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How to Combine Modern Food Safety Technology with Old-school Attention to Detail

Sure, technological advances, such as remote monitoring equipment, promise to advance food safety in the restaurant. Just don't overlook tried-and-true practices that are often your most valuable backstops between your business and a foodborne illness crisis.

You should also reconsider your opinion of local health inspectors. Long considered the bane of restaurant owners, health inspectors can be one of the most valuable members of your team to avoid liability and keep your doors open.

In this article, we review the new and the old. You can't think too much about food safety. Not only for the protection of your guests, but for the survival of your restaurant. A foodborne illness crisis can go viral on social media overnight. Truly, the whole world is watching.

What's on the Cutting Edge?

Many established restaurants are adding cutting-edge technologies to enhance food safety practices, notes Dr. Sujata Sirsat, assistant professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston.

"For instance," she says, "some restaurants are using devices that can be placed in coolers and freezers that are connected to smartphone/tablet devices, so that managers can track temperatures at all times from anywhere. In addition, restaurateurs can purchase a device that can fit on the water faucet to measure the number of times your employees wash their hands during a shift. This can help managers incentivize good practices."

Much of the recent innovation remains incremental. "While technological advances such as whole genome sequencing have revolutionized food safety in recent years, developments at the retail level have been comparatively limited," explains Liz Nowland-Margolis, senior communications manager for the National Sanitation Foundation International in Ann Arbor, MI. "Advances in the way of Bluetooth thermometers and cloud-based monitoring have helped to engage a younger workforce and aid in operational oversight."

For restaurants that partake in cooling of food products, a digital temperature tracker is a worthwhile investment, Nowland-Margolis adds. "Cooling is one of the higher risk activities that restaurants perform on a regular basis, yet the procedures are often misunderstood and seldom completed and documented correctly. For a couple of hundred dollars, these trackers allow you to closely monitor the cooling process and give you some peace of mind that a safe product is being served to your guests."

Comply with food safety protocols before they become problems, says Ruth L. Petran Ph.D., vice president, food safety & public health for St. Paul, MN based Ecolab. She points to a pair of relatively recent advances that help address these concerns. The first is remote monitoring.

"There are many businesses exploring this space," she says, which allows restaurant owners to remotely monitor key parts of their food safety program, such as real-time temperature data for freezers/coolers, Bluetooth probes for monitoring food temperatures, digital HACCP checklists and alerts. "This advancement could help restaurant operators focus more on guest experience and being proactive in their food safety program rather than depending on manual checks."

Another is digital and real-time food safety training platforms. Restaurant operators are looking for ways to stay informed about best practices in food safety, Petran says. "As a result, they are turning to online platforms to complement and support their internal restaurant specific training programs."

One area of focus has been on using products or technologies that leverage data - from health departments or food safety inspections - to help restaurant operators know how to best focus food safety efforts, develop corrective actions and benchmark against other restaurants, according to Petran. These products and technologies help restaurant operators be proactive in their food safety programs and reduce their potential foodborne illness risks.

"Operators need flawless implementation of food safety programs," adds Petran. "Restaurant operators are turning to their vendors to help simplify and implement their food safety program and best practices. With increased scrutiny on processes and procedures by health inspectors, this is becoming a growing area where vendors can support restaurant operators in meeting their goals."

The latest advances in restaurant food safety "are often linked to technology," notes Sarah Howarth, the principal of Howarth Food Safety Ltd., a consultancy in Kent, England. "For example, [these include] automated temperature monitoring, recording and alarm systems and online training."

Among the technologies she feels operators should know about are "devices and processes which integrate food safety into the daily work schedule; for instance, controlled sous vide cook baths."

Cost and Scale

Often, the overriding factors are cost and scale. Many innovations only make sense for large-scale operations. Matthew McClure, senior consultant for Las Vegas Food Safety Consulting in Nevada, notes that many of the latest advances in restaurant food safety are based on tracking of employee training, health inspections, or paper reduction through electronic storage. While potentially useful to a multi-unit operator, "we don't typically recommend these systems to smaller clients."

Beyond the invention of a device that destroys all human pathogens while maintaining the organoleptic qualities of fresh or TCS food, food safety will continue to boil down to training and monitoring of restaurant staff from dishwashers and busboys, to cooks, servers, and managers, McClure says. "We feel there is more value in a properly trained staff, properly calibrated thermometers, and well managed color coded cutting boards than almost anything else [a little] money can buy."

Recent improvements have rendered existing food safety programs "much more affordable," such as electronic monitoring systems for refrigerators and more sophisticated thermometers, according to Lisa M. Berger, MPH, CP-FS, the principal of Berger Food Safety Consulting in Boston. "They don't just read temperatures, but can include temperature alerts, customized corrective actions, and can monitor and record other critical control points."

Dr. Edward G. McKeown, Ph.D., assistant professor of practice, School of Hotel & Restaurant Management at Northern Arizona University, says he has not noticed many advances in restaurant food safety. "However, there have been advances in previous technology, and even price drops in previously expensive technology, that can be used to help operators maintain a safe food supply."

In the past, McKeown continues, operators had to rely on bi-metallic stemmed thermometers to check temperatures of items. The food code even specified that the temperature had to be maintained on the thermometer for 15 seconds. Several years ago, instant-read thermometers came out and could give a reading instantaneously, so that chefs could go from one item to another very quickly.

Nearly every state, city, and county has its own unique method of conducting health inspections. Regulations and recommendations are updated every few years, and it is crucial for operators to keep abreast of these changes. But inspections aimed at confirming adherence to those regulations can be turned into cost-free de facto consulting sessions.

"Unfortunately, like all new pieces of technology the price made it out of reach for most operators at about $500 a piece," he notes. "Now these thermometers can be purchased for as little as $79. That is still much more than a standard digital thermometer that you can get at Walmart for about $5, but they are of better quality and can give a reading instantly, which allows for more time cooking and serving food rather than holding a thermometer and checking temperatures."

Safety as Culture

Indeed, most of the latest academic research related to food safety has focused on the idea of creating "a safe-food culture within the organization," explains Kevin R. Roberts, Ph.D., associate professor and interim department head for The Center of Excellence for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition Programs and Director, Undergraduate Program in the Department. of Hospitality Management at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. "Food safety cannot just be another task to be completed; rather, it must be engrained in all that we do, and management must support and foster this culture."

"While I am sure there are new and novel products on the market related to food safety," Roberts says, "the critical issues still remain handwashing, control of cross-contamination and taking temperatures. If we can encourage employees to follow proper practices within these three areas, many of the foodborne-related outbreaks could be minimized."

If operators can encourage employees to follow proper practices within those three areas, says Roberts, many of the foodborne-related outbreaks could be minimized or eliminated. "Encourage employees to follow recommended practices, but it has to come from the top. If management talks about food safety, but the manager never washes his or her hands when they help out in the kitchen, we send conflicting messages to our employees."

At Kansas State, Roberts and his colleagues have done several studies looking at food safety practices within different environments. "You would be surprised at how many employees don't wash their hands when they should, or don't wash their hands properly."

Promoting Safety

Savvy operators view food safety not as an onerous chore, but as an opportunity. In this age of ubiquitous social media, restaurateurs often have no choice but to talk about food safety with their guests, something that was anathema in the past. Thus, the question of whether or not to market a restaurant's high food safety standards is rendered all but moot.

"It is my opinion, and one I believe many others share, that high standards of food safety are a prerequisite for any foodservice operation, and as such would not make for a great marketing message," says Christopher Gaulke, lecturer on food & beverage management operations, technology, and information management for the Cornell College of Business, School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, NY. "It is also my opinion that people do not choose restaurants because they have high standards of food safety, but rather they do not choose restaurants with poor standards of food safety."

Given the ease with which this information can be obtained from social media and news outlets, as well as health department websites and municipalities' grading systems, Gaulke sees it as "highly likely that these operations will be removed from customers' consideration set."

"The last year has taught us that a bad food safety image can be detrimental to your brand," says Nowland-Margolis. "That being said, if your brand's message is completely focused on food safety and something was to happen, then you no longer have a brand. Rather, you might focus on a perceived message of quality and safety rather than an outright declaration."

That said, others are emphatic about the benefits of getting positive information out in front of the dining public. "[This is] absolutely [true]," says Berger. "People are becoming much more aware of food safety issues, and will choose to dine at places that score well on their inspections. Most health departments now have inspection results on their websites. When I'm choosing to dine out I'll check that out first if I'm going to a place that I have not been to in the past. I encourage all my friends and family to do the same."

Adds Sirsat: "If an organization does, indeed, have high food safety standards then it demonstrates ethical conduct, and shows that they care about their customers and employees."

Chef Paul E. Mach, CSW, assistant professor at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA, believes that posting the safety score from the health department is "a 'peace of mind' customer service concept that can be a decision point in this competitive market." McKeown agrees, but admits he is "unsure how that could be accomplished without sounding a bit pretentious."

Roberts warns that the operator who trumpets his level of food safety needs to "be sure that your actions follow your message. Don't advertise how good your food safety practices are until you have sound practices in place and you have established a culture that supports your message."

Free Food Safety Consulting

Nearly every state, city, and county has its own unique method of conducting health inspections. Regulations and recommendations are updated every few years, and it is crucial for operators to keep abreast of these changes. But inspections aimed at confirming adherence to those regulations can be turned into cost-free de facto consulting sessions.

Operators, says Nowland-Margolis, should embrace the chance to ask questions of their health inspectors. "It sounds simple because it is, but there's no better way to develop a relationship with your local regulators." Being an active participant in your health inspections "not only makes the experience a less stressful one, but demonstrating to the inspector that you're genuinely interested in improving your operations can pay dividends in the long run."

"Often, budgets will be held up for improvements related to food safety in the kitchen," Mach relates. "Having the inspector help identify problem areas can often release funds toward correcting important issues."

"When I was moving up through management at different restaurants, having worked at them since high school back in the 80's, I was always taught that the health inspector was the enemy of the restaurant," says McKeown. "That it was their job to try and find a reason to shut down the restaurant." But when he started learning about food safety in college, he began to change his thoughts on the matter.

"I have found that they are not the enemy of the restaurant - that they are there to help the restaurant maintain a safe food supply," McKeown says. "In my restaurants since that time, I have taught my managers and employees not to fear the health inspectors, but welcome them into the establishment, have the manager follow them closely; not to try and keep them from finding issues, but to ask questions and fix issues that are found by the inspector. I teach them to think of the health inspector as a source of knowledge."

Instead of waiting for their regular inspection, whether done on an annual or semi-annual basis, the operator can always request an inspection. Most agencies are glad to come inspect a restaurant, especially if an owner is interested in knowing how they stand regarding food safety. Not all health inspection agencies do this, though, and some may even charge a fee for it not being a regular inspection.

That said, if an operator has legitimate food safety questions, health inspectors "are always willing to answer them, especially when the operation shows an interest in keeping food safe," says McKeown. "I have used this in the past to verify information or to settle a disagreement I have had with upper management regarding food safety."

Kitchen staffers are encouraged to ask them why something needs to be done a specific way. "I teach [operators] not to argue with them, but to discuss the situation, especially if what they are saying we need to change is different from our company standard operating procedures," McKeown explains. "Managers and operators should use health inspectors as a resource to help them provide safe food."

Most of the time, he adds, health inspectors will forgive an error if the manager or owner shows that he is working to correct it. Cooperation can go a long way. "A recent study by a friend of mine (was) on health inspector biases," says McKeown. "It was fascinating to see how health inspectors become biased based on things they see in restaurants. I think that health inspectors still do this, but they are starting to get better at it."

McKeown remembers once watching a health inspection at a restaurant in Las Vegas. The official made a comment about dust collecting on top of a microwave which, if it fell into the food, could be hazardous. "The manager said something to the effect of that being completely stupid. The health inspector decided at that moment that they were going to go out of their way to find as many violations as she could to show the manager that you don't piss off the health inspector."

First, says Roberts, operators should realize that "at least most inspectors that I have interacted with want to help, and would rather help operators establish good food safety programs than issue a fine or a poor health inspection. Use them as a resource; ask questions, ask for their advice in implementing new programs within the operation."

"Nearly every regulatory authority provides the opportunity for foodservice managers to accompany the health inspector as he moves through the operation, and to sit with the inspector and have the results clearly explained to them," notes Gaulke. He feels that managers must take advantage of this opportunity.

In addition to clearly identifying the food safety violations the operation may be guilty of, the inspector will typically point out areas for potential improvement throughout the inspection, he notes. The proactive manager will accompany the inspector and listen for this feedback, and may even solicit feedback from the inspector if none is automatically provided.

"Inspectors will have seen a variety of different solutions for all sorts of deficiencies, and can be a very valuable source of information for the manager," Gaulke says. "This conversation will continue into the review portion of the inspection."

Inspectors today are conducting more training, "and are trying to work with operators for compliance rather than just citing violations and departing," says Berger. Operators should certainly use their inspectors for training and information, she agrees, "but health inspectors are very limited in the amount of time they can spend for each inspection." Companies that prioritize food safety should have their own food safety consultant, she feels.

"A consultant can spend as much or as little time as the establishment requires doing training or third-party audits, and can work with them confidentially," Berger says. "We have clients that we visit monthly, and this definitely keeps food safety on the top-of-mind when employees know that on any given day an inspection may take place."

Indeed, being ready for a health inspection at any moment is the very definition of a proactive food safety program.

HEALTH INSPECTORS ARE NOT YOUR ADVERSARIES

As the National Restaurant Association emphatically points out, restaurant operators and health inspectors "aren't adversaries. Think of a health inspector as a partner you work with to achieve shared goals of preventing foodborne illness and protecting guests' health."

Among the organization's tips for building productive relationships with health inspectors is that operators work with and learn from inspectors. "Seek inspectors' advice. Are you launching a new product or testing a new process? Ask your health inspector how it will be impacted by the food code. They might have suggestions that will help you improve your business. Be prepared for your inspection, learn what to do when a health inspector visits and ensure appropriate follow-up."

Other suggestions include:

Be polite and professional. Encourage managers to ask the inspector questions. They should feel free to dispute any violations they feel are inaccurate, but they should raise disputes in a professional, non-confrontational way. When you disagree with an inspector's assessment, ask how he or she arrived at that decision, and offer your interpretation of the regulations. The discussion often can help you arrive at a solution.

Correct mistakes as soon as possible. Repeated violations may give inspectors a negative impression of your food safety commitment, which could lead to low scores. Bring violations to managers' attention so they can correct them.

Demonstrate progress. In the event your restaurant has a less-than-satisfactory inspection, it's important to exhibit your willingness to promptly address the issues. Show the inspector your corrective action plan and ask him or her to add it to your restaurant's file.

Be proactive. Seek opportunities to work with inspectors outside the confines of routine inspections. For example, if your state or county has a new food safety regulation or recently updated its food code, consider contacting your inspector to ask about the changes and how they will impact your restaurant.

Get involved. Serving on state and local task forces or advisory committees can provide you with opportunities to work with inspectors and gain a greater understanding of their work. Developing relationships can help build trust.

Share your food safety plans. Inspectors often are interested in the steps you're taking to comply with new food safety rules and regulations. What they learn will help them advise other restaurants. Share your plans with them and seek feedback.