Can you eat green beans raw? | Full guide on the safety of legumes
Green beans and other legumes are considered high-risk foods, especially when served raw. To reduce the risk of food safety concerns, it is...
Self-service establishments reduce the hassle of waiting in lines and give customers direct access and contact with the ...
A self-service type of restaurant or supermarket has an added level of cross-contamination risk. In a dish-out service restaurant, only the food handlers would have direct contact with equipment and the food. For restaurants using a buffet style, or in cafeterias, customers get to serve themselves the food that they want. This is also the case for retail self-service establishments such as deli shops, bakeries, supermarkets, and self-service kiosks.
In the process, they can potentially contaminate the whole batch of food. The orientation of food handlers when it comes to food safety must be aligned with the operations in a self-service area. Food handlers must also be properly aware of how can an operation prevent cross-contamination in a self-service area.
Buffet-style service or retail self-service establishments follow slightly different guidelines for food safety and some additional safety rules for a contamination-free process. This type of food service works differently as customers are given more access to cooked food and consumer self-service operations.
Buffets commonly have a wide range of foods being served; from cold food items in salad bars to hot held stews and soups. As such, they must also be guided in addition to training food handlers in preventing cross-contamination. Both customers and food handlers share roles in keeping food safe, but it is the food handler's responsibility to guide customers.
Learn which operations are very important to maintain food safety in a self-service area from this article.
Cross-contamination is one of the leading concerns when it comes to food safety in the food industry. Several foodborne illnesses are transmitted through cross-contamination and food allergies through cross-contact. Both events can spread food safety hazards and put the safety of consumers at risk. As this occurs, your food business may also be at risk of losing credibility and sales.
Food handlers are the most common spreaders of foodborne illnesses, especially without practicing food safety precautions. Cross-contamination can occur as a result of inadequate handwashing, using the same utensils for different products, or even with a slight touch from one food to another.
Food handlers are required to be oriented and trained on how to prevent cross-contamination and cross-contact from happening. In addition, they must also be trained in how to guide customers on how to prevent from spreading of foodborne diseases. Use appropriate tools to train food handlers in food safety, you can also try our food safety quiz.
The convenience that a self-service restaurant offers has been highly appreciated over the years. This type of service reduces waiting time and long lines which can somehow be offputting for some customers. Retail self-service establishments also give customers more choices when selecting their foods.
Despite the many convenience benefits, customers can become the spreader of foodborne illness in self-service areas, making buffet food safety a significant matter. When they use the same utensils in getting a new set of food, they create an additional food safety hazard and increase the risk of spoiling the whole batch of food which can then affect other customers. Cross-contamination can occur even with very small mistakes and it can put the lives of consumers at risk.
As explained, a self-service area gives customers more access to food as they choose from a displayed selection. This opportunity is also an added risk to the displayed food. As not all customers have adequate food safety knowledge, the chances of contaminating the food on display and affecting other customers are very likely. As such, it is the responsibility of the food safety team to protect public health.
During food service, the displayed food products can become contaminated as a result of the following actions and situations:
To help minimize these occurrences and only serve safe food, equipment such as protective gears and a barrier between customers and food must be installed in addition to properly guiding the customers.
Bacteria from customers can easily contaminate the dishes. Food handlers must be assertive when it comes to guiding customers and they must impose strict regulations. Foodborne illness outbreaks are very likely to happen in a self-service setup if the served food is not protected well.
Proper orientation is key in preventing contamination of food in a self-service area. As a trained food handler, you cannot expect the customers to have the same level of knowledge in food safety as you do. That is why you need to provide them with the necessary information in avoiding cross-contamination. This objective can be achieved by providing enough materials for all customers and food handlers.
Here are a few important operations that can help minimize contamination in a self-service area:
All of these guidelines are important in preventing the transfer of contaminants to food and protecting customers from food poisoning. The mentioned guidelines are mostly applicable and designed for self-service restaurants. In retail self-service establishments, some practices may be a bit different.
For example, in a self-service supermarket area such as the grocery section, touching the vegetables or fruits is less sensitive than when touching prepared foods in a self-service restaurant. The similarities between the guidelines for retail and self-service restaurants is mostly seen in deli sections or raw meat isles. Sneeze guards and tongs are provided to minimize customer contact with the food.
In retail self-service sections of food establishments, food handlers are also assigned to minimize any risk of potential contamination. The assigned food handler must also monitor the storage conditions of displayed foods and ensure that they are out of the temperature danger zone. To ensure that these tasks are followed, you can use our digital solution at FoodDocs.
With our digital Food Safety Management System, monitoring can become more efficient. Our digital solution is equipped with a smart notification system that sends alerts to food employees whenever a task is due. Our system can also help food handlers intuitively record information with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning program.
To prevent cross-contamination, you should be aware of how to properly perform food handling practices. The main preventive control against cross-contamination is having an adequate amount of knowledge on how they occur and their significance in the food industry.
A self-service restaurant may require fewer food servers, but the level of food safety standards is similarly high as to other food service types. This means that the monitoring procedures required for self-service restaurants may be different but not less. You would need a food safety management that is versatile enough to work for a self-service establishment. At FoodDocs, we offer the best digital solution to this requirement.
Our digital solution is powered by artificial intelligence and a machine learning program. With just a few minutes, you can get smart monitoring forms that are equipped with an auto-fill feature to improve accuracy and save time. Some of the important monitoring forms that our system can automatically generate for you include the following:
Equipment maintenance log from FoodDocs
In addition to automatically generated monitoring forms and customizable checklists, our system also features a smart notification system that can help remind food handlers of important tasks. Using a notification system, our digital solution can send alerts regarding the shelf life of a displayed product, when to measure the holding temperature, or if a displayed food needs to be disposed of.
With our smart notification feature, you can rest easy so that all important food service tasks in a self-service restaurant will be fulfilled. The best part about our digital Food Safety Management System is that you only need 15 minutes to accomplish a few questions, and our system will take care of the rest. The monitoring forms will be automatically generated based on the information you have provided to our system.
When you sign up for our digital solution, you also get a real-time digital dashboard that will show you an overview of your food safety operations. Use this to save 20% of your time from supervising your employees and easily detect areas that need improvement. Lastly, you also get cloud storage dedicated to your team, where you can save all your digital documents.
You can effortlessly maintain compliance when you choose to use our digital solution. You can experience all of our system features for free when you subscribe and avail of our 14-day trial. Experience how we can help you maintain compliance every day.
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