 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.  Protect the safety of prepared foods
Ready-to-eat convenience foods represent a growing portion of sales for restaurant brands across categories. Research from Innova Market Research found that three in five consumers are using convenience foods at least once per week, while one in five are using them more than once per day. As restaurants look to meet this rising demand, however, they also face new potential risks with regard to food safety (not to mention food waste). If you’re offering more convenience foods nowadays, is there room for you to manage these risks more effectively using staff training, improving hygiene practices or refining the organization of your prepared foods case? For example, if you have an excess amount of a protein near the end of its shelf life and incorporate it into a soup or sandwich for your prepared foods case, how are you ensuring that it is served for the right amount of time before being removed? If you discount these foods in order to clear them, how can you preserve guest trust in your food safety? How can you push the envelope with ingredient innovation with these foods and ensure your food safety practices keep pace with those changes as needed? A recent report from Food Safety Magazine outlines some of the risks that these foods can pose — and the questions operators can ask themselves to make sure they are making the most of the opportunity to capture guest interest in fresh-prepared foods while minimizing their risks. |
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