Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Don't Make Your Customers Sick: Some Food Safety Advice

By Malcolm J. Richmond

When owning your own restaurant the health and safety of customers should be at the top of your list of priorities. Whether small or large, proper sanitation and people's health should be the first thing you think about.

We all know the dangers of ignoring health code issues. You may know of, or have even been to a restaurant with poor food hygiene. Poor food hygiene equals sick customers. At best a sick customer will simply never return. In other situations this customer may sue, costing you money through fines, legal fees and loss of business.

Recovering from the loss of reputation that results from poor food safety can be nigh on impossible. Because of this it makes much more sense to protect yourself and your customers by ensuring that your food safety standards are high to begin with.

When viewing food hygiene guidelines, it's easy to see that cleanliness is an extremely important factor. The containers and food storage areas need to be kept sterile and clean, and the people who handle the food should know what they are doing and make sure that they are taking the necessary precautions.

Food should be thoroughly cooked, and whether being stored or served, should be at an appropriate temperature to prevent the multiplication of bacteria.

Cross contamination, especially with regard to meat, is also something that requires constant vigilance. Meat should always be stored in such a way that accidental drippings will not contaminate other foods.

One of the most important parts of good hygiene for food is that everyone who is handling the food needs to be trained well and made aware of your restaurant's safety's procedures. Prior to and after handling food, the employees need to wash their hands using warm water and liquid soap, then dry them with a towel which is specifically for that purpose. This needs to be done after any employee uses the bathroom, after they handle money, after blowing his or her nose or sneezing, and when they come back from a break.

Even if you believe that you have a good handle on food safety, it doesn't hurt to consult an expert. It's hard for any owner or manager to look at their business with an objective eye since they see it every day. You may find that consulting with an expert can save you a lot of problems down the line because they may pick up on things that you didn't notice or didn't realize. The consultant is going to look at your restaurant's procedures for safety and make some suggestions. This examination is likely to find things that may cause a problem in the future. Finding and fixing these will reduce the possibility of having an outbreak of food poisoning. - 16955

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