FMJ.CO.UK HEALTH & SAFETY FOCUS
AUGUST 2021 41
CATERING SAFELY
There’s been a clear rise in
sanitary and safety precautions
across most industries since last
spring, especially for those involving
food consumption and distribution.
Safety remains at the peak of
agendas for hospitality and catering
sta , and that is unlikely to change
for some time.
Consumers are tuned in to safety
demands and will not accept any
compromises. In fact, 75 per cent of
customers would never visit a food
outlet again if they breached safety
procedures or experienced a lack in
hygiene regulations(i). Consumers
will be unforgiving to those who
don’t follow regulations. Therefore,
restaurants and food outlets that
opened during the various lockdowns
in 2020 have put tremendous eƒ ort
into upholding sanitisation in the
kitchen and public spaces, as well
as adhering to social distancing
measures.
These heightened demands require
additional spend, whether that’s in
the public space, in the kitchen, or in
the food customers are eating. While
maintaining this system may seem a
daunting prospect from both a cost
and quality perspective, we can still
meet heightened safety demands
while keeping costs low.
MEETING SAFETY DEMANDS
Every business owner is required
to assess risks in their business and
implement measures to reduce them.
Restaurants, pubs, and bars already
open must continuously assess the
safety of their building to remain in
operation. Running a business in
the hospitality sector is a complex
undertaking at the best of times, but
this complexity has intensified amidst
the pandemic.
Solid safety and hygiene can
determine whether a business sinks or
swims. It is imperative all regulations
in social distancing are met and food
safety remains a priority.
To keep food and people safe,
catering teams must ensure no crosscontact
or contamination takes place.
Cross-contamination can endanger
customers, and it occurs when
bacteria or harmful micro-organisms
are unintentionally transferred from
one food item to another. The ability
to measure temperatures over various
ranges throughout the food supply
process is essential to food safety,
as dictated by a Hazard Analysis and
Critical Control Points (HACCP)(ii) plan.
Providing hand sanitiser for
customers and employees remains a
simple yet essential protocol. There
are hotspots within restaurants such as
door handles, toilets, and even chairs.
Surfaces throughout the building
also contain bacteria so it’s important
these are cleaned regularly with
anti-bacterial wipes to maintain good
hygiene.
Ventilation with clean air is a
high priority both indoors and in
enclosed outdoor areas. To reduce
the concentration of respiratory
aerosol particles in the air, simply
opening doors, windows, and
checking ventilation systems are
operating eƒ iciently is good practice.
However, sometimes this isn’t
always enough and it’s extremely
diƒ icult to measure if the air is toxic
and food can be contaminated. A
hygrometer can be used to measure
the quantity of water vapour present
in air, with many products sensitive
to variations in humidity, produce
needs to be measured and controlled
to be consistent in both quality and
performance.
DATA SOLUTIONS
Measuring and maintaining food
safety, needn’t be an expensive
practice. The technology is there
to keep both food and people safe,
and this can have long-term positive
consequences to the bottom-line of
any catering business.
Temperature control is critical to
ensuring a high quality and safe
product is delivered to the consumer’s
plate. Constant monitoring is required,
and a cost-eƒ ective way of doing this
is not through several manual checks
of storage units each day, but with
wireless data loggers.
Wireless data loggers are IoTenabled
devices which provide
catering facilities, supermarkets, and
transporters with the information they
need to act immediately should any
unforeseen issues arise when it comes
to food temperatures.
Data loggers are constantly gathering
and examining data, information
which is then made accessible
both remotely and in real-time. The
longevity in costs can save a business
a tremendous amount of money. The
numbers speak for themselves.
Let’s say a catering company requires
one person to take five diƒ erent
temperature checks three times a
day. This equates to approximately 73
hours of labour annually which (based
on the UK minimum wage for over 25s)
comes in at around £636. A wireless
data logger will be able to provide
the same insight for less than £30,
meaning companies can save in excess
of £600 a year depending on the scale
of their operation. As well as time and
money, there are other benefits.
The danger of human error is
avoided, and everything is entirely
paperless, removing the need for
multiple members of staƒ to handle
pens, paper and thermometers. This
important reduction in contact is key
to ensuring a COVID-safe working
environment. The rise in sanitary and
safety precautions across catering
companies and hospitality will remain
even a– er the pandemic. Habits to
keep the building, the food, and the
people safe will endure as a priority for
businesses. However, advancements
in technology have evolved even
further because of the pandemic,
and businesses can bear fruit from
its rewards. Companies can use this
technology to achieve the very best in
safety and hygiene, whilst even cutting
costs along the way.
Catering facilities must meet stringent safety standards. Here, Jason
Webb, Director, Electronic Temperature Instruments, explains how the
technology is there to keep both food and people safe
FURTHER INFORMATION
(i) www.bighospitality.co.uk/
Article/2016/09/12/Restaurantcleanliness
more-important-thancustomer
service-finds-report
(ii) www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/
hazard-analysis-and-critical-controlpoint
haccp
/Restaurant-cleanliness-more-important-than-customer-service-finds-report
/hazard-analysis-and-critical-control-point-haccp
