Without stating the obvious, the Australian foodservice industry is on their knees at the moment.

The food outlets that are still open are having to dramatically change and adapt the way they run their business in order to survive.

The foodservice industry is no stranger to safety precautions. Activities like handwashing, taking food temperature, and cleansing surfaces are the core components of a foodservice employee’s routine. But in times of uncertainty like an infectious outbreak, these practices will become more important than ever.

Key Focus Areas for Food Business:

1. Handwashing:

Handwashing is the simplest but most effective way to fend off viruses. Businesses should consider increasing handwashing checks to take place several times per hour (even if employees wear gloves while working), and be sure to have a system in place that guarantees employees will adhere. Take extra care for employees who are working the register and drive-thrus, as health officials have expressed concern that exchanging cash and coming in close contact with others can increase the risk of spread.

2. Sanitisation of Surfaces:

Ensure that all surfaces and high-traffic areas remain sanitary. Wipe down countertops, tables, and chairs (even if dine-in service has been suspended), doorknobs (including main entrances if you are offering in-store pickup), railings, and drink dispensers. If your customers are entering the store to pick up orders, ensure that the counters where they grab straws, utensils, napkins, etc are constantly disinfected. In fact, most stores have done away with any area where customers could self-serve, to remove the risk completely.

3. Online Delivery:

Businesses are focusing more on online delivery to ensure revenue still comes through the door to keep staff employed and the business open.  With this added focus on delivery, it’s critical, more than ever, that business has a system to ensure food is safe. Current food safety systems need to be followed more than ever to accommodate the ‘new world’ the foodservice industry lives in.  Ensuring food is kept at the right temperature, the packaging is sealed correctly so drivers don’t contaminate food by helping themselves, contactless delivery (where drivers leave food at the front door rather than hand directly to customers), cashless deliveries (card only) so drivers don’t handle cash etc. 

4. Remote Monitoring & Management

An advantage of digital food safety for owners and operators is the ability to check-in and manage all locations remotely, especially as social distancing becomes more important during the emergency. With a digital food safety system like Squizify, owners are able to stay on top of each location and make any necessary spur-of-the-moment decisions backed by data from their actual stores.

As per medical advice, COVID19 can last on the packaging for up to 48 hours. So, it’s more important than ever, especially for customers that are doing the right thing and social distancing at home, that food businesses don’t unknowingly bring this horrible virus to them via food delivery.  The foodservice industry has entered the toughest market conditions in living memory. At these times cutting corners can easily happen, however with a fast-spreading infectious disease like COVID19 food safety is one area foodservice businesses need to spend extra attention, ensuring standards are kept extremely high.

The current situation is likely to change, and it can feel overwhelming to keep up with all of the updates and news.

Our advice is simple, foodservice businesses need to;

Clearly understand what their food safety systems are and make any necessary changes to ensure staff & customers are protected.
Ensure all staff are fully trained and aware of any changes to the current processes.
Ensure their delivery channels are doing the right things in relation to staff & customer protection.

The foodservice industry is well-positioned to flourish when we come out of this pandemic, however, if businesses don’t do the right thing now and their brand/restaurant is tarnished by a poor food safety event, even when things get back to normal the long-term damage to these brands will be enormous.

As long as your restaurant is open for business during these times, staff should be supported with the knowledge and assistance they need to keep the environment safe and healthy.

If you have any questions around how Squizify can help through these tough times, please contact us at hello@squizify.com

Daniel

Squizify CEO