Restaurant Food Safety – Protect Your Customers & Yourself

   As a business owner, your number one concern should be the health of your customers and your workers.  Being careless in food safety can cost you more than just profits, it could mean losing your business if someone gets sick or worse dies from food poisoning from your restaurant.  These days with the Ebola virus threatening a worldwide pandemic people are more concerned than ever about getting sick and restaurant that have reputations as being unsanitary or not following health and safety regulations will lose business.

Restaurants in China and Japan like McDonalds have reported heavy losses due to food poisoning due to unscrupulous suppliers selling meat that didn’t follow food safety standards. This is why it is important to know your suppliers and make sure they are following food safety regulations. One of the advantages of buying your food locally is you know where the food is coming from. You can inspect the source of your food or make sure the local health inspector ensures that they are following food safety regulations. Also the less distance your food has to travel from the source to your restaurant the greater chance that it will be more fresh and uncontaminated. When food like meat, dairy and fish have to travel long distances there is an increased change for bacteria or viruses to grow and spread especially if the food has not been properly refrigerated or kept at the correct temperature throughout the journey from the farm to your business. The is also a greater chance of contamination since typically when food is traveling long distances more people are handling the food.

One of important factors in ensuring the safety of your food and preventing food poisoning is making sure the food is stored properly. It is important to know how long certain food items can be stored for:

Milk can be stored in the refrigerator for 4- 5 days or for 1 month in the freezer.  Evaporated milk can be stored longer if unopened.

Fresh fish and shellfish (including fillets) can be stored for 1 day in the refrigerator, or 2 – 3 months in the freezer.

Lunch meat can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days in the refrigerator if opened or 2 weeks if unopened. It can be stored in the freezer for 1 – 2 months.

Bacon can be stored for 7 days in the refrigerator and raw sausage from chicken, turkey, pork and beef can be refrigerated for 1 -2 days. Bacon can be stored in the freezer for 1 month and sausages for 1 – 2 months.

Hamburger and other ground meats can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days or 3 – 4 months in the freezer.

Fresh veal, lamb and pork chop  – steaks, chops and roasts can be stored for 3 – 5 days in the refrigerator. Steaks can be frozen for 6 – 12 months , chops for 4 – 6 moths and roasts for 4 – 12 months.

Fresh poultry such as whole chicken or turkey can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days or frozen for 1 year.

Raw eggs in the shell can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 weeks. They do not freeze well. Raw egg whites can be stored 2 – 4 days or frozen for 12 months. Raw egg yolks can be refrigerated for 2 – 4 days (they do not freeze well) and hard cooked eggs can be refrigerated for 1 week (they do not freeze well).

Vegetable or meat soups or stews can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days or stored in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 months.

Cooked meat or poultry can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days or in the freezer for 2 – 6 months. Chicken nuggets or patties can be stored for 3 – 4 days or in the freeze for 1 – 3 months. Pizza can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 – 3 days or 1 – 2 months.

The refrigerator should be kept at or below 41F. Make sure you check the warm and cool parts of the refrigerator frequently with a thermometer in both places. Make sure to keep a record of the temperature readings. Avoid keeping meat and dairy items  in the refrigerator door since there is a lot of fluctuation in temperature. The back of the refrigerator is the best place to store milk. Never store raw meat above cooked or prepared food because the prepared food can become contaminated.

Professional freezers should be kept at below 0F. Check and record the temperature regularly. Clean the freezer regularly and never refreeze thawed foods.

Cooking your food at the proper temperature is very important for food safety as this will kill any bacteria and prevent food poisoning.  Ground meat such as beef, pork, lamb, veal and egg dishes should be cooked at 160F. Poultry and leftover casseroles should be cooked at 165F. Steaks, roasts, chops, raw pork, raw ham and fish should be cooked at 145F. Pre-cooked ham should be reheated to 140F to cook.  Eggs need only to be cooked until the yolk and whites firm. Shellfish and scallops should be cooked until the flesh is opaque and pearly. Clams, mussels and oysters should be cooked until the shells open during cooking.

Be sure to wash food before cooking. Use separate cutting boards for meat and vegetables and clean them with soap and hot water or bleach after each use. Date all of your food and throw away any food that is expired. If you think some of your food may have expired, become contaminated. Make sure your kitchen and your entire restaurant is clean and pest free. By following these steps you can keep your business and your customers safe.