Keep your MN kitchen running smoothly. We’re sharing real-world ServSafe & NEHA Best Practices to help you train staff and ace your next health inspection.

food managers creating stay safe mn preparedness plan

Creating An Easy “Stay Safe MN” Preparedness Plan For Food Managers

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Towards the end of July, Governor Walz updated and released a new COVID-19 preparedness template that business owners are required to complete according to current reopening regulations. We know every business varies, so we’d like to take a closer look at what this Stay Safe MN preparedness plan means for food managers who run restaurants and other food-related businesses.

Stay Safe MN Preparedness Plan For Food Managers
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How Minnesota Food Managers Should Build their COVID-19 “Stay Safe MN” Preparedness Plan

While we’ve already covered quite a number of the procedures required in the Stay Safe MN plan, it’s important to have your entire plan outlined in one single document for a couple of reasons. First, it’s required as part of Governor Walz’s guidance for reopening, but beyond that, safe reopening plans can tend to be convoluted, so it’s vital to have all of your facilities procedures in one easily accessible document. This will aid in training, enforcement and providing up-to-date information to guests and employees alike.

The benefit of having an official template is that you don’t have to take the time to create one yourself, and you don’t have to worry about overlooking certain protocols. Let’s take a quick look at some of the protocols Minnesota food managers are required to have outlined to stay compliant with Stay Safe MN:

It may seem like a mighty list and a daunting task, but filling out this template is a must for every business. The good news is that the template is fairly easy to follow, and it goes a long way towards tracking your adherence to current reopening procedures.

Have you filled out your COVID-19 reopening plan yet?

Certified Food Protection Managers and Sanitizers in Food

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With the current health crisis and the efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, certified food protection managers have been required to up the ante on their attention to sanitation procedures in the kitchen and on the dining room floor. While proper sanitation will help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and keep other contaminants out of the food your serve your guests, frequent sanitation can lead to the risk of chemicals making their way into the food you serve. Since Certified Food Protection Managers are sanitizing more frequently in these times, we should take a look at measures to keep our food free of chemical sanitizers.

Certified Food Protection Managers Guarding Against Sanitizers in Food
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Use of Sanitizers in Food Preparation by Certified Food Protection Managers

Sanitizing on a regular basis should not pose any threat to your guests. In fact, proper sanitation procedures should be done as frequently as necessary in order to kill viruses and bacteria in your establishment. The danger in over sanitation doesn’t come from sanitizing too often, it comes from using too much sanitizer product.

There are three types of sanitizer options approved by the Minnesota Food Code for use by Certified Food Managers in restaurants and other food production establishments:

  • Bleach or chlorine solution at 50ppm for 10 seconds
  • Iodine solution at 12.4 to 24ppm for 30 seconds
  • Quaternary ammonia solution at 200 to 400ppm for 30 seconds

Sanitizer solutions at the appropriate dilutions should be enough to keep the Coronavirus at bay. The danger lies is exceeding the amount of sanitizing chemicals in these recommended solutions. At the appropriate levels, bleach, iodine and ammonia will evaporate at room temperature after they have been utilized. If the concentrations are much higher than the recommended dilutions, you run the risk of exposing food that is served or prepared on previously sanitized surfaces. You may have reduced the risk of spreading viruses and bacteria, but you’ve increased the risk of adding unwanted chemicals to your product.

Besides sanitizing our surfaces, we’re also tempted to use sanitizer on our hands more often than before. While the health department allows for the use of antiseptics after hand washing, we must be very careful to remember that bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods is not allowed. Certified food protection managers should take an extra precaution and remind their staff to always wear food-service gloves when handling food and to change them after every task. This will prevent sanitizers on our hands from coming into contact with food product.

Are certified food protection managers in your establishment monitoring your sanitizing procedure to prevent chemical sanitizers from contaminating the food you serve?

Special COVID-19 regulations on HVAC for food protection managers

Certified Food Protection Managers, COVID-19 and HVAC Systems

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As we continue to reopen restaurants, bars and other eating establishments, certified food managers now have both the responsibility to keep the food they serve safe and to help prevent the spread of the Corona Virus. We’ve covered protocols such as social distancing, limited capacity and the reservation requirement, but the guidance provided in the Stay Safe MN for food businesses details more than just how to serve your guests. This guidance also involves specific rules regarding the ventilation systems in eateries, we’d like to take the time to outline Minnesota’s guidelines for HVAC systems during COVID-19 restrictions for certified food protection managers in food businesses.

Image credit: 123rf Worawut Kertchot 

Certified Food Protection Manger’s Guide for COVID-19 HVAC Regulations

The Stay Safe MN plan has four basic rules that certified food protection managers should initially consider concerning their current HVAC system:

  • Can the outdoor air percentage be increased to reduce reliance on circulated air?
  • If your establishment relies on recirculated air, are your filters MERV-13 or better?
  • Have my HVAC filters been replaced before reopening?
  • Have I had an HVAC professional evaluate my ventilation?

The theory behind some of these rules is that if we can provide an environment the lowers the risk of COVID-19 circulating through our air, we might be able to greatly reduce the risk of infection. If we limit the amount of recirculated air and introduce air from the outside, the atmosphere in our dining areas are constantly diluted and replaced with fresh air from the outside. In an environment where air is constantly recirculated, we run the risk of simply recirculating contaminated air.

If you must rely on recirculated air, there’s no reason to give up hope of reducing the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in your establishment. The recommends your filters be MERV-14 rated, however, MERV-13 filters are allowed. Your filters also should be replaced before reopening. Not only should filters be replaced, but you must also ensure they’ve been installed properly in order to prevent air from bypassing the filters and entering your dining room potentially contaminated.

Finally, it’s important to have a trained HVAC professional evaluate your system. As a certified food protection manager, Certified Food Protection Managers already have a lot on your plate, especially during COVID-19 restrictions, so bringing in someone who is more prepared to evaluate your HVAC system, change filters and make any adjustments necessary would be prudent.

Have you made sure you’re ventilation system is compliant with the Stay Safe MN plan?

Food Managers Space for Outdoor Seating

How Food Managers Can Find Space for Outdoor Seating During COVID-19

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June 1st signified the date in which restaurants, cafes and bars could begin seating customers, but with one catch. All seating must take place outdoors, and all tables must be at least six feet apart. While some larger restaurants may already have patio seating that accommodates these rules, what can food managers do if they don’t already have a patio or designated outdoor eating space?

How Food Managers Can Find Space for Outdoor Seating During COVID-19
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Outdoor Dining Seating Tips for Minnesota Food Managers

The unfortunate part of this regulation is that it puts food managers at smaller restaurants at a disadvantage, since they simply may not have the space to set up outdoor seating, but you may have a few options.

  • Utilize parking spaces
  • Request permission to use sidewalks or alley spaces

If your restaurant has a parking lot, even a small one, you may be able to convert part of it into an outdoor dining area. Since you’re currently required to limit seating to the outdoors, your parking lot won’t be used to its full capacity. Try setting up portable pavilions, roping off sections of tables or getting creative with your seating layout. Keep in mind, under current rules all tables must be at least six feet apart and no more than fifty people, staff and guests can be on the premises at one time.

What can food managers in Minnesota do if they don’t have a parking area to utilize for outdoor seating? Well, this is when it comes time to get a little creative. There are different sidewalk rules in different jurisdictions, but you may wish to consider working with the local authorities to create dining space on the sidewalk in front of your establishment. This may only be one or two tables, but it could be a start to tiding guests over until they are able to once again dine indoors.

How is your restaurant dealing with the new outdoor dining rule as we begin to reopen for business?