Author: Ashley Chambers

NFSM Week 1: Master Time and Temperature Controls and Become a Food Safety Expert

Posted on

Join us as we discuss the role temperature plays when cooking food, and why it is so important when it comes to keeping your food safe and guests healthy.

Welcome to National Food Safety Month! Each week this month we will be discussing a different element of food safety, sharing valuable strategies along the way and cracking the code on important food safety principles.

This week we are examining the effects of time and temperature on food, sharing safe temperatures to cook different types of food, and explaining how to build an effective food temperature policy that your staff can stick to. Understanding food safety temperatures is critical for protecting your guests from foodborne illnesses and earning their trust. All operators and food handlers are responsible for understanding the importance of the temperature danger zone, which foods are most likely to become unsafe, and how to properly check and record food times and temperatures.

The Effects of Time and Temperature on Food

When food is held at unsafe temperatures for extended periods of time, bacteria can multiply. Any type of food can become contaminated, but bacteria grow more rapidly on certain types of food. The temperature range between 41- and 135-degrees Fahrenheit is referred to as the temperature danger zone – the range in which bacteria growth occurs most rapidly in food. More specifically, bacteria multiply the fastest between 70- and 125-degrees Fahrenheit.

The longer food sits in the danger zone, the higher the risk that bacteria will grow. The process of consistently monitoring the time your food spends in the temperature danger zone is known as time and temperature control for safety.

Foods that Need Time and Temperature Control for Safety

Foods that Need Time and Temperature Control for SafetyThe foods that are at the highest risk of rapid bacteria growth are called time and temperature control for safety foods, or TCS foods. The most common TCS foods are:
  • Milk and dairy products
  • Shell eggs
  • Poultry, beef, pork and lamb
  • Fish, shellfish, and crustaceans
  • Baked potatoes
  • Heat-treated plant food such as cooked rice, beans and vegetables
  • Tofu and other soy protein
  • Synthetic ingredients such as textured soy protein in meat alternatives
  • Sliced melons, cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens
  • Sprouts and sprout seeds
  • Untreated garlic-and-oil mixtures

Learn more about TCS foods, including specific time and temperature controls and how to safely cook, cool, reheat, hot-hold, and store TCS foods, in our eBook: Cracking the Code on Food Time and Temperature.
Cracking the Code on Food Time and Temperature

How to Measure the Temperature of Food

How to Measure the Temperature of Foodrom the moment food arrives at your establishment, right up until the time it is served, temperature should be consistently monitored using correctly calibrated thermometers. Food temperature logs should be kept and filled out by kitchen staff regularly. Here are some guidelines to follow when using thermometers to monitor food temperatures:
  • Always wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry your thermometer before every use.
  • Ensure your thermometer is calibrated to read temperatures correctly.
  • There are different kinds of thermometers for different tasks – use the correct thermometer for the job you are doing.
  • Check temperature by sticking the thermometer into the thickest section of the food.
  • Wait until the thermometer reading remains steady before recording a temperature.
  • Take a second reading in a different section of the food.
  • Wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry thermometer immediately after use. Store in a clean case.

How To Build a Food Cooking Policy

How To Build a Food Cooking PolicyA strong food cooking policy helps protect the health and safety of your guests, while ensuring your staff keeps and consistent and reliable temperature monitoring procedure. All food handlers and managers should be educated on the food establishment’s cooking policy and be held accountable to follow it diligently. Your policy document can also be prominently displayed in the kitchen. A strong food cooking policy consists of:
  • Purpose – Briefly explain what this policy is setting out to accomplish.
  • Scope – Explain which members of your staff this policy applies to.
  • Procedure – Thoroughly lay out procedures for staff to safely prepare and cook food, with specific temperatures listed for TCS food.
  • Monitoring – List the procedures for properly using a thermometer to regularly check and record food temperatures.
  • Corrective Action – Explain the correct actions to take when food does not reach minimum internal temperature or stays in the temperature danger zone for too long.
  • Record Keeping – List all the requirements for staff to keep records of food temperatures.

Check back next week for another essential NFSM 2023 topic that will help keep your food safe and your guests healthy—personal hygiene. Make sure you check out foodsafetyfocus.com throughout the month, as we will be posting various checklists, eBooks, posters, and other NFSM 2023 printable content you won’t want to miss.

National Food Safety Month Delves into the ‘Why’ of Common Food Safety Practices

Posted on

Weekly topics break down some of the most important food safety processes to help all employees understand the whys and hows of safe food handling

 

Chicago – Every day in neighborhood restaurants, staffers are employing essential food safety skills to cook and cool foods to proper temperatures, clean and sanitize their workspaces and wash their hands, while managers run checklists to prepare for an health inspection. These are all food safety skills learned and honed over time with good training and practice.

“Sometimes, we can forget the ‘why’ behind the actions we take every day to ensure a safe dining experience. So, this year, we’re helping the workforce at every level brush up on how to execute world- class food safety and why each of these best practices is important,” said Sherman Brown, executive vice president of Business Services for the National Restaurant Association. “For more than 30 years, ServSafe has been the leader in preparing foodservice workers to deliver safe dining experiences for their guests, while also keeping themselves safe. NFSM is a good time to remind food handlers not just of the best practices but the science behind why we do them.”

This year for National Food Safety Month (NFSM), ServSafe® is cracking the code on the time-tested, science-based skills that help prevent foodborne illnesses. Between August 21 and October 2, the experts at ServSafe will curate free training and education content including e-books, checklists, posters, and infographics that are digestible, sharable, and easy to put into practice. This year’s essential topics include:

  • Cracking the code on time and temperature – The importance of time and temperature control in thawing, preparing, cooking and holding foods can’t be understated. This week is all about why different food have different cooking temperatures and how to track and maintain the information.
  • Cracking the code on personal hygiene – Washing hands, keeping clean, wearing clean clothes, covering hair—sanitary habits cut down on the risk of cross-contamination.
  • Cracking the code on health inspections – Nerves hit high-gear when the health inspector is due. The best way to ease unease is to understand what and why the health inspector will focus on certain things, and have a checklist for how make sure everyone is ready for their visit.
  • Understanding the latest food safety regulations – Every state sets its rules and regulations for food safety (most often based on the Food Code). Get up to date on the latest changes to the Food Code and find out how your local municipality is implementing the changes.
  • Building a culture of food safety – It takes focus and teamwork to build a culture of food safety. Rely on all the resources presented this month to tie all food safety best practices together for your teams. Engage and remind everyone of why your operation is committed to food safety every day.

NFSM, recognized each September, was created in 1994 by the National Restaurant Association to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. The 2023 NFSM is sponsored by Tork, an Essity Brand, and Ecolab.

To join the NFSM conversation using the hashtag #NFSM2023. For more information, visit FoodSafetyFocus.com.

About the National Restaurant Association

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises nearly 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 15 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry’s largest trade show (National Restaurant Association Show); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF’s ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find @WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

FRLA Partners Again with Strategic Value Media to Produce Buyers Guide

Posted on

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Buyers Guide

FRLA is proud to again partner with Overland, KS-based Strategic Value Media, a leading nationwide provider of print and digital media solutions to the national, state, and local trade and membership associations, to produce the 2023 edition of the FRLA Buyers Guide, the premier resource of relevant products and services for hospitality industry professionals. This will be the 8th year that the Guide will be produced.

As a Member of FRLA, a representative from Strategic Value Media may contact you by email or phone to inquire if you want to enhance your listing in the Buyers Guide. Please know this is a legitimate call and that SVM is partnering with FRLA to provide our members this resource for advertising your products and services.

Like the 2022 version, the 2023 edition of the guide will feature updated and expanded company and product listings, in addition to other valuable information relating to the restaurant and lodging industry. The Buyers Guide provides users with an efficient way to browse for goods and services and offers restaurant, hotel, and casino suppliers exceptional visibility by showcasing their products and services to a targeted, industry-specific buyer group.

The Buyers’ Guide is accessible through the FRLA website here and will be updated soon with new advertisements and information.  We encourage you to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to highlight your products and services in the Buyers’ Guide. To learn more about advertising your products or services in the Buyers’ Guide, please email [email protected].

 

New BMI/NRG Study Confirms Consumers Eat, Drink & Spend More When Listening to Music

Posted on

A recent study by BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and NRG (National Research Group) confirms that music positively impacts the way consumers interact with local eating and drinking establishments. According to the findings, bars and restaurants that feature live music have customers who eat, drink and spend more when listening to music they enjoy, resulting in higher revenues for many business owners.

Out of the 1,000 nationally represented U.S. consumers1 surveyed across age demographics 21+, atmosphere and music are a big part of what keeps them returning to the establishments that they frequent. When taking a closer look at the data, specifically the responses of Millennials, music is the second most important feature they consider when selecting a bar or restaurant. In fact, it’s something they actively seek with more than half of respondents reporting that they often check the establishment’s website to see if they have live music before choosing where to go.

Music not only drives consumer traffic, but it also has the potential to increase revenue. The survey found that nearly 80% would stay longer if good music was playing, with close to 60% stating that they would buy more food and drinks to continue listening to music that they enjoy. That stat is even higher for Millennials at 70%.

Other findings show that music makes memories, and it has the potential to make or break the customer experience. Eighty-six percent of all those surveyed said that good music at a bar or restaurant creates a more memorable experience, with 89% of Millennials agreeing. Across the board, the younger generations show that music is an important part of the dining experience, with 84% of Gen Z and Millennials noting they are more likely to stay at a bar or restaurant with good music. If the music isn’t right, however, one out of two patrons said they would leave an establishment.

Live music also has very tangible benefits for consumers and businesses by creating ambiance and bringing people together while helping bars and restaurant owners differentiate themselves from competitors. Eighty-two percent said that their experience is more enjoyable with live music and noted that the type of music played tells a lot about the establishment, including helping to establish its brand. People were also more likely to wait for a table and grab a drink at the bar if live music was playing to keep them entertained with 81% of those surveyed saying they’d wait 20 minutes. That number rose to 87% when you just look at how Millennials responded, and 80% of that demographic would also pay for a two-drink minimum to hear live music.

In addition to consumers, restaurant owners and managers were also interviewed, sharing that they saw a clear boost in revenue on the nights that featured live music. An owner with breweries in Colorado and Utah confirmed that customers stay longer and spend more money when a band or DJ performs, commenting, “check averages tend to go up 5-10% … and revenues have jumped almost 25% on the nights that we have live music.” The owner of a family Italian restaurant in Atlanta, GA agreed, noting, “Without the [live] music we didn’t have the linger time, we would close sometimes at 9 o’clock. With the live music, we could push one o’clock in a bedroom community. There were more liquor sales, and that’s a 75% profit margin.”

For the complete consumer survey, click here and for more information on how to obtain a BMI music license please visit www.bmi.com/ede.

1 A quantitative online survey among 1,000 nationally representative people age 21+ who regularly visit EDEs (at least 3x per month). To represent the B2B perspective, NRG conducted six in-depth-interviews with owners, operators and managers of bars and restaurants.

 

ABOUT BMI:

Celebrating over 80 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in over 20.6 million musical works created and owned by more than 1.3 million songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.

MEDIA CONTACTS: 

Gabriella Natali                Jodie Thomas
212.220.3141                    212-220-3142
[email protected]             [email protected]

National Food Safety Month Week 4: Executive Team

Posted on

Create a culture of food safety in your organization

Last week we talked about the role of multi-unit restaurant managers in promoting food safety and how having a management system in place can help standardize food safety across all locations. This week, we turn our focus to restaurant executive teams and pose the question: have you prioritized food safety by incorporating it into your restaurant’s culture?

Company leadership has the responsibility of implementing a culture that emphasizes cleanliness, accountability, teamwork, and the importance of following recognized food safety systems and protocols. Let’s take a look at how this can be achieved.

Executive Leadership’s Role in Food Safety

Food safety goes far beyond passing health inspections and meeting regulatory requirements. Creating a comprehensive food safety culture that is embraced throughout your organization should be one of the primary goals of senior leadership. Through proactive, well-executed, systematic food safety, the entire industry becomes stronger.

Developing a Culture of Food Safety

There is no one size fits all paradigm for instituting an effective and sustainable food safety culture. While individual organizations may trek different paths toward fulfilling this mission, they share one uniform goal: keeping consumers safe.

Following active managerial control (AMC) principles, your food safety management system should strive to:

  • Recognize potential foodborne illness hazards in day-to-day operations
  • Define standard operating procedures for critical steps
  • Monitor the effectiveness of actions utilized to control hazards
  • Train employees to prevent hazards by following specific control procedures
  • Have certified food protection managers on staff

Chick-fil-A, a family-owned and privately held restaurant company, prides itself on living up to high food safety standards. Chick-fil-A food handlers wear color-specific gloves for various kitchen tasks to avoid cross-contamination. Staff members use disposable sanitizing wipes, rather than reusable cloth towels, to clean dining tables and customers in eating areas are provided with pre-moistened sanitizing hand wipes. As a ServSafe certification training partner, Chick-fil-A is a staunch believer that exemplary food safety procedures result in higher quality food and enhanced profit margin through prevention.

Learn more about how Chick-fil-A and other high-performing companies are prioritizing food safety as a part of workplace culture in our whitepaper, Developing a Culture of Food Safety.

Do You Have a Culture of Food Safety in Your Organization?

How do you know if your organization is prioritizing food safety and fostering a culture of food safety throughout? Download our Score Your Organization worksheet to analyze your brand’s food safety culture and score your organization on essential food safety management principles. What you discover might surprise you.

National Food Safety Month Week 3: Focus on Multi-Unit Operators

Posted on

From our partners at the National Restaurant Association

The secret to managing food safety across multiple sites

For week three of National Food Safety Month, we explore how restaurant managers overseeing multiple locations can standardize food safety across the entire workforce. Multi-unit managers must be able to manage day-to-day logistics, provide guidance for team leaders, and handle problems as they arise. Additionally, restaurant managers are responsible for promoting and maintaining safe food handling practices among all employees. So, how can multi-unit managers juggle these responsibilities and lead their teams to food safety success? By systemizing food safety management.

The Role of Multi-Unit Restaurant Managers in Food Safety

Multi-unit managers have many roles to fulfill. The most important one is keeping customers safe. Food safety must be at the forefront of every decision multi-unit restaurant managers make. This includes systemizing food safety management for consistency across all locations, keeping up to date on local regulations, and making sure every team member feels empowered by food safety knowledge.

Strengthening Your Food Safety Management System

Chances are, as a restaurant manager you already follow some sort of Food Safety Management System (FSMS). But how can you be sure your efforts to promote food safety are enough?

When workplace practices are rooted in strong, research backed policies and procedures, foodborne illness risk factors are significantly reduced, customer satisfaction is increased, and employees are more empowered to make smart food safety decisions.

A strong FSMS is rooted in active managerial control (AMC) principles. You can implement these principles into your restaurant operations through:

  • Training programs
  • Standardized procedures
  • Measures to gauge success

Learn more about strengthening your FSMS and leading your workforce to success in our eBook: Developing a Culture of Food Safety – Restaurant Manager’s Edition.

Know Your Local Regulations

Knowing the rules and regulations of your jurisdictional area is critical for staying on top of ever-changing retail food safety requirements. You should be familiar with your state food code and make sure you  keep abreast of changes or updates. Use this map created by the National Association of County Health Officials to find your local department.

As you’re probably aware, different areas in the US have varying requirements for food safety certification and training for restaurant employees. The ServSafe Regulatory Map is an interactive, up-to-date map that allows you to see your employee food safety training requirements. Visit the link below to view the Food Safety Management and Food Handling requirements specific to your operating jurisdiction now.

See national regulator map here.

Empower Your Team

Developing a culture of food safety throughout your operations starts with empowering employees. Employees who are informed of food safety best practices and have access to valuable information are more likely to develop winning habits.

ServSafe Ops is a restaurant operations management platform that drives operational efficiency through task verification, access to information, ongoing training, issue identification, employee engagement, and more. With customizable checklists and reporting, ServSafe Ops provides verification of tasks completed and acts as both a measure of employee performance and a method for engagement with your brand.

National Food Safety Month Week 2: Focus on Food Managers

Posted on

From our partners at the National Restaurant Association

To kick off National Food Safety Month last week, we revisited food safety basics and explored the role that food handlers play in preventing the spread of pathogens. This week, we take a closer look at the role that restaurant and foodservice managers have in promoting a safe environment for their customers through self-inspection and risk mitigation. By learning what to look for in health inspections, managers can run regular assessments and make preparation a part of their staff’s regular routine. Let’s take a closer look at how managers can stay prepared.

A Manager’s Role in Food Safety

Restaurant and foodservice managers are faced with the critical role of fostering a food-safe environment. One of the best ways managers can create an ongoing strategy for success is by staying prepared for health inspections. Health inspectors want to know that  managers are running a safe, clean operation by checking for many of the basic food safety practices we covered last week. Running regular self-inspections is a great way to test staff knowledge, address problems at the source, and ensure a safe and enjoyable dining experience for customers. An equally important role managers have in fostering a food-safe environment is preventing dangerous foodborne illnesses caused by cross-contamination.

A Restaurant Manager’s Guide to Passing Health Inspections

Much like restaurant managers, keeping customers safe is a health inspector’s number one priority. In our guide, we go over some common health inspection challenges, the basic policies, practices, and requirements managers must have in place before an inspection, and what managers can do to stay prepared.

Download the self-inspection e-book here.

Performing Self-Inspections

Preparing for your next health inspection with a self-inspection checklist is a great way to make sure your staff is up to speed on food safety practices and check your facility for potential issues. Make sure to speak with your local health department about food safety guidelines for your area and review your state and local food codes frequently for specific requirements and updates.

Download the self-inspection checklist here. 

Risks and Prevention of Norovirus

Norovirus is a serious, highly contagious illness that is spread through close contact, contaminated food, or contaminated surfaces. This virus sends around 70,000 people to the hospital each year and nearly 70% of outbreaks can be traced back to infected food service workers. As a restaurant manager, knowing the risks can help you prevent contamination and manage an outbreak should one occur. These basic prevention tips can help protect staff members, customers, and the greater public:

  • Exclude food handlers who are vomiting or have diarrhea from the operation
  • Prevent handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands
  • Make sure staff are washing hands thoroughly, whenever required
  • Ensure fruits and vegetables are rinsed before use
  • Regularly clean and sanitize surfaces and utensils
  • Purchase shellfish from approved reputable suppliers

Watch the norovirus and hand-washing video here.

 

National Food Safety Month Week 1: Food Handlers

Posted on

Contact RCS Training today for your food handler training! Learn more here.

From our partners at the National Restaurant Association

National Food Safety Month (NFSM) 2022 is here and we’re excited to kick off a month of exploring food safety at every level starting with the most essential restaurant employees: food handlers. Food handlers have an important role in keeping food safe, as many handlers come in direct contact with menu items. Simple safe food handling practices can help prevent the spread of pathogens and keep customers protected from foodborne illnesses. But as easy as safe food handling practices are to learn, they can also be easy to forget. Let’s revisit some basic food safety standards and best practices.

Food Handlers’ Role in Food Safety

The role of a food handler is so important that most states require restaurant and foodservice employees to obtain a Food Handler Certification as a requirement for employment. Customers trust that food handlers practice basic food safety and have their best interests in mind. After all, everyone wants to feel safe when dining out. Food handlers have a responsibility to meet the expectations of customers by following a food safety standard, or else run the risk of putting patrons in danger.

Basic Food Safety Practices

Practice Good Personal Hygiene

  • Know when, where, and how to wash your hands.
  • Only use single-use gloves when handling food. NEVER rinse, wash, or reuse gloves.
  • Keep fingernails short and clean. DO NOT wear nail polish or false nails. Make sure wounds are covered correctly.
  • Always wear clean, appropriate clothing and bathe daily. DO NOT wear rings, bracelets, or watches.
  • NEVER eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum or tobacco in prep areas, areas used to clean utensils and equipment, or in service areas.
  • If you are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), or a sore throat with a fever, report these symptoms to a manager immediately.

Learn more about when to wash your hands

Controlling Time and Temperature

  • Know which foods are most likely to become unsafe (temperature controlled for safety, or TCS food).
  • Keep foods out of the temperature danger zone: 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C).
  • Know how to use a food thermometer.
  • Receive cold TCS food at 41°F (5°C) or lower. Receive hot TCS food at 135°F (57°C) or higher.
  • Store TCS food safely at the right temperature.
  • Cooked TCS food must reach the correct internal temperature and stay there for a specific amount of time.
  • Prepare food safely. NEVER
    • Thaw TCS food at room temperature.
    • Prepare TCS food in large batches.
    • Cool large amounts of hot food in a cooler or cool food at room temperature.
    • Use hot-holding equipment to reheat food (unless it has been made for this purpose).
  • Make sure cooked TCS food reaches the correct internal temperature and stays there for a specific amount of time.

Download this comprehensive cooking temperature

Preventing Cross-Contamination

  • Store food only in designated food storage areas, away from walls, off the floor, and wrapped or covered.
  • Make sure workstations, cutting boards, equipment, and utensils are cleaned and sanitized before prepping food.
  • Keep produce away from raw meat and wash before use.
  • When serving, do NOT touch the parts of dishes, glassware, or utensils that come in contact with food.
  • Always store chemicals and cleaning supplies in a designated storage area, NEVER store near food.

Cleaning and Sanitizing

  • Know the difference between cleaning and sanitizing: cleaning removes food and other dirt from a surface; sanitizing reduces pathogens on a surface to safe levels.
  • Know which surfaces to clean and/or which to clean and sanitize, when to clean them, and how to do it.
  • Use a dishwasher (when available) to clean and sanitize smaller items and a three-compartment sink for larger items.
  • Remove garbage from prep areas as quickly as possible. Do NOT clean garbage containers near prep or food-storage areas.
  • Look out for these pest signs:
    • Droppings
    • Nests
    • Damage to products, packages, or the facility

 

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Buyers Guide

Posted on

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (“FRLA”) has again partnered with Overland, KS-based Strategic Value Media, a leading nationwide provider of print and digital media solutions to the national, state and local trade and membership associations, to produce the 2022 edition of the FRLA Buyers’ Guide, the premier resource of relevant products and services for residential restaurant industry professionals. This will be the 8th year that the Guide will be produced.

A representative from Strategic Value Media may contact you by email or phone to inquire if you want to enhance your listing in the Buyer’s Guide. Please know this is a legitimate call and that SVM is partnering with FRLA to provide our members this resource for advertising your products and services.
Like the 2021 version, the 2022 edition of the Buyers’ Guide will feature updated and expanded company and product listings, in addition to other valuable information relating to the restaurant industry. The Buyers’ Guide provides users with an efficient way to browse for goods and services and offers restaurant, hotel and casino suppliers exceptional visibility by showcasing their products and services to a targeted, industry-specific buyer group.

The Buyers’ Guide is accessible through the FRLA website at frla.org and will be updated soon with new advertisements and information. To view the current Buyers’ Guide – click here. We encourage you to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity to highlight your products and services in the Buyers’ Guide.

To learn more about advertising your products or services in the Buyers’ Guide, please email [email protected].

###