Seeing that foodservice operators get the most out of equipment and supplies for food safety is an important part of the job for Jennifer Tong, the recently named director of the Restaurant Food Safety Division of NSF International, a nonprofit public health and safety certification organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Tong is responsible for the strategic development of NSF’s Dine Safer, a certification program that helps foodservice operators improve the quality of their food and enhance their food safety efforts. It combines federal and state regulations with industry best practices. The program is intended to work with operators to design a food-safety program or improve an existing one.
In fact, one of the program’s hallmarks is that its professional auditors, about 70 in all, not only conduct on-site evaluations of food safety programs, but also work constructively with the operators.
“Our auditors in the field play a role in food safety training by sharing their knowledge of what should be done better,” Tong said. “Even in the best of facilities, there are always ways to improve.”
Before joining NSF, Tong was a health and safety regulatory affairs consultant and department director for the National Restaurant Association. Prior to that, she was the director of food safety and nutrition outreach for the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.
Expanding the partner base of operators is high on her to-do list.
“I hope that every restaurant company that wishes to be a leader in food safety will use our services,” she said.
How could food safety be improved by better use of equipment?
Temperature monitoring is an area in which there can always be improvement. So having the right tools…and knowing how to use them are key. Our auditing staff will make sure that operators take temperatures correctly, understand what they mean and know how to properly calibrate the thermometers.
We also point out that equipment should be used only for its intended purpose. Take a sandwich unit, for example, that keeps food below 40 degrees Fahrenheit when it runs in a 70 degrees Fahrenheit environment. But if it is installed next to a grill where it’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit, it may not do what it’s supposed to do. Another example is using hot-holding equipment to rethermalize or even cook food, neither of which is the intended use.
Do you endorse the use of particular food safety equipment?
We help operators assess their individual needs, because they all aren’t cookie-cutter. For example, if there is a lot of food to cool down rapidly, it might be wise to cool it in smaller batches or in shallower pans, stir it with an ice paddle or use a blast chiller, depending on the operation.
