Do you run a catering business? This includes everything from bars and restaurants to cafés, public houses and hotels with kitchens. If so, you probably already know the importance of maintaining good hygiene in your workplace. After all, if you don’t meet the required standards, then your establishment could easily be shut down. However, it’s easier said than done to maintain good hygiene standards when you run a busy kitchen. It can sometimes become a bigger job than operating your actual business. And so, you’re probably wondering how exactly you can ensure you’re meeting the standards of cleanliness that you need to.
Luckily for you, that’s exactly what we’ll be discussing in our article today. Read on to find out more about maximizing hygiene and health as a caterer company.
Check The Refrigerator
Your refrigerator is essential for protecting food from mould and bacteria. As such, caterers should focus on keeping it as clean as possible. This includes wiping down the shelves on a regular basis, cleaning spillages immediately, and removing items as soon as they go out of date. But that’s not all you need to worry about. Catering businesses also need to keep a watchful eye on whether their refrigerators are effectively chilling the food. If not, this could result in your stock becoming unsafe to eat. As such, catering companies should consistently have a professional cooling service come in to check the appliance.
Cellars And Freezers
Following on from our previous point, it’s also important to make sure that your cellars and freezing rooms are effectively keeping your food products. To save time, your cooking staff will usually make some desserts or meal batches in the evening, then freeze them overnight for consumption the next day. If your freezer or cellar isn’t at the appropriate temperature, this could result in the products going sour. Once again, you should hire a professional service to check your freezers and cellar cooling systems.
Cross-Contamination
When handling food, we should always be careful of cross-contamination. This is where we pass particles from one type of food to another. As you serve different customers – who might have undisclosed allergies – cross-contamination can be deadly. For example, people with peanut allergies could go into anaphylactic shock. To stop cross-contamination from happening, never start preparing a new meal without having washed your hands first.
Cleaning The Surfaces
Anyone with a kitchen knows how messy they can get. However, if food is allowed to sit on the counters, unwashed, then cultures of bacteria can begin to form. This could then be transferred onto the food, plates and cutlery. To prevent this from happening, your catering service needs to stay on top of the cleaning. Once you have finished working on one meal, thoroughly clean the counter. Don’t forget about those hidden nooks in your kitchen. Wiping tables down after customers is important, too. It might also be worth hiring a professional cleaner to doubly ensure hygiene.
Catering Conclusion
These are the main ways to ensure your catering service is upholding the proper standards of hygiene, so it can remain in business. Keep your catering, delivery, or restaurant business safe and clean!
