Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2024 - 5

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FOOD SAFETY CULTURE
TOP
STRATEGIES TO CULTIVATE A STRONG AND LASTING
1. Empower staff with digital probe thermometers. Provide
every foodservice employee with a personal digital probe
thermometer. Train staff to use thermometers beyond
steam table logs, constantly monitor reheating and cooling
processes to prevent temperature-related issues.
2. Focus on comprehensive food labeling and storage.
Emphasize proper labeling, dating, and storage after food
preparation. Simplify the labeling process by hanging a
roll of blue painter's tape and a marker near coolers. Post
dating timelines inside for easy reference, promoting the
organization and reducing errors.
3. Implement regular cleaning and deep-cleaning schedule.
Reinforce the importance of regular cleaning for floors,
walls, equipment, and utensils. Implement a weekly/
monthly deep-cleaning schedule for kitchen equipment and
daily-use areas, ensuring a consistently clean and wellorganized
kitchen.
4. Monitor sanitization with test strips. Keep strips
readily available to check sanitizer concentration in dish
machines, sinks, and sani-buckets. If using hot water in the
dishmachine for sanitization, mandate use of Maximum
Registering Thermometers (MRT) or heat-sensitive test
strips to ensure surface of the dishes reach the required
temperature.
5. Promote personal hygiene and handwashing. Highlight
personal responsibility in food safety, emphasizing that the
first line of defense is the individual. Keep hand-washing
sinks stocked with soap and paper towels. Encourage
employees to wash their hands twice before donning gloves
due to potential filth on cell phones.
6. Use phone cubbies and proactive policies. Install phone
cubbies next to hand-washing sinks to prevent distractions
during crucial hygiene moments. Enforce policies requiring
employees to store phones in the cubby, allowing for
efficient handwashing, message checks, and gloving up
before returning to work.
7. Use gloves as complements, not substitutes. Educate
staff that gloves are not an excuse to skip handwashing.
Reinforce a commitment to hygiene by mandating
handwashing and glove changes when shifting tasks,
moving between raw and ready-to-eat food, picking
items off the floor, and other tasks that contribute to
contamination.
8. Have dedicated hand-washing sinks. Clarify the purpose
of hand-washing sinks, emphasizing they are for hands
only and not for dumping items. Prevent health code
violations by ensuring that sinks remain dedicated to
maintaining hand hygiene standards.
9. Provide food safety training for all. Implement food
safety training for everyone in the kitchen, including
dietary aides, cashiers, supervisors, and managers.
10. Strive for continuous improvement through feedback.
Foster a collaborative environment committed to learning
and growth by encouraging staff to share insights,
suggestions, and concerns related to food safety.
NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | MARCH-APRIL 2024 5
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Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2024

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