Food poisoning can make or break a restaurant. In a study last year, three-quarters of people said they would avoid any establishment which had experienced a food safety incident and there are few restaurants that could survive 75% of customers refusing to come in anymore. It’s not only loss of business of course, food poisoning can leave your business subject to fines or even being sued by a customer who became unwell. All in all, it’s an experience that you want to avoid.
Contamination
There are several aspects to food safety problems. The first is contamination. In order to avoid cross-contamination of foods you will need to ensure that staff are trained in food hygiene which gives the proper advice for how to prepare and store food items. For example, when cooking meat the internal temperature should be measured. If you are not sure what the current advice is, then consult the Food Standards Agency website for information on best practice in avoiding contamination – https://www.food.gov.uk/search?f%5B0%5D=im_field_site_section%3A33&f%5B1%5D=im_field_topic%3A42.
Refrigeration
Commercial refrigeration has different requirements to your home. Different foods need to be stored at different temperatures, which means that commercial kitchens often have multiple fridges set to different temperatures.
A reliable seller such as https://www.fridgefreezerdirect.co.uk/commercial-refrigeration will be able to advise you on which equipment is best suited to your needs.
One important factor in storing food is that the seal on the unit’s door keeps the food at the ideal temperature. Regular inspections and checking that the unit is operating at the correct temperature is important. Commercial fridges and freezers are able to maintain the internal temperature even when the door is opened and closed frequently in a busy kitchen.
Maintaining your reputation as a safe restaurant is vital, and with the new food hygiene rating scheme in operation, certificates are now displayed for customers to see. Having a good rating becomes a selling point, reassuring customers and potential customers that when they eat with you, they are unlikely to suffer any nasty side effects. One incident, one bad review can set your business back badly. Make sure that your food storage is fit for the job. Investing in good cold storage may protect your business from the disaster of a food safety incident and the associated bad publicity that it may bring.
