Sunday, December 7, 2008

How Safe is Your Commercial Kitchen?

By Malcolm J. Richmond

If you own your own restaurant no doubt you are already aware of how lucrative the food business is. However, it is very easy to ruin your restaurant business if you do not pay attention to the sanitation of your food.

There are a few ground rules and parameters that all restaurants need to follow stringently. If a restaurant fails to meet any of these guidelines then it is bound to cause complications that could prove devastating. All kitchens must remain vigilant to ensure that these rules are followed.

All restaurateurs share a common goal; to provide their customers with an enjoyable experience that will have them coming back time and time again. Even just one outbreak of food poisoning could prove extremely costly for your restaurant and thus proper sanitation is an integral part of any successful kitchen.

There is also the fact that if you are careless with your sanitation you can, and most likely will run into legal difficulties. There are many things that you can do to help leave legal matters out of your life, and taking care of your health issues is one of them. Also keep in mind that it doesn't take much to ruin the reputation of even an established restaurant.

Here are some handy guidelines on keeping to safe kitchen practices. One, train your staff. Two, teach them that spoilt food does not necessarily look or smell poles apart from good stuff. Three, Tell them how food should be kept hot or very cold to prevent bacteria growth on it.

Remember that all food should always be covered and that raw and cooked foods should always be kept separate. Take some time to make sure that food is not defrosted in the open air and that hands are washed before and after handling food.

Also take care that the various hot and cold places in your kitchen meet the requirements of the local legislation, and always store meats on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in order to keep juices from dripping down onto other foods. These are the basics for a commercial kitchen, but remember that as a general rule, the busier the kitchen, the more stringent food safety procedures need to be.

Luncheon and dinner hours are usually very busy times indeed for restaurants with reputations to keep. These are precisely the hours when short cuts tend to creep into work practices. Beware of this human failing and take no chances. If need be, enlist the professional services of a food safety expert who can help streamline your kitchen procedures. At the end of the day, good food is safe food. And that's what keeps customers happy and brings them back again and again to your restaurant. If you can accomplish this, you and you're restaurant will be on a winning path. - 15359

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