Written by CEO Betsy Craig
For decades the food service industry has been training their teams on food safety at the insistence of local, state and federal regulations. Folks on every level of our food service industry have been learning to wash our hands correctly, take (and log) temperatures of food, and store hot and cold food properly. Today that is simply not enough.
Our trade magazines are filled with sayings like “thrive not just survive”, “the new normal” and positive statements on how we can and will get through this together, I believe all of it. Implementing proper procedures to keep food safety and safety on every other level at the utmost importance in food service establishments will be critical for everyone in our business.
Physical Safety
It’s critical to keep your employees physically safe. With the unrest in the country, a different form of safety is now front and center. The physical safety concerns come from anger, racism, unjust actions, and pure confusion. People in the food service industry are wondering:
- If I go to work today and am working the drive-thru window am I safe?
- Can I serve a table of folks who yesterday were marching or protesting and today they want to pay cash?
- If I serve them will I be exposed to all they were exposed to?
So, I ask you- do you have a policy and procedure in place to handle the following:
- Rage coming through your door.
- A way for all coworkers to be safe.
- A second wave that would require further physical distancing.
- Current standards of social distancing in both the BOH and FOH.
It’s time to look at all of these factors (if you haven’t already) and see how you can keep your team physically safe while at work.
Food Safety
It has been simply wonderful to see folks that lead large groups of restaurants/contract food service flip the script on food safety training. We have always done things a little different at MenuTrinfo with our ANSI accredited AllerTrain™ and Food Handlers course for the public. Soon we will flip the norm for our food manager certification that has an anticipated launch date by the end of 2020.
We like to make it so any food service brand or location can have every single staff member trained for one set price. We provide annual license pricing for unlimited seats which makes things simple for any training department. Currently we offer that with all levels of our food allergy and food safety training.
Having a great plan to train and an easy way to make it affordable and available makes it possible to do way more than the mandated minimum.
Do You Believe
- Your dining public is looking for your certificate from a food safety training?
- Folks dining out know when a location has gone above and beyond with food allergy training?
- People prefer to spend their dollars at a cleaner restaurant?
- People are on social media talking about your bathrooms?
Yes, is the answer to each of these questions and so many more. Get in front of this trend, answer the safety questions before your customers/guests even know to ask the right questions. Doing your due diligence to keep your staff safe and food safety top of mind will keep customers coming back for years to come.
