Most restaurant managers and owners focus on restaurant quality assurance rather than food safety. The evidence of this can be seen clearly in most news stories on restaurants that do not have food safety programs being implicated for foodborne illnesses and other food safety-related issues.
Quality control in the restaurant industry is significant as it helps incorporate food safety rules that can help control infections.
Quality Control in the Restaurant Industry
Almost every restaurant has some form of QA system that involves customer service, cleaning, presentation, food tasting, secret shopper, and many other criteria designed to protect and improve the brand.
Most managers will incorporate these points in their checklist, which they call an audit. It is a point where QA crosses over into food safety in the manufacturing industry.
Restaurant quality control is food safety. In most restaurants, the auditing program for food safety is viewed as a non-starter for operators and owners.
Here Are Ways You Can Incorporate Restaurant Quality Assurance in Your Restaurant
To quickly get you started on restaurant-quality assurance, here are a few steps you can incorporate into your restaurant;
Taking and Logging Temperatures
For all your hot and cold drinks, be sure they are checked multiple times a day. The temperatures must be recorded in a log sheet to save them for future references.
For restaurant-quality control, check on the cleanliness of your kitchen and dining room often. It is essential to have clean dining and kitchen, as customers see when they order food. They want to see you bringing food from a clean environment.
Keep your food in proper containers that will ensure restaurant-quality control. Keep food off the floor, keep it protected and covered and always store meats separately.
A critical feature of quality control in the restaurant industry is ensuring that your date and label all prepared foods. Once the food is prepared, it should not be stored for more than 24 hours, and ensure that it is well labeled and dated. The oldest foods should be used first, and with prepared food, ensure that they are not kept for more than seven days.
Another rule of quality control in the restaurant industry is that all food should be cooked properly. When you are cooling hot food, there should be different temperatures and timelines depending on the type of food.
Ensure that your employees are washing their hands when necessary and wearing gloves at all times. This is a Restaurant quality assurance rule that must be followed; otherwise, you may end up losing your restaurant.
Log your employees when they are sick, and do not let them work when they are unhealthy. Each year, there are usually sick employees that contaminate the food. When you make them work while they are sick, you will end up with a significant outbreak and even lead to the closure of your restaurant.
