Oftentimes the focus of food safety management risks are on the kitchen and food preparation procedures, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t foodborne illness risks elsewhere in your establishment. It’s important to realize that even when the food that comes out of your kitchen is safe to eat, front-of-the-house procedures can potentially compromise food safety in your establishment. Let’s take a look at the most common food safety risks in dining rooms.
Dining Room Food Safety Management Risks
Servers, bartenders, hosts, hostesses and busboys must receive training to prevent foodborne illness on nearly the same scale as line cooks, prep cooks and dishwashers. They don’t actually prepare food, but there are several dining room food safety management risks that should have well-defined protection.
- Handwashing
- Table sanitation
- Bar and service station storage
- Restroom cleanliness
Handwashing is drilled into the minds of kitchen staff, and front-of-the-house staff should follow the same procedures. Hands should be properly washed after handling dirty dishes, touching order screens or pens when taking orders and following any situation that causes them to come in contact with potentially dirty surfaces.
All tables and the arms of chairs should be sanitized after each guest departs. Guests could touch surfaces with unwashed hands, food and beverages can be spilled and contaminants from breathing, sneezing or coughing could be present. Don’t overlook the underside of the table. Dirty hands often touch the underside of table surfaces, so be sure to sanitize regularly.
Bars and service stations present several food safety management risks. These areas often have service utensils and ready-to-eat foods such as garnishes for drinks and complimentary bread baskets. Remember that servers and bartenders must not handle any ready-to-eat-foods with bare hands. Foodservice gloves or clean utensils are a must. It’s also important to remind staff not to handle clean forks, spoons, knives and other utensils if they have unwashed hands. Even if they only touch the handles, they may spread contaminates after touching dirty surfaces.
Finally, guest bathrooms should be checked for cleanliness often. A dirty restroom can cause guests to bring contaminants back into the dining room. Make sure there are ample soap, paper towels and a friendly handwashing procedure sign.
Are there any other dining room food safety management risks you often see overlooked?
