Restaurant safety

Busy restaurants are opportunistic places for safety hazards and germs. Your customers, employees and your restaurant are too valuable to lose. Make safety a high priority, and keep people coming back again and again.

Food safety

• Keep hot food hot (over 140 degrees) and cold food cold (under 41 degrees).
• Wear gloves and hair nets when preparing any food.
• Sanitize all food preparation surfaces, utensils and containers.
• Warn customers of hot plates.
• When customers communicate food allergies, take precautions in their food preparation.
• Require food handler cards from all employees, according to state guidelines.

Sanitation

• All employees should wash their hands often.
• Sanitize ice machines on a regular basis.
• Label and date food storage containers.
• Perform pest control services on the premises each month.
• Inspect and refresh restrooms throughout the day.

Equipment

• Regularly perform preventative maintenance on all heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment.
• Check to ensure the hot water heater is set to an acceptable temperature.
• Ensure proper safety guards are in place and functioning on all machinery.
• Discard chipped, cracked or broken glass immediately.

Fire

• Keep class K and ABC-type fire extinguishers charged and strategically placed on the premises and train your staff how to use them.
• Perform annual electric checks to ensure adequate electrical service is being provided for your equipment load. Also check for loose or frayed connections on equipment.
• Have end-of-day shut down procedures in place for all kitchen equipment.
• Inspect and clean U.L. 300 listed automatic extinguishing systems according to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards.
• Empty grease traps daily.
• Clean all hoods on a regular basis.

Crime

• Train employees on safe money handling.
• Keep a safe onsite and safeguard the key or combination.
• Do not leave cash in the register overnight and leave the register drawer open.
• Change your route when traveling to the bank.
• Keep the interior and exterior of your building well lit.
• Develop standard opening and closing procedures.
• Change the passcode on your alarm system regularly.