Tag Archives: Food Safety

The rubber door gasket on the inside edge of the doors of all your refrigeration equipment is very important. It prevents cold air from escaping, which means the unit will stay colder longer and use less energy.  Old refrigeration door gaskets wear out and lose their seal. Even worse, older gaskets can pose …

As the past few years have shown, produce can be a food safety liability for anyone in the food service industry. Easy spoilage also makes produce a very difficult item to manage on your inventory. On top of all that, produce takes a lot of time and labor to prep. …

Earlier this week I ventured to get a feel for practical food safety practices in a real restaurant.  Turley’s, an iconic Boulder, CO eatery known for its eclectic menu full of healthy eating and fantastic international flavors, was kind enough to spend some time talking to me about their food …

Fresh seafood will always sell well in your restaurant, and for many businesses it’s a staple item on the menu.  Making sure the seafood you serve is safe requires some careful maintenance and preparation, and it’s good to develop some strategies for ensuring the seafood you serve is safe.  More …

Now we are getting into the multiple levels of control that make a HACCP program so effective.  Level 1 is monitoring: people who are directly involved with the food product at the Critical Control Point checking to make sure Critical Limits are met.  These people have taken direct responsibility for …

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 …