Food Safety

Fast paced and often stress-inducing, a day in the life of a restaurant operator is never dull. From the morning’s breakfast and brunch regulars to the evening’s one-time eatery explorers you and your staff are constantly moving orders while trying to find ways to efficiently cut corners without jeopardizing quality. …

If you’re looking to implement a HACCP food safety program, this series of Back Burner posts will help you get started.  If you’re looking for ways to improve your existing food safety program, this is also a great place to start.  Food safety is a critical part of your food …

I sometimes hear employees say that health inspections occur only between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on weekdays. Well…that is when they usually DO occur, but they CAN occur just about anytime. When Inspections Occur The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations state, “Agents of the Department, after proper …

As we discussed in the last HACCP post, you need to organize the hazards and critical control points at every step in the food preparation process. So how do you decide which points are a CCP and which can be handled by a Prerequisite Program?  A good strategy is to …

To be honest, there has been a lot of skepticism among the people I have talked to in the restaurant supply business when they first encounter the EndoTherm Thermometer.  Maybe it’s the appearance: the oversized outer plastic shell, which houses a normal alcohol thermometer immersed in a special silicone gel, …

It seems like every year there are a growing number of food product recalls in response to outbreaks of illness caused by nasty bacteria like E. coli and salmonella.  In 2010 we had outbreaks in lettuce, tomatoes, and alfalfa sprouts that sickened hundreds of people.  In fact, there are 48 …

As the past year’s worth of food contamination scares have shown, managing food safety must be a top priority for the food service industry. In fact, it can mean the survival or failure of your business, since a foodborne illness case linked to your restaurant or commercial kitchen could put …

You have 4 options for storing “in-use” dispensing utensils…the requirement is in Section 3-306 of the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations: Stored in the food with the dispensing utensil handle extended out of the food Stored clean and dry Stored in potable running water as in a running …

Every CCP you identified by grouping menu items into processes now must have a critical limit set for it in order to become an official part of your HACCP program.  The FDA’s Food Code and your local Board of Health have established time and temperature specifications for every type of …

This post is a continuation of last week’s HACCP post and the second in a series of posts here on The Back Burner that will completely outline a proper HACCP program for your restaurant. A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a specific place where food can become contaminated.  After conducting the …