FOOD SAFETY: IT AFFECTS US ALL

Food safety is a critical part of our restaurant system, but one that can be easily overlooked. It’s shocking to know that each year 30% of the U.S. population suffers from food-borne disease.

If restaurants aren’t carefully handling the food that it serves, those foods can harbor and grow potentially dangerous microorganisms. According to the FDA  the top three unsafe food handling practices are: food stored or cooked at improper temperature and times, chemical and equipment contamination, and poor personal hygiene.

Laws and procedures have been put in place as a result of these practices and organizations like The Health Department and the FDA go to great lengths to make ensure the safety of our food. If there is an establishment in question, the local health department sends inspectors to ensure procedures are being followed. If proper food handling guidelines were violated, the restaurant could be shut down.

HACCP is a system of food safety that was initially established to maintain food safety for NASA astronauts. Today, we’ve adopted that same program in restaurants and other facilities that serve food. The seven steps of HACCP include: identifying critical control points, creating procedures maintaining safety, monitoring control points by utilizing compliance posters and other training materials, implement corrective actions, and develop a system to keep all records, administering temperature checks, and ensuring the system is working properly.

Compliance Posters is your one stop shop for compliance posters, labor law posters, OSHA posters, and more!