Restaurant Safety: Food Safety Tips You Should Take During COVID-19

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant business has turned into quite a tricky venture. The food and safety precautions that is usually required from restaurants has seen various alterations. In fact, they have actually been put in a rather difficult situation as they need to be extra careful and follow all the food and safety tips to ensure the safety of their guests and customers.

How crucial is food safety in restaurants during COVID-19 pandemic?

Food safety is extremely important in the time of a pandemic. The responsibility that restaurants have towards their customers and the food they provide to them is quite crucial. The responsibility to be mindful with the food is all the more essential in the time of a pandemic. The safety and hygiene protocols to be undertaken by restaurants need to be tripled in force! An unhygienic environment is quick to turn into a breeding ground for bacteria and even contract virus. Hence, it is a crucial time for restaurateurs. In fact, to ensure that they are doing justice to the faith of their loyal customers, they need to follow specific food safety precautions.

Important food safety precautions to be implemented by restaurants

When you visit the restaurant, it is important that you notice if the restaurant is following some of these protocols for food safety. In such unprecedented times when restaurants are taking baby steps to reopen, it is essential that they do not become the breeding grounds for COVID spread. In fact, when you visit a restaurant once it has opened serving dining experiences in the country, we recommend that you make note of these protocols to be followed by them to maintain food safety.

Ask people with symptoms to stay at home

Restaurant employees, especially the ones who are taking orders and helping out in the kitchen are more prone to being exposed to the virus. Hence, it is important that they take extra care of themselves during the pandemic. In fact, even if your employee does show signs of a common flu, give them a leave and send them home. Even if the symptoms are mild, let them stay at home for some time till they recuperate. Making them go through the strenuous process of getting a doctor's note, especially in such times would be quite inconvenient and insensitive. Rather, let them recover from home and if things do get out of hand, ensure that they take a proper COVID-19 test.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is mandatory for people with flu-like symptoms to stay quarantined for minimum 72 hours after their fever has passed and additional seven days since the symptoms first cropped up. This is essentially for those who haven't gotten a test done. Further, you can also assist your employees with all the important COVID-related information along with government's financial assistance programmes, in case they need it or are eligible for it.

Make handwashing and sanitizing mandatory

As part of the kitchen safety rules, handwashing has always been a mandatory clause for restaurant employees as they need to be extra hygienic around food. However, in the COVID era, it is important to thoroughly wash hands and sanitize at regular intervals. Restaurateurs will need to ensure that the employees use the 20 seconds handwash method to wash hands. Put out a board of all the intervals when they will need to wash hands. This way they will be constantly reminded of it so they will follow the protocols and it would turn into a good habit for future.

As a restaurateur, some other kitchen safety rules that you must also install sanitizers at the kitchen, washrooms, every table along with soaps and towels. Keep some wet wipes to so that the customers wouldn't have to go for a handwash and share the same hand towel or soap. Another idea to promote handwashing in the restaurant is to put up posters and maybe even have announcements at regular intervals. Some kind of signal would help condition this habit is not just in the employees but also the usual customers.

Reduce the staff handling food

Personal hygiene is one of the most important things that employees working in the restaurant business must possess. It is recognised as one of the best ways to keep the virus at bay. It is especially important for employees handling the food at restaurants to be clean and follow the necessary protocols too. It would be better for the restaurant if you limit the food handlers. Unlike how earlier there was a rush to push through orders with multiple hands helping out, things aren't the same anymore. The need to push out orders is not as aggressive as it was before. Besides, the fewer the people in the kitchen, the easier it is to monitor them and notice if they are following the necessary restaurant kitchen safety rules.

Restaurateurs can choose to keep fewer staff in the meal prep zone and only give the food packing responsibilities a few employees. Instead of divrsifying the work among a bunch of workers, try to accommodate the procedures within a small set of efficient groups. After two days or maybe a week, they will be able to imbibe all the necessary skills to handle kitchen and packing duties. Also, make sure that these individuals follow the food safety protocols as issued by health authorities.

Sanitize the restaurant between regular intervals

The cleaning duty never ends till you pull the shutters down of your restaurant! A list of essential products that can be used to disinfect the restaurant thoroughly on the official website of FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). Ensure to incorporate the same in your regular cleaning protocols as it is imperative that you maintain the restaurant and the kitchen. In fact, food is very crucial in the time of a pandemic and needs to be handled with care. Hence, the surrounding of the food prep such as the kitchen platform or the restaurant tables and cutlery needs to be sanitized and disinfected at regular intervals.

Choose contactless drop-off of deliveries

Contactless drop-offs of deliveries is the new norm for restaurants and delivery providers. It is not even surprising to see some of the providers ask you to leave your flat and meet you at the building gate to deliver the food. Similarly, restaurants are now opening their business only for take aways and not dine-ins. As a restaurateur, it is your duty to be certain that you follow these necessary protocols with respect to the food you cook and deliver. The food delivery service providers will also need to follow the necessary COVID-19 guidelines as stated by WHO to be certain that they are following everything required in the time of a pandemic.

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