the guest ordered is the one seen by the person preparing it. Your ordering technology can involve multiple senses, so a guest’s directions are less likely to be misunderstood. It also helps you ensure that menu updates are made in real time, so the ingredient you had to substitute on your menu today is clear to the person ordering it (who may have placed the same order yesterday and assumes they are getting the exact dish). Beyond tech, your training can help your staff understand the “why” behind your food safety practices. If they appreciate what can go wrong when a guest is served an incorrect dish (as well as the significant amount of trust a guest is placing with them to get things right), they are more likely to take steps to clarify and verify the person’s order.
Food allergies affect approximately 15 million people in the United States and are responsible for about 30,000 emergency room visits and 150–200 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Nearly half of fatal reactions come from food served in restaurants or other foodservice establishments, and managing allergies can be complex due to their changing nature. The economic impact in the U.S. is $25 billion annually, but the real danger is the potential for death, as seen in a recent case where a doctor with severe allergies died after eating at a Disney World restaurant despite warning the staff. Risks run even higher in places such as senior living facilities, where residents rely on others to keep them safe.
Conducting a risk assessment can help you identify potential hazards, determine who might be affected, and evaluate the effectiveness of current controls. It will help you incorporate safety protocols including allergen checklists, ingredient labeling, segregated workstations to prevent cross-contamination, and staff training to ensure you manage allergy risks according to each person’s role. Clear, consistent verbal and written communication with guests, staff, caterers and volunteers is critical. This includes keeping accurate records of ingredient changes, which can help prevent incidents and can support your defense of insurance claims as needed. Your actions can also provide an experience that builds trust and loyalty with guests. By designing allergens out of menus where possible, providing clear ingredient info, and showing empathy toward guests with allergies, you can ensure guest safety and satisfaction. Preserving food safety in a grab-and-go era
Whether out of a need for convenience or an abundance of food choice, consumers have been reaching for grab-and-go foods more readily in recent years. These high-margin foods occupy increasingly larger footprints in the restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores that sell them – and the market is predicted to grow further. The foods themselves are changing too: Unlike the highly processed, high-salt, high-sugar options that were once commonplace in this market, consumers are now seeking convenience foods that are fresh, healthy and contain fruit, vegetables and other whole foods. This adds a new wrinkle to food safety, putting pressure on operators to provide fresh prepared foods that inspire confidence in consumers. Indeed, Food Safety Magazine reported that safety standards are evolving in response to shifts in the prepared foods market, with shelf life and food safety becoming primary factors in operators’ selection of the producers of their grab-and-go foods. Producers of these foods tend to be a patchwork of national and regional suppliers focusing on specific food categories. As a result, a grocery store or café’s prepared foods case can represent a wide range of operating standards and safety protocols. When considering which externally sourced prepared foods to offer in your business, think about the complexities around the shelf life of items, what technologies and/or preservatives producers are using to extend shelf life, and how to be transparent with customers about the ingredients used in the grab-and-go foods you offer. |
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