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A Tremendous Certified Food Manager Guide To Food Waste Control

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Food Waste Control and Solutions for the MN Certified Food Manager

In any food production facility, whether it be a restaurant, industrial production factory or institutional facility, waste is always an issue of concern. A certified Food Manager know that food waste can eat into company profits, take away from other budgeted expenses and increase waste disposal costs. A recent article entitled “Reducing Food Waste Can Improve the Bottom Line and the Environment.” brings up some interesting points concerning this issue.

Certified food manager guide showing a pile of food waste

Image credit: friendsoftheearth.uk

Where Food Waste Comes From

It is usually not difficult to realize that you are wasting food product. You may notice fuller garbage cans and increased food spoilage in storage areas. It is important to discover exactly where your waste is coming from. Here are a few common causes of food waste.

  • Over production of prepared foods
  • Ordering more product than is needed
  • Preparation mistakes
  • Lack of controlled preparation methods

As a MN certified food manager, keeping close tabs of how much food product is order and what you need to prepare will go a long way towards reducing waste. Another key in keeping food waste in check is to have strict standards and procedures when it comes to production. Employees who are unsure of what ingredients need to be assembled, how much of any given food product they need and how to put them all together will generate waste of extra ingredients and over-produced product. A controlled set of procedures will ensure that everything that is produced is consistent and waste free.

What Should We Do With Our Waste?

Even under strict control, waste in the food industry is inevitable. The article we referenced earlier has some creative and useful ways to deal with waste.

  • Donate excess prepared product to charities that feed the needy in your community
  • Reach out to farmers who purchase food waste for animal feed and natural compost
  • Sell used grease and oil to producers of bio-fuels

The last place we want our waste to end up is in a land fill. With some careful planning and creative thinking we can not only reduce our waste, but in some cases generate income from it.

Special Conflict Management Best Practices For Certified Food Managers

Special Conflict Management Best Practices For Certified Food Managers

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

Special Conflict Management Best Practices For Certified Food Managers

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How a MN Certified Food Protection 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 a certified food manager 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 conflicts from occurring. Many conflicts in the workplace arise from individuals’ dissatisfaction with their roles. If a role does not satisfy an employee, they may direct 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 manage conflict 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 organizing company events that do not involve job duties, or making sure employees can take regular breaks.

Know When To Intervene

Even with the highest morale, it is inevitable that conflict will arise. These are times when a CFPM 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 deal with these situations.

Practical Advice For The Newly Promoted Food Manager

Practical Advice For The Newly Promoted Food Manager

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Congratulations! You’ve put in your time. You’ve worked your hardest. Now you’ve been rewarded by being promoted to supervisor at your establishment. Your first order of business is to get your MN food manager certification online. Then you’ll be officially ready to take over.

Tips for the Newly Promoted Food Manager

Once the excitement dies down from gaining your first food management position dies down, it will be inevitable that you’ll feel some anxiety during the transition. We have a few suggestions that may help you settle into your recently gained role and responsibilities.

Our first suggestion is to consider that, since this is your first management position. It may not be wise to implement changes right away. Hopefully, your company already has a system in place to assist your food production in continuing to run smoothly and effectively during the transition. It would be acceptable to make adjustments to certain procedures where you see room for improvement. However, completely overhauling the way things operate should not be one of your initial objectives.

Practical Advice For The Newly Promoted Food Manager

Image credit: bowie15 via 123rf

Once you begin your new food manager duties, it’s important to find a comfortable management style. Many newly promoted managers often make the mistake of attempting to run their facility with an authoritarian style. When you assume your new role, it’s important to remember that you can lead your staff by working with them rather than attempting to manage every aspect of their jobs. Most employees perform better when they feel that they are trusted. There are also dangers if you choose to be too lax once you take over your supervisory role. Allowing your staff too much freedom can lead to production problems and the neglect of proper procedure. Our advice is to work closely with your staff and assess who is trustworthy and who needs more supervision.

Mold Your Operation To Reflect Your Managerial Style

As we advised earlier, it may not be appropriate to make huge changes as soon as you assume your new food manager role. However, once you have fully learned the current procedures and regulations and have become a leader of your staff, the time may be right. You can begin molding your operation to reflect your managerial style. When making changes, we suggest you always consult with whoever you report to before proceeding. You may have earned their trust enough to gain your position. However, they may not be comfortable if you make major changes to the way their business works without their consent.

We hear many stories from experienced professionals about their first supervisor job. We’re wondering if any of those seasoned veterans want to share some advice for those who are just now beginning their careers as a certified food manager.

The Best Quick-Serve Product Tips For Certified Food Managers

The Best Quick-Serve Product Tips For Certified Food Managers

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During summer, more people tend to grab food while on the go. This is especially true when they’re hitting the golf course, taking their families to parks or the swimming pool. Many certified food managers create quick-serve products such as sandwiches and other ready to eat food available to their customers for this exact situation.

Certified Food Manager’s Role in Keeping Prepackaged Foods Safe

Your food safety training course normally covers this topic. But, it’s essential for certified food managers to review it before any changes in operation. This is particularly relevant since numerous outlets only sell prepackaged, ready-to-eat items seasonally. We think you should take into consideration the following four points concerning this style of service:

  • Appropriate sealing is necessary for self-serve items.
  • Always display hot & cold foods at safe temperatures
  • Displayed food must be fresh
  • Store unwrapped fruits and vegitables in a display case

The first item on our grab-and-go list may seem like common sense to most certified food managers. However, we have seen baskets of freshly made, unsealed cookies sitting on countertops for customers to grab. We have also seen unwrapped deli-style sandwiches in self-serve refrigerators. If you offer self-service for your ready-to-eat product, you must wrap it to prevent a customer who may not want to buy the item from touching it with bare hands. Products not for self-service could be left unwrapped in a display case if an employee will package them when sold. All food displayed outside a case or refrigerator should be covered to prevent contamination.

Hot and cold ready-to-eat items packaged for quick sale must follow all Minnesota Food Code temperature rules when displayed. Ensure that your employees know which products to keep hot and cold and which ones are stable at room temperature and do not require refrigeration.

Never have items in your case that are for display only. All items should be fresh and available for service to avoid accidentally serving a guest expired product.

A Case For Certain Grab and Go Items

Our final suggestion is that certified food protection managers are not necessarily required under current food handling regulations. However, it is prudent to store grab-and-go items, such as unwrapped fruits and vegetables, in a display case. Certain fruits, such as bananas, attract fruit flies and other insects. Keeping them in your display case rather than on a counter top can reduce the risk of attracting pests.

Certified food managers should consider both pros and cons when choosing between self-service and attended service for selling quick-serve products. We want to know which style your establishment uses and why it works to help you with this decision.