Food Safety In Restaurants: 3 Critical Things You Need To Know
If you’ve ever watched The Bear, the hit TV show about the high-stress world of a restaurant kitchen, you’ll know it’s an incredible series. But in the same way that doctors slam medical dramas for all of their inaccuracies, we can’t help but notice what they’re doing wrong – especially regarding food safety.
Food safety in restaurants is vital. There is so much to remember, but compliance with protocols is non-negotiable. This is because poor food safety practices pose serious risks, such as foodborne illness, customer complaints, legal repercussions, and reputational damage.
In this blog, we’ll highlight the three most critical aspects of food safety that every restaurant must prioritise to operate safely and successfully.
Proper Food Handling And Storage
Ensuring all staff members understand how to look after and store food is critical in keeping your customers safe and your business running smoothly. Let’s look at the handling and storage area of food safety in restaurants.
Temperature Control
Keeping tabs on temperature control prevents bacteria growth. Bacteria thrive in what’s called the ‘danger zone’, which ranges from 5°C to 63°C; food kept within this temperature for extended periods can develop harmful bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, increasing the risk of foodborne illness.
Therefore, cold foods must be stored below 5°C to slow bacterial growth, and hot foods should be kept above 63°C to kill or inhibit bacteria.
Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when harmful bacteria or allergens from one food item are transferred to another. This can happen directly or through shared utensils and surfaces.
To eliminate the risk of cross-contamination, restaurant kitchens should always use different tools and cutting boards for raw and cooked foods. Surfaces, utensils and storage containers should be regularly cleaned and sanitised to stop the potential spread of bacteria, and raw meats should also be stored separately from other food items.
Food Storage
Storing food and managing your inventory to ensure foods are fresh and prevent spoilage is a vital part of food safety in restaurants. It also keeps your kitchen super organised.
Adopting the ‘First In First Out’ (FIFO) system ensures that the oldest food is used first. Using this method means restaurants can also reduce waste. All food containers must be labelled clearly with the delivery date, or the date of preparation, so that they can be easily monitored and gotten rid of when past their safe consumption date.
Raw foods, especially meats, should be stored at the bottom of any fridges to prevent contaminants dripping down onto items that are ready to eat.
Personal Hygiene
The front line of maintaining food safety in restaurants is proper personal hygiene. Kitchen staff have a huge role to play in this.
Staff members should wash their hands thoroughly and frequently with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds after touching any unsanitary surface; even after brushing their hair away from their face. Uniforms and protective items such as hairnets and gloves must be worn and kept clean to reduce the likelihood of transferring things like bacteria and allergens from the body to the food.
Anyone who develops or shows physical signs of foodborne illness, such as fever or vomiting, should not be around or handle food. Maintaining strict hygiene protocols is necessary to reduce contamination risks and ensure effective food safety in restaurants.
Effective Cleaning
A clean and sanitary kitchen is fundamental to food safety in restaurants. Here we run through the key areas of effective cleaning.
Cleaning vs. Sanitising
Both cleaning and sanitising are essential practices for food safety but they serve different purposes.
Cleaning refers to the removal of visible dirt, grease, crumbs and other food particles from surfaces. It removes areas that bacteria thrive on – and keeps your kitchen looking tidy – but doesn’t kill harmful bacteria or viruses unless paired with proper sanitation.
Sanitising reduces or removes harmful bacteria that are often invisible to us. Proper sanitisation requires staff members to use recognised solutions that are designed to kill bacteria. The process must be done after cleaning because food particles left on surfaces and equipment may prevent the sanitiser from working effectively.
Cleaning Schedule
A regular, thorough cleaning schedule supports food safety in restaurants and keeps kitchens safe and hygienic. From daily tasks like cleaning and sanitising countertops and equipment to deep cleaning fridges and freezers every week, a well-organised cleaning schedule for all surfaces, equipment, and utensils ensures nothing gets missed.
Proper Sanitation
Here are our top tips to make sure you’re properly disinfecting your restaurant kitchen.
- Choose the right solutions. Always opt for sanitising solutions that are kitchen-safe, and read the instructions. Some solutions need a longer contact time to be fully effective; don’t just spray, wipe and hope for the best.
- Clean first. Wipe away visible debris to prepare surfaces and utensils before sanitising so that the solution can work properly.
- Avoid mixing solutions. Some chemicals can react together, and this could render your sanitising solution ineffective or even create noxious fumes.
- Use disposable cloths. Unless you’re going to ensure reusable cleaning cloths are properly cleaned between uses, opt for single-use, disposable items instead.
Thorough Staff Training And Supervision
From chefs in the kitchen to the front-of-house team, everyone needs to be trained in basic food safety principles to ensure food safety in restaurants is high on the agenda. Comprehensive training and regular supervision ensure that every staff member has the know-how they need to respond effectively to risks and avoid catastrophes.
Restaurants following HACCP protocol can identify and control hazards with precision to maintain high food safety standards. By highlighting hazards and ensuring they are monitored, restaurants can heavily reduce the risk of illness from unsafe foods. Adhering to food safety legislation is also crucial, with non-compliant businesses facing potential fines, costly litigation charges and even prison sentences.
Envesca provides food safety training courses that help restaurants understand and implement HACCP principles and equip their staff members with food safety knowledge.
Food Safety In Catering
Our Highfield Food Safety In Catering courses are designed to deliver knowledge and confidence to individuals so that they can understand the legal requirements and manage risks like contamination, spoilage and allergens.
Level 1
The Highfield Level 1 Food Safety In Catering award in Food Safety In Catering is perfect for new and entry-level staff members. The half-day course introduces the basics of food safety, covering key areas such as personal hygiene, basic food handling and cleaning practices to mitigate contamination. Candidates leave understanding how to work safely with food in a commercial kitchen or catering environment.
Level 2
This course is for staff members who directly handle and work with food. It expands on the basics to include topics like foodborne diseases, safe food storage and preparation and minimising food safety hazards to meet legal responsibilities.
The Highfield Level 2 Food Safety In Catering award is essential for anyone who prepares, cooks, or handles food regularly in a business.
Level 3
Designed for supervisors, managers, or team members responsible for food safety, this course focuses on the management side of food safety. The one-day Highfield Level 3 Food Safety In Catering course delves into developing and implementing food safety systems and protocols, monitoring one’s actions, and ensuring compliance with food safety laws.
Highfield Level 2 Award in Food Allergen Awareness and Control
This course provides essential learning for any staff member in a food-related role. The half-day course teaches participants how to handle and manage allergens correctly, emphasising the importance of food labelling, communication and cross-contamination prevention. Candidates will also run through legal responsibilities related to allergens.
Read more about it here.
Highfield Level 2 Award in HACCP for Catering
The Highfield Level 2 Award in HACCP for Catering focuses on the HACCP approach to food safety. HACCP, or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, is a preventative approach that identifies potential hazards in restaurant and food production processes, implements control points, and ensures food safety through regular checking and recording.
Participants will learn how to design and implement a HACCP plan to reduce risks and remain compliant with food safety laws, preventing contamination and foodborne illnesses.
Food Safety In Restaurants Involves The Whole Team
Improper food safety processes can cause bacteria to thrive and increase the risk of foodborne illnesses. Businesses that don’t foster strict food safety in restaurants put staff, their customers and their reputation at risk.
Proper food handling and storage, effective cleaning and sanitation, and thorough staff training and supervision are the most vital aspects of a food-safe kitchen – but there’s so much more.
Envesca can take the stress out of food safety in restaurants, leaving you to focus your energy on growing your business. Got questions? Get in touch.
The Ultimate Guide to Passing the Level 4 Food Safety Examination
If you’ve got a question or query, please contact our super friendly team, they will be delighted to help you!
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Training Available
Envesca offer a number of different training courses, which offer advice and guidance on these topics.
Highfield Level 1 Award in Food Safety in Catering
This half-day Level 1 Food Safety course is perfect for you if you handle low-risk food and is ideal as an introduction to food safety.Highfield Level 1 Award in Food Safety in Retail
This half-day Level 1 Food Safety course introduces you to good food hygiene practices within a retail setting.Highfield Level 4 Award in HACCP for Management
This course aims to give you the knowledge needed to develop, implement and evaluation a CODEX-based HACCP Food Safety Management System.Highfield Level 3 Award in HACCP Training for Food Manufacturing
This course is for anyone with responsibility for the development of a food safety management system based on the Codex principles of HACCP.Share this article with your social Community.
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