Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

April 15, 2024November 3, 2025

Why a Smart Certified Food Protection Manager Prioritizes Seasonal Menus

As a certified food protection manager in Minnesota, you understand the constant challenge of keeping your menu fresh and engaging. With the turning of the seasons, an opportunity arises not just to update your offerings but to energize diners and improve your operation. This isn’t just a feeling; Technomic research shows that 59% of consumers are more likely to purchase a menu item if it’s described as ‘seasonal’. However, launching a seasonal menu isn’t as simple as just printing a new page. It requires careful planning and a deep understanding of food safety. This is your chance to meet diner expectations while managing costs and ensuring compliance.

A seasonal menu transition, whether in a school cafeteria, a restaurant, or a catering business, affects every part of your operation. It’s a project that requires a manager’s oversight to ensure it’s rolled out safely and profitably.

1. Master Food Code Compliance for New Ingredients

Before a single new ingredient enters your kitchen, your first responsibility is compliance. It’s easy to assume that your existing ServSafe or other training covers everything, but new products—especially specialty seasonal items—can introduce new risks. Taking the time to review the Minnesota Food Code is not just recommended; it’s essential for protecting your customers and your establishment.

Understand Specific Handling Requirements

Why: Different foods have different critical control points. You can’t handle fresh, unpasteurized cider the same way you handle pasteurized juice, nor do wild-foraged mushrooms have the same receiving protocols as commercially grown ones.
Example: Your team must receive training on proper receiving temperatures, shucking procedures, and how to maintain and log shellfish tags to prevent risks such as vibriosis when adding fresh oysters or mussels to a spring menu.
Example: Introducing game meats like venison or bison? These may have different sourcing, preparation, and cooking temperature guidelines than standard beef or pork, You must train your staff to handle them.

2. Strategically Adjust Your Inventory and Par Levels

A seasonal menu change directly affects your bottom line by influencing inventory management. Introducing new items and phasing out old ones can lead to significant food waste and shortages if not planned correctly. Waste is a critical cost center, and seasonal changes are a high-risk time for it. Careful adjustment of your product inventory is crucial for profitability.

Prevent Costly Waste

Why: Failing to adjust your ordering pars means you’ll be left with cases of ingredients for dishes you no longer serve. This is a direct hit to your food cost percentage. Conversely, under-ordering a popular new item leads to sold-out dishes and disappointed customers.
Example: As you plan your new menu, identify ingredients that can be cross-utilized. A seasonal item like asparagus could be a blanched side, a soup base, and a shaved salad ingredient, ensuring you use your full order.
Example: If a hearty winter stew is being replaced by a light spring soup, you must create a plan to use up the remaining root vegetables and heavy stocks before the new menu launches. Run them as a special or feature them in a staff meal.

3. The Certified Food Protection Manager’s Secret: The Test Run

Finally, never launch a new menu blind. A gradual rollout is the safest way to ensure both your kitchen staff and your diners are ready for the change. A “test run” provides invaluable data and reduces the stress of a hard launch, allowing your team to execute new dishes flawlessly and safely.

Gauge Diner Interest

Why: What you think will be a best-seller might not resonate with your customers. Testing a dish as a weekend special gives you real-world sales data before you commit to printing it on the menu and ordering ingredient cases.
Example: Run your new ‘Spring Pea Risotto’ as a Friday/Saturday special. If it sells out both nights and you get great feedback, it’s a winner. If it barely moves, you’ve saved yourself the cost and hassle of a failed menu item.

Assess Kitchen Workflow

Why: A new dish might look great on paper but be a nightmare for your line cooks during a busy service. Does it require a complex new procedure? Does it slow down ticket times? You must find this out before you’re in the weeds on a Friday night.

Rotating your menu seasonally is a powerful strategy to stay relevant and exciting. But for the professional Certified Food Protection Manager, it is also a complex project that balances creativity with rigorous safety and cost-control standards. By prioritizing food code, managing inventory, and testing your new items, you set your team up for a successful and safe transition.

Get Your Food Manager Certification in Minnesota

Ensuring you and your team are prepared for any menu change starts with the right training. Whether you need your initial Certified Food Protection Manager certification or are due for your 3-year recertification, we have the course for you.

Sign up for a Safe Food Training class today to help your team meet Minnesota food safety standards.

April 7, 2024April 5, 2024

New And Improved Health Department Inspection Tips For CFPMs

Even though it’s inevitable, a visit from the local health inspector tends to surprise local restaurants and food production facilities. Rather than panic upon their arrival, we have a few ideas for CFPMs that can help your health department inspection go smoothly.

Certified Food Protection Manager Tips for a Smooth Visit from the Health Department Inspector

The following tips will help you feel more at ease during your next visit from the health inspector:

Have all personnel’s food training certifications readily accessible
Ensure that your designated Person in Charge is available
Prepare to ask questions about your inspection report.

Often, the first item on an inspector’s checklist is to ensure that your Minnesota food manager certification and permits are up to date. Digging through files to locate the necessary permits can elevate your stress level and delay the inspection process. This delay can be easily avoided by readily displaying all necessary permits and certifications in a safe location, such as the managerial office.

Each health inspector’s routine varies. We have discovered through our conversations with them that most would like the on-duty manager to be close by to address their inquiries and guide them to the different areas of the facility that require inspection.

If you accompany the health inspector during their inspection, you can instantly access the information on the inspection report before they fill it out. The inspector will explain any possible violations in full and provide you with directions on how to resolve the issue. Take advantage of this time to have any concerns you have about your facility’s procedures and any rules you are unclear about explained to you. Once your inspector leaves, it’s often too late for clarification.

Dealing With Your Local Health Department

We have one final piece of advice when it comes to dealing with your local health department inspector. It’s important to understand they’re not there to punish your business. We see many CFPMs who feel that they’re being attacked or discriminated against. This simply isn’t the case. The Health Department has the same goals that you do. They want to see local businesses flourish, but they want to ensure that the food products being consumed are safe. While your business may be one of the cleanest in town, and you follow all regulations to the letter, it’s still important to partner with your inspector rather than immediately go on the defensive. This will lead to a long-term, friendly relationship that will benefit your business and the health of the local community.

Let us hear from you; any other suggestions or comments?… We’re listening.

April 1, 2024April 4, 2024

ServSafe Classes For Front Of The House Staff

ServSafe trained Front of the House Staff

When food safety is discussed, we usually see food production or restaurant kitchen issues being addressed. We have noticed that training for front-of-the-house restaurant staff is often incomplete or overlooked. Concurrently, many Safe Food Training class attendees ask whether ServSafe MN classes provide any benefits to wait staff, bartenders, and front-of-the-house supervisors. We feel that going beyond the standard food worker training for your front-of-the-house staff can make your restaurant safer and free from food-borne illness.

ServSafe Classes For Front Of The House Staff — *Image credit: misterforeman* via 123rf

How ServSafe MN Classes Can Help Your Service Staff

Although the major producers of food served to your guests are not your service staff members, they are an integral part of the process. It is important for food production workers and front-of-the-house staff to receive comprehensive training in safe food handling practices.

One of the first reasons is quite simple. Bartenders and wait staff do, in fact, prepare and handle food items that will end up on your guests’ tables. Garnishes for drinks, sides, and other ready-to-serve items may be prepared by your front-of-the-house staff. They need to know proper storage and handling rules for each item they will handle.

Second, diners often ask servers and front-of-the-house supervisors questions about ServSafe MN food safety concerns or questions. Instant answers from front-of-house staff mean faster and better service for guests. Front-of-the-house supervisors may wish to participate in ServSafe certification training to achieve Minnesota food manager certification. This will allow them to be the designated food manager in your restaurant if your chef or kitchen manager is not in the building.

Cross Training Keeps Operations Running Safely

Let’s discuss a third reason: the kitchen frequently experiences a staff shortage, which requires an ambitious front-of-the-house team member to assist. Having team members with in-depth knowledge of food safety is crucial for producing safe meals for your guests.

Food must go through several hands before it arrives at a restaurant goer’s table. Taking precautions and providing training for every member of your team is important and will go a long way toward providing a happy and healthy restaurant experience.

Have you fully trained and ensured that your front-of-house staff is knowledgeable about all safe food production standards? Will you consider this? What’s your opinion? Leave a comment; we’d like to hear from you.

March 25, 2024March 21, 2024

Easter Is Looming- Easy Tips To Prevent Food-borne Illness

prevent Food-Borne Disease at Your Easter Egg Hunt

Although the weather in the Midwest may feel like winter again, springtime has arrived, according to the calendar. This also means that Easter is fast approaching. While the Easter Bunny is busy taking an online course to become a certified food protection manager, we would like to provide you with some helpful tips to ensure the safety of your guests and avoid any food-borne illness outbreaks during your event.

Keeping Your Easter Festivities Safe from Food-Borne Illness

Easy Tips To Prevent Food-borne Illness — *Image credit: kaew6566 via 123rf*

The annual Easter egg hunt is one of the most exciting Easter events for the youngest enjoying the festivities. Just seeing a field full of brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy and prizes makes every single youngster’s eyes widen with anticipation. With so many different hunts happening all across the world, the Easter Bunny is going to need some help setting them up. It is important to individually wrap every candy packed into plastic eggs to prevent the spread of food-borne illness.

Managing Outdoor Buffets And Food Stands

Serving food away from your main kitchen is common during spring and Easter events. However, it is important to remember that Minnesota’s standard food safety rules still apply even in such cases. Moreover, additional precautions and obtaining special permits may be necessary. If your restaurant or food preparation facility plans to set up a booth at an Easter festival or offer samples at a spring parade, it is advisable to consult with your local health department to determine if any special permits are necessary.

Another popular Easter tradition is attending brunch after morning church services. These brunches and buffets can attract an incredible number of guests, so it may be wise to refer back to your food manager training when planning your food production to prevent food-borne illnesses and ensure that every item you serve is safe for your guests.

Even though Easter can be a hectic time for food-service professionals, it is also a time to remember family and tradition. Outside of coordinating work events, what is your favorite Easter event or tradition now, or what special event does your family associate with the season?

Happy Easter/Passover!