Maintaining a clean environment is essential in a commercial food establishment. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that about 48 million people get ill by foodborne illnesses per year. Ensuring that employees are continuously practicing good food safety and hygiene can help eliminate instances of foodborne illness in your foodservice business.
KEEP HANDS CLEAN.
Proper handwashing is the first step in helping to control the spread of viruses and bacteria. Employees should wash their hands for a minimum of 20 seconds with warm water and soap before, during and after handling food. Other times hands need to be cleaned in a commercial foodservice business are after:
- Eating
- Clearing a table
- Handling garbage
- Coughing, blowing the nose and sneezing
- Smoking
- Touching the hair or face
Making sure staff have a dedicated handwashing station with paper towels is just as important. Studies show that the transmission of bacteria happens more often when
hands are wet than when they are dry. So make sure to have San Jamar Smart System With IQ Sensor paper towel dispensers at each sink. Touchless so hands don't get recontaminated, the Smart System also has adjustable paper length and delivery times to help prevent waste.
And don’t make the mistake of only focusing on the kitchen staff. The front-of-house team should be just as diligent about cleaning their hands regularly so there is no cross-contamination when touching glasses, linens and dinnerware.
HAVE GOOD FOOD PRACTICES.
Another critical aspect of food safety is keeping food out of the ‘danger zone’ between 40°F and 140°F. Foods that need to be kept cold are at risk of growing bacteria quickly once they enter that zone. Another way to prevent cross-contamination is to make sure foods are kept separate in their compartments and vessels. Both of these preventive measures are easy with the Traulsen Glycol Prep Table.
Able to accommodate different food pans so each food can be separate until ready to cook, the Glycol Prep Table can maintain consistently safe temperatures for up to 24 hours with the lid off. Even when used in a hot kitchen environment. The table also helps keep food from drying out or freezing and can be configured to fit your prep area.
PMR knows how important maintaining a clean kitchen is to a foodservice operation. Schedule time with one of our experts today, for a free foodservice consultation to help you upgrade your facility.
