How Safe is Your Commercial Kitchen?

By Malcolm J. Richmond

If you own your own restaurant you already know how lucrative the food business is. However, it is very easy to ruin you restaurant business if you do not pay attention to the sanitation of your food.

There are many things to keep in mind when you are looking at making sure that your kitchen meets the standards that have been set by the health code, but the truth of the matter is that for even the most conscientious of kitchens, it can be easy to get sloppy.

Your staff have to be taught to keep the cleanliness of your kitchen flaw proof. A lot is at stake here. Food and table service must leave customers feeling good. That?s what keeps the goodwill of your restaurant on a consistent high. The very last thing you want is for them to feel sick. News of a bad experience spreads very fast by word of mouth and can be pretty dreadful for your restaurant.

Please be aware that apart from suffering the consequences of ill will a report on insufficient cleanliness could find you facing legal charges of negligence in hygiene standards. So always follow prescribed health standards and keep far away from legal hassles. Remember, it takes a long time to build a reputation but only one negative incident can destroy it.

Here are some handy guidelines on keeping to safe kitchen practices. One, train your staff. Two, teach them how 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.

There are highly regimented laws of keeping food in the kitchen. For one, hot and cold areas should be separate. Meats must be kept on the lower refrigerator shelves so there?s no chance of non-veg juices dripping onto other foodstuff. Most of these rules are common sense but busy staff tends to become lax.

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 falling and take no chances. If need be, hire 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 so, you?re a winner all the way! - 33383

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