If you are a restaurant owner or a professional chef working in a commercial kitchen, creating a food safety culture is one of the most important aspects of the business, since restaurants deal with food preparation.
Everyone has a role to play when it comes to food safety, whether it is the owners and management of the restaurant, the chef and cooks, servers and waiters or anyone else who handles the food. If something goes wrong with the food you are serving, and you offer contaminated food to your guests, this could result in a very grave situation, including the closure of the establishment, meaning that everyone working there would then be out of a job.
You might be wondering what the management’s role is regarding creating a positive food safety culture. When this aspect of the business is stressed and followed by the top management, the bottom levels are sure to do the same. The management need to create an environment that is conducive to food safety, provide uniforms to workers such as chef aprons and chef hats that can prevent contamination of food, set out clear policies and procedures regarding cleanliness and hygiene, ensure that everyone complies with laws and regulations regarding food safety, and most especially monitor and evaluate staff behavior, making changes as and when necessary.
Providing proper training regarding safety, cleanliness and hygiene is also very important, because staff need to be aware of what they are doing wrong and how they can correct it. In addition, they also need to know why they should keep food safety as a number one priority.
Here are some ways that you can foster a positive culture in respect of food safety:
Hold people accountable.
Set clear expectations, policies and procedures.
Be a good example.
Provide the necessary training.
It may not be as easy as you think, but over time you will certainly succeed in creating the right attitudes.