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The importance of food safety and sanitation in the foodservice industry can’t be understated. It’s the difference between customers that regularly return to your business and a damaged reputation due to foodborne illness or similar concerns.
August 11, 2023
Sponsored by Smart Care
Why is food safety important?
The importance of food safety and sanitation in the foodservice industry can’t be understated. It’s the difference between customers that regularly return to your business and a damaged reputation due to foodborne illness or similar concerns.
Being able to experience a delicious meal without getting sick is essential to offering a positive customer experience — all you need to succeed is the ability to safely deliver that food.
How can my foodservice business practice better food safety?
Investing in the importance of food safety starts with being aware of what food safety means.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture lists four main guidelines for keeping food safe: clean, separate, cook, chill. Keeping everything clean, avoiding cross-contamination, cooking to proper temperatures and prompt refrigeration are a lot easier to achieve when you follow these tips:
Prioritize sanitation. Proper sanitation practices include maintaining constant, consistent cleanliness for hands, surfaces, tools and equipment.
Post handwashing charts in the restroom and above sinks and make sure staff is aware of stringent requirements.
Find the right contact sanitizer for handling bacteria in industrial and commercial food settings. Don't skip out on cleaning hard-to-reach spaces like counter seams, tile cracks, upper shelves and knife blocks.
Seek out specialized cleaning guides and follow their directions. Check out these guides on cleaning best practices for walk-in freezers and combi ovens.
Invest in preventative maintenance. Successfully maintaining food safety comes down to two main things: keeping equipment clean and preparing food properly. If your oven can’t get hot enough to cook food to required temperatures, your business falls behind. If your refrigeration system breaks down, product loss can total in the thousands and food safety can be seriously impacted. By planning ahead and scheduling preventative maintenance, you’ll be able to avoid the revenue loss — and safety risk —that comes from unexpected service disruptions.
Get a food safety certification. Depending on the state you live in, there are different accreditations that can be earned after taking a certified training course teaching about the proper handling, preparation, cooking and storing techniques for food in commercial kitchens.
What should I look for in a preventative maintenance provider?
With preventative maintenance being essential to proper equipment operation and food safety, it’s extremely important to choose the right provider. The right partner is going to offer you everything you need to stay both safe and ahead of the competition:
Tangible value through the reduction of capital expenditures, operator injury and equipment breakdowns
Technology that helps track service history, giving you easy access to proof of service, risk assessments and asset tracking
Local technicians that know the foodservice businesses in your community well
The ability to expand services without having to switch providers if you ever need help with design, build or equipment installation in your commercial kitchen
When people ask, “Why is food safety important?” — the answer is simple: because your customers are important. Keeping them safe and delivering a premium dining experience is the key to longevity for your foodservice business.
Seeking fast, efficient preventative maintenance services? Find a Smart Care provider near you and start planning for better, safer dining experiences today.
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