Are you excited for a new year of growth and production in your restaurant? You’ll be renegotiating vendor contracts, assessing your profits, and making sure you’re ready for the year ahead. When optimizing your business, you can’t cut corners when it comes to food safety.
While proper storage and food temperature play a crucial role in food safety, getting the food from a reliable source is key. Putting low-risk food in your commercial refrigerator is as important as the temperature you keep it at. With that in mind, here are four food safety concerns to discuss with your vendors as you negotiate your new deals.
Beware of Dangerous Metals
Metals may seem like an odd risk to consider when purchasing food, but there have been numerous occasions of customers getting poisoned or diseased from metallic content in their food. Improper storage of a livestock’s water supply is normally the cause of contamination. Be sure your vendor is keeping your product away from heavy metals like lead, mercury, and cadmium.
Appropriate Sanitation
76 million Americans a year suffer from foodborne-illness, and while some of the issues are caused by poor food standards in the restaurant, a lot can be done before the food makes it to your facility.
One of the biggest issues in production, processing, and distribution is companies over-populating their livestock. Plus, they don’t take the appropriate steps to ensure that sanitation is not compromised in the process. Make sure your provider is concerned with safety and not just their bottom line.
Healthy Milk
The bovine growth hormone that is commonly used in dairy cows brings the increased risk of utter infection. Instead of halting the use of the hormone, dairy farmers are counteracting the risk with preventative antibiotics. The problem in this process is the dynamic and rapid evolution of bacteria.
When bacteria are exposed to antibiotics for a long period of time, they can become resistant and develop into very dangerous, untreatable diseases. The best option is to purchase milk from hormone-free farms. However, if you cannot afford this option, be sure you purchase your milk from farmers who have maintained a healthy track record.
Pesky Pesticides
One of the most notable and dangerous food risks comes from pesticides used in agricultural operations like crop production and animal feeding. Pesticide exposure has been linked to an array of health issues including infertility, poisoning, birth defects, cancer, and nervous system damage. Make sure the goods your getting have only been exposed to natural and environment-friendly pesticides to protect your guests.
The risk of your food being a danger to your customer can be an intimidating issue. Ask the right questions to ensure your receiving a healthy product, and then control what you can by storing and preparing the food properly.
If you’re concerned with your food storage or have any further food safety questions, Imbera is a food service company that specializes in premier and efficient commercial refrigeration. Contact us today to get started.
