washing hands
National Food Safety Month is coming in September. The following tips from the National Restaurant Association/ServSafe, can help you educate your staff on how to prevent cross-contamination in your restaurant.
Five tips to keep cross-contamination from causing a foodborne illness in your restaurant
Pathogens can be spread from food or unwashed hands to prep areas, equipment, utensils, or other food. Fortunately, there are things you can do to prevent it. Here are five important tips for preventing cross-contamination in your operation:
1. Put a good personal hygiene program in place: To keep food handlers from contaminating food, operations need to have a good personal hygiene program. That program should include polices addressing critical hand practices like proper handwashing, hand care, and correct glove use. Staff cleanliness and work attire should also be addressed. This should focus on things like bathing, clean clothing, the proper use of hair restraints, and prohibited jewelry. Finally, policies should be put in place to make sure food handlers come to work healthy. These will address actions like reporting illnesses, covering wounds, and avoiding unsanitary habits.
2. Remind employees to wash their hands after touching anything that may have contaminated them. This is especially important after using the restroom and after handling raw meat, seafood, and poultry. After employees have washed their hands, make sure they don’t dry them on their aprons or any part of their uniforms. Instead they must use a single-use paper towel or hand dryer. Using a paper towel to avoid contact with faucet and door handles also will help minimize the spread of harmful viruses and bacteria.
3. Use separate equipment: Each type of food should be prepped and handled with a separate piece of equipment. For example, use one set of cutting boards, utensils, and containers for raw poultry. Use another set for raw meat, and use a third set for produce. Some operations use colored cutting boards and utensil handles to help keep equipment separate. If separate equipment cannot be used, prep food at different times.
4. Clean and sanitize all work surfaces: All work surfaces, equipment, and utensils should be cleaned and sanitized after each task. Simply rinsing equipment is not enough to get rid of pathogens that can contaminate food. So all equipment must be washed, rinsed, and sanitized.
5. Purchase prepared food: You can prevent cross-contamination by purchasing food that doesn’t require much prepping. This minimizes handling and can reduce the transfer of pathogens from one surface or food to another.
For more information on cross-contamination and how to avoid it, check out our ServSafe Food Safety Program at www.servsafe.com/purchase/manager.