One of the biggest causes of food poisoning in restaurants is cross-contamination.
Food poisoning is basically a foodborne illness caused by something a person may have drunk or eaten, and it occurs due to harmful germs in beverages and food.
Food poisoning can spell doom and eventually cause downfall for your restaurant business.
Thankfully, restaurant owners can mitigate food poisoning by implementing various cross-contamination and safety protocols.
The way your eatery handles day-to-day food operations goes a long way in preventing cross-contamination. Do you handle raw food properly? Do you store ingredients in the right manner? Do you value food quality? Those are some questions that can enable you to prevent cross-contamination in your NJ restaurant.
Understanding cross-contamination
Cross-contamination is when microorganisms and bacteria unintentionally cross each other’s path from one object to another. Among other places, a restaurant is the most common place where bacteria get transferred. And most of it occurs between cooked and raw food.
For example, when preparing raw fish, the bacteria can easily spread to the knife, chopping board and hand, leading to food poisoning.
Another example is when using reusable shopping bags, splashes or drips from meat splashes may contaminate the load and hence transfer bacteria to other carried items.
So, how do you prevent cross-contamination?
1. Use different supplies for cooked and raw food
It’s vital to use separate utensils, cutting boards and dishes when handling raw poultry, meat, fish and vegetables.
Use color-coding; it makes tracking easier.
Additionally, ensure all plates, knives and other used utensils are thoroughly washed before serving. Plus, the surfaces should be well-cleaned after preparing your meal and before serving.
Have different towels for washing dishes, drying hands, and wiping down countertops.
Raw food should be stored separately from other cooked items and in airtight containers in the fridge. You may even go further and have separate fridges for meats and veggies. This lowers the risk of cross contamination.
2. Prepare food hygienically
When preparing any food, ensure your staff:
- Washes their hands with hot, soapy water
- Keep the food prep counters clean and disinfected
- Avoid washing raw meat to prevent the dripping substances from splashing into other things
- Change aprons after handling raw meat
3. Use shopping bags safely
Shopping bags are some of the main carriers of various microorganisms and bacteria. Therefore:
- Ensure you have different shopping bags for ready-to-eat food and raw foods
- Take an extra shopping bag for cleaning products and other non-food items
- Color code or label your shopping bags to avoid mistakes
- Check your shopping bags for any spillage, damage or soiling and replace them immediately
- Consider the usage of fabric/cotton bags instead of plastic ones, as you can easily clean and disinfect them
- Frequently replace plastic bags
- Keep the ready-to-eat and raw foods in separate baskets or trolleys when shopping
4. Store food effectively
Food storage plays a vital role in keeping food safe and free from cross-contamination.
Using proper food storage techniques limits contaminants from spreading from one kind of food to another.
Organizing your commercial refrigerator and other food areas is incredibly important, and the most advisable way includes:
- Covering raw food like fish or meat in tight containers and separate sections of the fridge. It is advisable to store raw meat, fish, shellfish, and poultry in the fridge’s bottom shelf. Sealing raw food in plastic bags prevents them from leaking and dripping
- Freeze meat that’s not being cooked immediately
- Your ready-to-eat food should be stored far from raw food in the fridge and in tight containers
- If possible, store dairy, meats and vegetables, in separate refrigeration units
5. Implement hygiene protocols
Contaminants can linger on employees’ clothing and hands for up to 24 hours. To prevent such possibilities from occurring, it’s advisable to start implementing personal hygiene programs for all employees. You can focus on hygiene habits like:
- Wear headwear, apron, disposable gloves and other safety gear
- Embrace critical hand-washing techniques
- Ask sick employees to take time off to prevent spreading illness to other staff and customers
6. Monitor temperatures
Monitoring temperatures helps in combating cross-contamination since it showcases when breeding of harmful bacteria.
Train your employees on the right temperature for certain foods. For example, you should store seafood, poultry and fresh meats at 4°C (39°F) or colder. Once the temperature climbs past the recommended one, it becomes a dangerous breeding ground for contamination.
7. Embrace the FIFO system
First in-first out (FIFO) methods enable you to put products in order with the older products coming in front or on the top.
This guarantees that you consume earlier purchased items since they have shorter lives and store the newer ones.
Embracing this inventory management system ensures you reduce wastage, have excellent kitchen efficiency and avoid procurement of unwanted products.
8. Manage your storage spaces
Manage and maintain your storage spaces well by allocating enough areas for your supplies. For top notch maintenance measures, you need to:
- Wipe leaks and spills immediately and sanitize the area
- Keep all the storage zones dry and clean at all times
- Leave at least six-inch spaces between your supplies and the wall, and also ensure you have a 12-inch ceiling gap
- Group all similar products and ingredients together for easy inventory monitoring and management
- Ensure your team adapts and follows the product’s proper storage instructions
- Maintain the correct temperature:4°C or below for chillers or reach-in refrigerators, -18°C to -22°C for walk-in freezers, and for the dry pantries or supply areas, it should be 10°C to 22°C.
- Repair crevices, cracks and other access points that don’t shut well to avoid pests
9. Avoid using floor-level storage
The floor is easily infected with various hazardous microorganisms that can contaminate your ingredients. As such, it’s advisable to follow strict organization storage systems and protocols by ensuring you don’t place ingredients, containers and products on the floor.
Keep them on raised shelves or platforms at least six inches from the ground. Such a buffer prevents cross-contamination from occurring, and it also reduces the threats of rodents and insects.
More importantly, it’s easier to sanitize and clean the floor without compromising the supplies.
10. Label everything clearly
Labeling your products and food gives you an easier time when sorting them out.
The label should include:
- Product name
- Prep time,
- Delivery date
- Expiry details
- Any special handling instructions needed
It’s advisable to only use sanitized tapes, markers and labels. Such a practice will allow your staff to easily identify the raw food, ingredients and cooked dishes effectively.
Final thoughts on preventing cross-contamination in your NJ restaurant
Cross-contamination can happen in any restaurant, whether five-star or a local eatery, and this can be detrimental to your reputation and business.
In today’s digital age however, merely ensuring safety isn’t enough. To maintain a positive reputation, expand your customer base, and increase revenue, embracing the power of digital marketing is essential. Partnering with a marketing agency can provide invaluable assistance in reputation management, social media presence maintenance, and customer base growth.
With expertise from peppermonkeymedia.com social media services, navigating challenging times and scaling your restaurant’s success becomes not just achievable, but sustainable.
