Protecting Your Brand

Health departments can and do inspect food service establishments to verify whether restaurants or grocery stores are practicing handling food safely, but those inspections may happen sporadically and inconsistently. As a permitted establishment, you are responsible for protecting your guest, your employees, and your brand. One way to understand how well you and your employees are doing when it comes to food safety and reducing risk is to regularly conduct self-audits of the establishment. Self-audits can be short 10 minute checklists or long deep dives into the details of the establishment. The objective of any self-audit is to determine how much of a risk your food handling practices are and minimizing those risk once found. Understand, there is no such thing as zero risk. The goal is to keep the risk as close to zero as possible.

A few things to look for during your self-audit:

1. Are cold foods held less than 41F?

2. Are hot foods held above 135F?

3. Are products cooked to the correct temperature?

4. Are foods reheat to 165F?

5. Are employees washing hands often and for at least 20 seconds?

6. Are food contact surfaces being washed, rinsed, and sanitized

7. Are foods cooling from 135F to 70F in 2 hours, then from 70-41F within 4 more hours?

8. Is there any pest activity inside the building?

The above is not an inclusive list, you can create your own or use SGB Food Safety to create a digital self-audit or utilize one of our food safety consultant services to help monitor your establishment. Reducing the food safety risk inside your establishment can lead to better health inspections, protection for your guest, and protection for your brand.

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SGB Food Safety Consultants LLC | Phone: 762-441-0317

Helping you identify food safety risk to protect your customers, employees, and brand.