Do you think your restaurant has little to worry about when it comes to food allergens? Think again! About one in ten adults suffer from at least one food allergy. As if that’s not worrisome enough, food allergies are increasing and widening.
That means there’s a chance someone will experience a reaction at your business!
There is something you can do to prevent that, though. It all starts with food safety.
Food safety is paramount for both compliance with the law and your guest’s health. Read on to discover five crucial food safety tips you need to be following.
1. Create Clear Cleaning Guidelines
Food safety starts with proper cleaning. Even the safest and best food can get contaminated by dirty dishes or countertops. That’s why you need to ensure your kitchen area is always up-to-par.
To ensure your kitchen is clean, you need to create clear cleaning guidelines. These guidelines should outline:
- What needs to get cleaned
- When things should get cleaned
- How to clean specific areas or tools
- The types of PPE your employees need to clean and prepare food
You need to schedule routine deep commercial kitchen cleaning, too. This all ensures your food doesn’t get contaminated in the kitchen.
2. Delegate Tasks
A perfect business cleaning outline won’t do much good if no one adheres to it. That’s why your next step needs to be delegating tasks to specific employees. A rotating schedule will work, too.
Whichever way you delegate cleaning duties, be sure that everyone understands them. Let employees know that they have an obligation to adhere to the cleaning standards. Violations should also come with clear penalties, too.
3. Stay Aware of Recalls
The last thing you need is to bring contaminated food into your clean kitchen! To avoid this, you need to stay aware of recent food recalls. Make it a habit to browse these recall lists on a regular basis.
4. Make Allergen Information Clear and Concise
Safe food can still be dangerous if a person is allergic to it. That’s why you must post allergen information on your business’s menu. Do your best to be clear and concise with potential allergy information.
5. Maintain a Good Sick Employee Policy
Finally, don’t let an employee’s illness get spread through your food. That means you shouldn’t allow sick employees to handle food. A good sick employee policy can prevent this from happening.
Food Safety is Crucial in 2021
Food safety isn’t only about your guest’s and employee’s health. It’s also about compliance with the law. Violating food safety standards puts your business at risk of getting shut down. Not only that, but you could face a lawsuit, too.
With that in mind, it’s a good idea to start using these tips now.
Are you looking for more crucial business tips and tricks? We know how important it is for your business to thrive this year after the disaster of 2020. Keep browsing through our business blog section for more awesome content you’ll love.