Did you know that almost half a million people die each year as a result of eating contaminated food? That means that if you stand in a room of 10 people, chances are one of you will fall ill from eating contaminated food that year.
It’s important that people who handle and work with food are in the know when it comes to every food safety tip.
If you want to keep your consumers safe, keep reading to find out the must-know food safety tips!
1. Keeping Everything Clean
People who work with food know the importance of cleanliness, so hand-washing is the first food safety tip we have for you.
There’s more to it though than simply washing hands before you start cooking, and washing when you’re done. Anybody who handles food should wash their hands, thoroughly with antibacterial soaps regularly throughout their shift.
This includes after taking a break, answering a phone, using the bathroom, or even handling raw meats and fish.
Keeping everything cleans literally means keeping everything clean. In restaurants and food establishments, everything needs to be cleaned and disinfected in between other activities and regularly throughout opening hours.
2. Put Food Away To Chill
A general rule of thumb to follow for chilling cooked food is the two-hour rule. Cooked food should never sit out at room temperature for longer than two hours.
Ensure that you have plenty of refrigerator room for cooked foods to be chilled after being prepared.
Longer than two hours and you can create a wonderland for bacteria to form.
Experts can use polyphasic analysis to analyze what bacteria are grown on food in this scenario.
3. Never Cross-Contaminate
This is one food safety tip that sits right at the top of the to-do list.
Food should never be cross-contaminated with other foods. For example, cooked food and raw food should not be stored close to one another.
Also, make sure that raw food is stored closer to the ground than cooked food so that if there’s any dripping or spilling it doesn’t do this onto stored cooked foods.
4. Consider Using Gloves
Sometimes, if a restaurant is super busy during a certain shift, there may seem not enough time for handwashing in between tasks.
Disposable gloves are a great way to save time and ensure cleanliness for staff handling food. They can simply be taken off and disposed of in the trash, and a new pair put on before moving to the next food handling activity.
Final Food Safety Tip
Our final food safety tip goes hand in hand with staff behavior. If your staff is educated and informed on the correct ways to handle food, then you’ve solved half your problems.
If you’re in doubt, you can put up informational sheets throughout the kitchen and food handling areas to remind staff that they need to wash up, clean up, and disinfect as they go along. Head on over to our health section for more great content
