Food safety is a crucial aspect of the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain, as it impacts the health and well-being of consumers.
Ensuring that the food served in QSRs is safe to eat requires a commitment to strict food handling and preparation practices and proper storage and transportation conditions.
This includes adhering to food safety regulations, using safe ingredients, and implementing regular food safety audits to monitor the safety program's effectiveness.
Some of the key strategies to elevate food safety in QSR chains are:
1. Staff Training
Training is the most important tool that one can use to elevate health and safety practices in a QSR industry. Most of the new joinees in a QSR industry are probably freshers straight out of college or people looking to shift from the respective careers. Most of them might not have heard of the concept of Food Safety, and This is where proper training (HACCP) plays a significant role. Post-training, continuous refresher courses, and assessments will drill down the foundation of health and safety standards that the company has set and the governing law.
2. Auditing
Setting up a QC/QC team that does surprise audits at stores will help keep a store always on its feet regarding safety and hygiene.
3. Tools
Providing the stores with adequate tools like surface thermometers, internal food thermometers, cooking oil testers, and building SOPs will help QSR chains/outlets comply with good hygiene practices.
4. SOPs
SOPs provide guidelines for each employee to achieve the best hygiene practices. The trainer trains the staff on these SOPs, and a physical copy is always present at each store. The team can go through the SOP manual regarding things like “Cleaning of the fryer or Grill,” “How to sanitise a workstation,” “How to differentiate between an expired product and fresh product,” “Internal cooking temperature of cooked meats”. Providing staff with these materials in written and video form help them achieve best practices.
5. Company Culture
Building a general culture around food safety in the company is very important. If the employees see a general sense of pride that the company takes in being the best at hygiene and safety practices, then more often, that sense of pride and responsibility gets engrained in the staff. If the company builds on that foundation from the start, it is easier when they scale.
6. Design and Layout
The design and layout of a kitchen space play a vital role in hygiene and safety. If not designed according to hygiene practices, this can lead to significant food safety risks from cross-contamination of foods and contact with allergens.
(The author is co-founder at Good Flippin’ Burgers)