Pizza Today - December 2023 - 31

W
hen I received this story
assignment, I was eager to
get writing because this is
a topic that I am very passionate about!
In addition to the big, glaringly obvious
infractions of the health code, I am
a stickler about the many " small " ways
we put our guests at risk without even
thinking about it! But these " small "
oversights have big potential to make
our guests sick.
Probably the most commonly
overlooked red flag in many restaurants
is cell phone usage on the line.
While cell phones seem like a harmless
annoyance to us as owners and managers,
think about how many germs live
on the average cell phone. How often
do our team members pull that germladen
device out of their pockets, put
it up to their faces, touch the screen,
put it back in their pockets and resume
food preparation without washing their
hands? While mandating that employees
keep their cell phones in lockers
may be a battle you don't wish to fight,
putting a cell phone policy into place
that states that team members must step
away or outside to use their phones and
wash their hands once they return can
be helpful in reducing the points of contamination
or even the spread of illness
between team members.
Another big red flag that I see in
restaurants is personal items behind the
bar or in food preparation areas. Hoodies,
hats and other apparel can carry a
multitude of contaminants. How many
of us have pets that shed, or even our
own hair falls onto our clothing and
when we put those garments directly
onto a prep table they can deposit hair
or dander onto what is supposed to be
a sanitary work surface. And while it
seems like a wildly rare circumstance,
insects like roaches and their eggs can
be transported into your restaurant on
clothing and be deposited directly onto
your work surfaces.
Think about your average water bottle,
how many germs live not only on the
mouth, straw and cap, but on the bottle
itself. I am always shocked to see how
many days someone re-uses the same
yucky cup without washing it. If we
allow our team to set drinkware on
the work area, we are depositing those
germs right onto the work surface.
Drink vessels must have a lid which you
can drink from without needing to be
twisted off, flipped up or pushed in, and
be made of shatterproof plastic, no glass.
I find it important to make sure your
team has a place to easily store their
personal items, including drinks. Ensuring
that drink rails are hung near each
food and beverage preparation area is an
easy way to keep work areas sanitary.
Understanding that not all restaurants
have room for lockers, we can still take
steps to make sure there is a place to
hang outerwear, bags and headwear that
is tucked away from food and beverage
production. Cubbies, hooks or even
plastic totes on the floor can provide a
place out of the way for personal item
storage.
Disorganized walk-in coolers can
make it challenging to follow HACCP
principles for proper food storage.
At Wholly Stromboli, we practice a
place for everything and everything
DECEMBER 2023 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 31
http://www.slicelife.com/owners.com http://www.slicelife.com/owners.com http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - December 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - December 2023
