First Aid Kits for Food Safety Managers

Expert Guide to First Aid Kits for Food Safety Managers

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At Safe Food Training our focus is usually on keeping your food safe and food manager certification in Minnesota, but from time to time, we like to provide useful information on how to keep your employees safe when on the job. Hopefully, you do everything that you can to prevent on-the-job accidents, but there are many hazards in the food service industry, so food safety managers need to make sure that your first aid kit is fully stocked and handy in case of an on-the-job incident.

Background On Why Food Safety Managers Need First Aid Kits In Their Kitchen

According to The US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Private industry workers in full-service restaurants incurred 93,800 nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2019. About one-third of these cases required at least one day away from work. Another source, Restaurant Technologies’ “Kitchen Safety 101: How to Prevent Costly Restaurant Injuries” reveals the four most common injuries in commercial kitchens are:

  1. Cuts, lacerations, and punctures
  2. Slips and falls
  3. Sprains and strains
  4. Burns and scalds
First Aid Kits for Food Safety Managers

Items Food Safety Managers Should Include In A Kitchen First Aid Kit

First aid kits are for first aid! They should not be stocked for long-term care. If there is any question that the wound or trauma is anything more than a minor injury, the injured person should be encouraged to seek professional care immediately.

Whenever there is a minor incident in the kitchen, the first place food safety managers or employees look for supplies is the first aid kit. Here are some items that we feel are essential to have on hand in the event of a minor mishap.

  • Disposable medical gloves
  • Multiple styles and sizes of Band-Aids/bandages
  • Individual use antiseptic wipes
  • Sterile gauze pads/dressings
  • Various sizes of elastic compression bandages

While this list is far from complete, these five items will come in handy for situations that commonly occur in commercial kitchens. To protect the injured person as well as the caregiver, various sizes of medical-grade gloves should be available and worn before any contact is made.

We do recommend that you have nearly every style of Band-Aid available for your staff. With sharp knives and utensils in use in every kitchen, employees will inevitably cut themselves from time to time, and they’ll need access to the appropriate bandage.

With industrial steamers, ovens, and deep fryers posing a constant burn threat, sterile gauze pads must be stocked in your first aid kit to clean the wound in addition to self-adherent cohesive bandages to hold protective sterile dressings in place.

Finally, stocking different-sized elastic compression bandages to help support sprains and strains is a great idea. Food safety managers can alternate these first aid items with ice packs to control swelling at the site of a soft tissue injury.

Food safety managers, what’s in your first aid kits?

How a MN Certified Food Manager Deals with Conflict

Certified Food Managers Dealing With Surging Conflict In The Industry

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While you always strive for harmony in the workplace, every once in a while MN certified food managers will have to deal with employee conflict. This week we’d like to take a look at how to prevent dissension in the work place, and deal with issues as they arise.

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How a MN Certified Food Manager Deals with Conflict

It’s impossible to completely eliminate employee conflict, especially in stressful environments such as the food industry, but with the right approach you can build a staff that not only gets along but enjoys working together. Talking with human resource managers and food service supervisors, we’ve come up with a few common themes concerning conflict resolution.

  • Prevent conflict before it starts
  • Don’t let conflict fester
  • Involve your HR representative

Our first tip may be hard to do sometimes, but there are ways certified food managers can prevent many conflicts from occurring. Many conflicts in the workplace stem from an individual not being satisfied with their role. Sometimes if an employee isn’t satisfied with their role, they may turn their frustrations towards their fellow employees. If you can identify individuals who are unhappy with their role, you may be able to give them an opportunity express their frustrations to you before they take it out on their coworkers.

The food industry is a stressful place by nature. Another way certified food managers can keep conflict at a minimum is to keep morale high. This can vary from facility to facility, but there are ways to keep morale high under stressful circumstances. Some ways include social interactions such as company events that don’t involve job duties and making sure that breaks are always taken at regular intervals.

Even with the highest morale, it is inevitable that conflict will arise. These are times when you must decide whether to address the issue or let your employees work things out for themselves. It’s not necessary to intervene in every circumstance, but you must use your best discretion. If there is a conflict that you feel will be detrimental to your operation, you need to address it. Sometimes, letting your staff work things out for themselves will lead to further problems. If there are situations which you feel that you’re unable to handle, it may be necessary to bring in a representative from human resources that has been trained to resolve employee conflict.

We know that there is no cut and dry solution to resolving conflicts among your staff, so we’d like you to leave us a comment as to how you or other certified food managers have dealt with these situations.

Food protection managers keep food safe

Expert Ways Food Protection Managers Keep Fresh Baked Goods Safe

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Bakeries and other food businesses that regularly make their bread, desserts, and other baked goods have a unique set of challenges when it comes to food safety. The certified food protection managers in these businesses need to take care to train their staff on safe handling procedures for baked goods throughout every aspect of the business.

Food Protection Managers Keep Fresh Baked Goods Safe
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Tips for Food Protection Managers Handling Fresh Baked Goods

In restaurants and other food businesses, products are made in the kitchen and delivered to a table for near-immediate service. Bakeries, however, prepare most of their treats ahead of time for display or delivery. Some of the challenges certified food protection managers need to overcome include:

  • Cleanliness of Preparation Equipment and Surfaces
  • Shelf-Stable Products vs Temperature Controlled Items
  • Display Cleanliness
  • Common Allergens

Just like in restaurants, all equipment and surfaces used in bakery production should be cleaned and sanitized, but some equipment in bakeries requires a little more attention due to the size of mixing bowls, implements, and other large bakery utensils. All of these should be thoroughly cleaned and dried before use. It takes just a small amount of bacteria growing on wet equipment to infect an entire batch of bread, cakes, cookies, and pastries. Make sure all surfaces are dry and free from sanitizer, water, and other contaminants.

Certain bread products do not require refrigeration after they have been made, however, some baked goods may have elements that must be kept cold. Certified food protection managers in bakeries must be very clear with their staff concerning which baked goods require temperature control.

Display cases must also be cleaned regularly, and not with just a quick spritz of glass cleaner so customers can see your product more clearly. Shelves, display racks, and plateware should all be cleaned and sanitized regularly. Make sure that all cleaning solutions used have had time to dry and do not come in contact with food.

Bakeries have a high risk of contamination from common allergens due to some of the ingredients used in some baked goods. Food protection managers should assure all baked goods with allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy and dairy are clearly labeled. If possible, display, store and prepare these items away from other baked goods.

Have you taken the time to evaluate procedures in your bakery that are different from standard restaurant food handling routines?

ServSafe Food Managers Guide To Chemical Storage

Wonderful ServSafe Food Managers Guide To Chemical Storage

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In order to keep kitchens and food businesses clean and operational, many types of cleaning chemicals are necessary. ServSafe food managers should take extra care with all chemical storage to prevent any kind of accidental contamination. How and where chemical supplies are stored can lead to poisoning of guests, if not done properly.

ServSafe Food Managers Guide To Chemical Storage
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How ServSafe Food Managers Should Store Chemical Cleaning Supplies

If cleaning chemicals end up in your food product it can cause stomach illness, potential liver and kidney damage and possibly death. It’s essential for ServSafe food managers to train their staff to be careful during use and storage of these types of items. ServSafe food managers should store cleaning and chemical products:

  • In Original Containers
  • Tightly Sealed
  • Separated from Food Product
  • At Ground Level if Possible

Keeping cleaning products in their original containers until they are ready to use will allow all staff to know exactly what is inside. Many chemicals, such as dish machine liquids, are usable in their original containers. It is necessary for some liquids such as glass cleaner to be transferred into a spray bottle or other container. Make sure these other containers are clearly labeled and never used for food product.

Keeping containers tightly sealed prevents leakage that may make its way onto employee’s hands, clothes or other parts of their body or uniform. When uniforms or hands are soiled or unwashed, they could make their way into food during preparation

The best practice ServSafe food managers can enforce with chemical storage is to keep them as far away from food storage areas as possible. In fact, keeping them in a separate area other than the kitchen is ideal. We know that this is not possible in many smaller facilities. But you should set aside space away from any food product in dry storage. Preferably as close to ground level to prevent spillage when handled.

Do you have a defined place for the storage of cleaning products in your kitchen?