With the recent outbreak of E. coli in Europe, food safety may be at the forefront of the restaurateur’s mind. No one wants to be responsible for someone getting sick on their watch, and so maintaining food safety practices in the restaurant as well as checking the suppliers’ should be a priority.
A restaurant owner or manager who wants to stop pathogens from being served should do what it takes to prevent it from coming into the kitchen in the first place. Checking with the suppliers to make sure they are obtaining and shipping products in the correct manner can be an important step.
It is also important to make sure farming practices are up to standard. After all, E. coli and other bugs can get onto produce via contaminated water. Thus, irrigation practices and water testing should be in place to make sure products are safe.
Of course, the responsibility isn’t placed only on the suppliers. Restaurants must do their part to make sure food is being prepared properly. This includes making sure hands are properly washed, surfaces are properly cleaned, produce is properly washed, and food is properly cooked.
A major part of this is to make sure the restaurant staff is adequately trained. It is important for them to understand the importance of food safety and why the different protocols are in place. One slip-up could cause the downfall of an entire food safety procedure and get someone sick.
There are different ways to make these facts real to the staff in the restaurant. Posters and signs do some good, but can be easily forgotten. Object lessons and linking the information to real life examples may make the lesson stick better.
No one wants their restaurant to be pinned with a food safety outbreak, but it is one of the risks of the job. Making sure the restaurant staff as well as any suppliers and distributors are keeping up food safety precautions can lower that risk significantly.
Jim Balis' Blog 