How Safe are your Food Safety Procedures?

If you own your own restaurant you already know how lucrative the food business is. However, it is very easy to ruin you restaurant business if you do not pay attention to the sanitation of your food.

Every restaurant has a few ground rules and parameters that it has to follow stringently. If it fails to meet any of these guidelines then the restaurant is bound to run into legal complications. It is a good idea to hire professionals who are well versed with such guidelines so that you do not go wrong it your own set up.

Your staff have to be taught to keep the cleanliness of your kitchen flaw proof. A lot is at stake here. Food and table service must leave customers feeling good. That?s what keeps the goodwill of your restaurant on a consistent high. The very last thing you want is for them to feel sick. News of a bad experience spreads very fast by word of mouth and can be pretty dreadful for your restaurant.

There is also the fact that if you are careless with your sanitation you can, and most likely will run into legal difficulties. There are many things that you can do to help leave legal matters out of your life, and taking care of your health issues is one of them. Also keep in mind that it doesn’t take much to ruin the reputation of even an established restaurant.

Storing cooked food is a tricky task. Most of us do not pay attention to the temperature of the food before we shove the leftover into the refrigerator. This can go horribly wrong if the food is too hot. The sudden change in temperature will result in souring of the dish. Make sure that the cooked food has come down to normal room temperature before it is put inside the fridge.

It is very difficult to thaw meat and fish. The intense cooling of the deep freezer takes hours to melt before it is ready to be cooked. However, many of us do not think twice before placing the frozen meat under tap water to force the ice to melt faster. This spells disaster. The residual blood and dirt that has remained inside the meat before it was put into the fridge dissolves with the water and is absorbed by the meat. This can often spoil the meat even before it is cooked, or at least gives off a strange odour after it has been prepared.

Also take care that the various hot and cold places in your kitchen meet the requirements of the local legislation, and always store meats on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in order to keep juices from dripping down onto other foods. These are the basics for a commercial kitchen, but remember that as a general rule, the busier the kitchen, the more stringent food safety procedures need to be.

Washing hands before cooking or serving food, covering the head to avoid strands of hair ending up in the chicken soup and not spilling the oyster sauce all over the customers lap are good starters to make your eating joint a popular one.

Author: Mr Malcolm J. Richmond is experienced in Food Safety Programs and his opinions will make sure you have the most effective rules for HACCP Food Safety.