Certified Food Manager MN Archives

January 3, 2022December 9, 2021

How Certified Food Managers Can Deal with Supply Shortages

During certified food manager training, we have time to discuss general food service issues beyond food safety, and we’re hearing a lot of students vent their frustrations with supply chain issues. It seems that many suppliers are having a hard time getting certain ingredients, cleaning supplies and other essentials to restaurants and other food service businesses that need them. What should certified food managers do in the wake of our recent supply shortages?

Solutions for Supply Chain Shortages for Certified Food Managers

Supply shortages resulting in not receiving all the ingredients necessary in order to produce every item on your menu disappoints not only certified food managers, but your loyal customers who attempt to order a menu item only to be told that it is unavailable or will be altered in some way that doesn’t quite resemble their expectations. In order to prevent customer frustration, it might be wise to:

Inform guests of substituted or unavailable items when seated
Include a printed list of unavailable ingredients in menu
Design specials out of items in stock to create more choices
Reduce menu size to compensate for commonly out of stock ingredients

Most of our patrons have been to the grocery store and been unable to find certain food items they commonly use at home, so they’ll usually be pretty understanding if they are aware of the situation ahead of time. Frustrations will start to arise when they place their order only to find they have to make another selection. It even gets worse when they’ve already ordered and a server informs them their dish is unavailable after time has passed, so make sure all of your staff is up to date on shortages in the kitchen.

When it comes to cleaning supply shortages, it’s vital that certified food managers have everything you need in order to sanitize, stock handwashing stations and clean your facilities. While you may be able to 86 mozzarella sticks or braised sea bass, you cannot 86 hand soap or sanitizer solutions. If your supplier is unable to provide essential cleaning supplies, a certified food manager should do their due diligence by searching warehouse clubs, other restaurant suppliers or even grocery stores in order to ensure your facility can still produce food safely without risk of contamination from bacteria, viruses or raw protein products.

Have you been affected by recent supply shortages?

August 23, 2021August 10, 2021

Targeted Advice For Certified Food Manager Training And Testing

MN Certified food manager training and testing

With business returning to normal in the foodservice industry, we’re seeing an influx of certified food manager candidates taking the training courses for the first time. Whether you took an online food manager training course during COVID-19 and have yet to experience in-person training or are a fresh face, it’s sometimes a stress reliever to know what to expect when you attend certified food manager training and prepare for the certification exam. As a precursor to your upcoming class, we’d like to break down what you should expect from certified food manager training and testing.

MN Certified Food Manager Training And Testing by Safe Food Training — Image credit: Safe Food Training

A Certified Food Manager Training and Testing Prep Guide

Our certified food manager training sessions are not like your typical class. In fact, our goal is to make sure that you absorb the material and have a good time while doing it. We don’t expect students to just sit quietly and listen while taking frantic notes for hours on end. Our classes are meant to be engaging and enlightening. We realize there’s a lot of information to learn in one day, that’s why we promote discussion, questions and conversations with your fellow future certified food managers. Here are a few tips that can help you be ready for success when you take a certified food manager class and exam:

Review the pre-study material ahead of time
Get a good night’s sleep the night before
Make notes of specific questions and topics you would like more information about
Don’t be afraid to engage in discussions or ask for clarification

If you do these things, you should be relaxed, prepared, and set up for success when it comes time to take the exam. During the exam, don’t rush because you’ll have plenty of time. Remember, if you’ve reviewed the materials, engaged in the discussion and taken quality notes all the information you need to pass should be in your head.

Are you preparing to take the certified food manager training and testing for the first time?

June 7, 2021May 30, 2021

Helpful Tips For Certified Food Managers Dealing With Power Outages

The food industry can be unpredictable, and certified food managers need to be prepared to keep their food safe during special odd circumstances such as a power outage. If the power goes out, and you have no idea when it’ll return, what can a certified food manager do to keep food safe and ready to serve once the lights come back on?

Power Outages and Certified Food Managers

Once the power goes out, the first thing you should not do is panic or simply leave your facility. Make sure all gas equipment that requires an electric spark is turned off, and assess whether there is any danger to guests or employees due to a lack of power. Hopefully you’ll have battery powered backup lighting to make a quick inspection of any scenario where a power outage could turn into something worse, like a fire.

After your certified food manager has taken steps to ensure safety, a staff member should be designated to contact the local utilities office. Sometimes a power outage can be solved in a matter of minutes, so there may be no need to take further steps. Having an estimated outage time will make it easier to formulate a plan. If you’re looking at a longer outage make sure that all refrigeration and freezer units are closed. If necessary, prepare ice bags for sensitive items in cold storage to keep them below 41 degrees, and only open cold storage doors when checking temperatures or storing food items.

Hot held items do not need to be thrown away immediately after losing power. Check their temperature regularly to ensure they remain out of the danger zone until power comes on. If hot held items are in danger of falling below 135 degrees, your certified food manager should make the call to throw them away or cool in an ice bath or shallow pan under refrigeration before they fall into the danger zone.

If you find that your establishment will be without power for a lengthy amount of time, have a staff member monitor refrigeration temperatures often. Finding a source of ice to keep cold food cold will be key if power won’t be restored the same day. If you have any doubt about product being in the danger zone too long, err on the side of caution and dispose of it.

Do you and other certified food managers have a plan in the event of power failure?

March 15, 2021March 4, 2021

How To Tips For Certified Food Protection Managers Recalling Staff

During the course of the past year, many restaurants have had to lay off or furlough employees and many certified food protection managers have found themselves with a greatly reduced staff. Now that food businesses are increasing their capacity and guests have a desire to return to inside dining, many restaurants and food retail businesses find the need to increase staffing without hurting their bottom line. This week we’ll offer a few insights on how Certified Food Protection Managers can effectively recall furloughed staff while keeping an eye on your budget.

Certified Food Protection Manager Recalling Furloughed Staff — Image credit: Dmytro Sidelnikov via 123rf

A Strategy for Certified Food Protection Managers Recalling Staff and Balancing Labor Costs

We know that nearly all certified food protection managers have had growing concern about their staff’s financial wellbeing during the pandemic, but with restaurant closures and limited capacity there hasn’t been much businesses can do to provide hours for every staff member. Many food service businesses have been able to rely on forgivable PPP loans to fund their payroll even if employees are unable to work due to regulations or a reduction in business. If you’re still struggling to keep your staff employed, you may want to talk to your banker about the possibility of obtaining a PPP loan to pay your staff and keep your business afloat until guests once again begin flocking to your establishment.

If you are in the process of bringing in more staff members, but need to keep an eye on your bottom line, you may want to consider:

Prioritizing furloughed employees
Having an “on-call” list
Coordinating with other similar establishments to keep industry professionals employed

When composing a scheduled, certified food protection managers should prioritize staff they’ve been forced to furlough rather than hire new employees. Not only will this show your loyalty to your former staff, you’ll also be bringing back a trained employee that can begin work right away. You can also reach out to staff members who were once full-time employees and ask them to consider being on-call. An on-call employee may not receive guaranteed hours, but will often be willing to work on short notice.

Once you begin reaching out to former employees to re-staff your establishment, you may find that they’ve moved on to other industries or have found employment in a different food service business. We’ve heard stories that several restaurants have coordinated sharing part-time employees that desire to remain in the food-service sector even if fulltime hours are currently unavailable.

What’s your strategy for recalling staff now that restrictions are starting to lighten?