More restaurant operations are occurring outside of traditional spaces due to the growth of off-premise sales. As with all foodservice policies, “out of sight, out of mind” is never a best practice, and it’s absolutely necessary to be stewards of food safety even when it can’t be readily observed.
This is the topic of a recent essay from Hal King, Ph.D., Managing Partner at Active Food Safety and Founder of Public Health Innovations. Currently a member of Chipotle’s Food Safety Advisory Council, an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Georgia College of Public Health, and formerly the Director of Food and Product Safety at Chick-fil-A Inc., Dr. King is a recognized expert in identifying infectious disease transmission hot spots in foodservice establishments and an advocate for effective prevention and control methods. He is the author of the recent book in the microbiology series sponsored by the International Association of Food Protection, Food Safety Management Systems.
He explains that off-premise activity introduces new key danger areas and risks.
“With off-premise sales, there are additional risks during the times and places of keeping the food safe after it’s been prepared,” says King. He identified four key areas to examine:
- Holding – Keeping food hot or cold to prevent growth of pathogens and spoilage organisms before the food is delivered.
- Handling – Handling food properly to prevent cross-contact with allergens and transmission of viruses from packaging.
- Transporting – Preventing contamination, physical or temperature abuse, or tampering of the packaged food during transport.
- Delivering – Ensuring delivery personnel are trained in best practices and are not an exposure risk to the consumer.
With awareness of these added risk factors, it’s critical to implement and practice good food safety procedures to address them.
Formal regulation in states, especially related to safe delivery partners oversight, has fallen behind the pace of booming off-premise sales, but it is still the responsibility of the foodservice establishment to keep off-premise food safety on their radar and be proactive and prepared. Take, for example, the relationship with a third-party delivery business.
“Many unregulated third-party delivery services in some states are not required to work with a foodservice business to ensure safety,” says King. “But they can introduce and increase risk into the process if both parties are not aligned to food safety management needs.”
Specific examples include providing incorrect menus and ingredients (including allergen cautionary information on the menu items), failing to ensure safe transport, or simply the delivery folks not following good personal hygiene. “All of which,” King says, “could lead to foodborne illnesses, and also hurt an establishment’s reputation simply due to the delivery service failures.”
Many foodservice establishments have dedicated a great deal of time and resources to curating an experience that prioritizes health and well-being inside their doors. But King says an extra, conscious effort must be made to extend that commitment off-premise.
“Show the customer what you are doing to protect them for their safety,” says King. “For example, providing hand sanitizing wipes with each order for both third-party delivery persons and guests demonstrates a commitment to safety. Likewise, placing of the wipes on the outside of the packaging signals to guests to clean hands before eating.”
Different establishments have different challenges they must meet as they give more focus to off-premise dining. A family-owned establishment that has been around for generations must learn to adapt to the expectations of today’s consumers. A large chain must think more about their drive-thru windows or curbside presence. Ghost kitchens have emerged to make the best of a bad situation. But the common denominator, King stresses, is that off-premise activity is here to stay.
“Some of the most important actions a business in the foodservice industry must take are around off-premise,” says King. “This means not only offering customers the opportunity to purchase food with reduced risk of interactions with individuals that may lead to exposure to the pandemic virus, but treating off-premise as a meaningful representation of the establishment, its quality, and its safety practices.”
Read Dr. King’s full essay, Off-premise Dining Safety and Experience in the Restaurant and Foodservice Business.
Dr. King is presenting on this topic in a 30-minute webinar session for Restaurant Business Online, Staying On Target with Off-Premise Food Safety. Click here for more information about the session, which will be conducted live on Tuesday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. ET and then will be available on-demand after that.
To learn more about the NOROVIRUS HOT SPOT™ + COVID-19 Program from Active Food Safety, in partnership with PURELL®, please visit our portal here.