Thursday, December 11, 2008

How Safe is Your Commercial Kitchen?

By Malcolm J. Richmond

If you are someone who is in charge of one, or several kitchens in the bustling city of Melbourne, you already know that the sanitation and health of both your workers and your customers needs to be one of your highest priorities.

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.

There are some very basic things that can be done to reduce the chances of a food poisoning outbreak at your restaurant. First, make certain that your staff are educated on matters of food safety. Verify that they are aware that spoiled food does not necessarily look or smell different from food that is good, and let them know that food must be kept hot or very cold in order to make sure that bacterium doesn't grow 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 aimed at ensuring that foods are stored adequately. For one, hot and cold areas should be separate. Meats must be kept on the lower refrigerator shelves so there's no chance of various juices dripping onto other foodstuffs. Most of these rules are common sense but busy staff can often become lax.

Amidst the calamity that dinner time can bring to commercial kitchens it can be exhausting to keep even the simplest orders in mind; let alone adhering to proper food safety procedures. However the reputation of your restaurant depends on these procedures so it is vital that you take no chances. The more streamlined your procedures are the more likely they are to be followed by your staff. Consultation with a food safety expert is often a worthwhile exercise. These people can evaluate your current procedures and suggest any improvements to strengthen your restaurant's ability to produce safe, quality food.

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