Part of our responsibility is to provide you with content and tools to help you run your business. This blog post will contain links to other resources that we have found on E-coli, Norovirus, and General Food Safety issues. If you know of some other great tools, please add them in the comments and we’ll update our list.
As you look at these different resources you might be asking yourself how can checklists and checklist platforms like OpsAnalitica help me run safer restaurants?
Operations checklists play a huge part in running safer restaurants because they focus managers on what is important on a shift by shift basis. Whether your checklist is having a manager check temperatures or sanitizer concentrations. Or they are using checklists for sanitizing or cross contamination prevention. Manager’s who use checklists diligently run better operations than those who don’t. The checklist keeps them focused and reminds them of all the steps that they need to complete a task and to run safer operations.
Situational Checklists can also guide managers on how to properly address situations that might not happen very often. Checklists on how to manage a foodborne illness outbreak at their restaurant, or a cleaning checklist that they use if they send an employee home who is sick. These kinds of checklists ensure that every “i” is dotted and “t” is crossed in an efficient manner.
A platform like OpsAnalitica takes checklists to the next level because we provide visibility and accountability at all levels of the organization. We can see if a manager is following the checklists or pencil whipping them. We can provide visibility from the CEO down to the manager of a unit. Plus our system is self-documenting and organizing. When you complete a checklist on our system it is filed and stored in the cloud accessible from any connected device. No more scrambling to find all of your old temp logs or wasting time filing and organizing, they are just there when you need them.
Here are some resources I found that I thought were good and not too long.
Resources:
- CDC Norovirus Video – this video is cartoonish but it is full of good info, it’s free, and it’s short.
- E-coli Summary Video – this video is put out by a food testing lab and will give you a crash course on E-coli.
- Handwashing Training Video – I like that this video recommends turning off the faucet with your paper towel. It also launches into a series of training videos. If you are an independent and you don’t have a big training budget utilize YouTube to help your restaurant.
- HACCP Training for Food Handlers – this video was made in Canada and is very Canadian. The video is full of great info and is only 8 minutes long. Also, mentally convert all temperatures to Fahrenheit.
- Shaping your restaurant’s food safety defense plan – this is a great article from NRN about what is coming down the pike from a food safety plan at the restaurant level. It speaks about the concept of Active Managerial Control and Checklists.
- Foodborne Illness Response Guidelines – developed by CIFOR (Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response) this document is cited in multiple articles that I researched.
- The Real Cost of Not Having an Effective Food Safety Management System – this article is a good read about costs associated with not having a good program in place. It also cites several very scary stats around actual deaths that occurred from improper food handling, it is worth reading alone to remind yourself how much responsibility we have.
- 8 Cleaning Tips to Keep Norovirus at Bay – you may have to register to view this content but I think it is worth it.
- Summary of Food Safety Articles on the Restaurant Hospitality site.
- Norovirus Infographic – this was prepared by CDC and is worth a quick look
One common denominator in food service safety from HACCP to SQF, to the CIFOR response plan is checklists and documentation. Checklists are not a nice to have they are a must have in running safe restaurants. Check out the OpsAnalitica Inspector and see how we can help you run better, safer, and more profitable restaurants.