It’s Food Safety Month, which means it’s time to do a gut check on your operation’s food safety protocol. Running a successful kitchen means protecting your customers—and your reputation—by following guidelines, meeting regulations, and prioritizing food safety.
Want a high-five from your health inspector? We’ve compiled a list of the top kitchen supplies that will help you implement and streamline food hygiene protocols and keep customers safe.
Trusty Food Thermometers
Crucial to minimizing the risk of foodborne illnesses, food thermometers are the only reliable way to confirm that foods are cooked, served, and stored at safe minimum internal temperatures. Infrared and probe thermometers are both essential in your kitchen for different reasons.
INFRARED THERMOMETERS:
- Measure surface temperatures, including cooking surfaces or the temperature on cold food deliveries.
- Provide quick spot checks of buffet lines, hot and cold holding, and the temperature of packaged foods.
- Don’t need to touch anything, which minimizes the risk of cross-contamination between surfaces.
PROBE THERMOMETERS:
- Inserted into the food to verify that it’s been cooked to a safe internal temperature.
- Provide the most accurate core temperature reading for meats, poultry, and fish.
- Quick and easy to use during cooking, reheating, cooling, thawing, plus hot and cold holding.
Colour-Coded Prep Tools
Using a colour-coded system for cutting boards and prep utensils is a simple yet highly effective way to enhance food safety in your kitchen. Assigning specific colors to different food groups, such as red for raw meat or green for produce, will allow your operation to run safer and smoother.
Key benefits of colour-coding kitchen prep tools:
- Cuts down on cross-contamination
- Reduces the risk of foodborne illness
- Makes it easier to locate equipment
- Encourages regular cleaning of supplies
- Makes it easy for new employees to learn protocols
Equipment Cleaning Essentials
Taking care of your kitchen equipment not only maintains its functionality and efficiency, but it enhances food safety. Stocking up on the right cleaning tools will streamline the process and ensure things are pristine after each use.
BRUSH KITS
- Great for scrubbing stubborn debris and grease from surfaces.
- Long or angled handles make it easier to clean hard-to-reach areas.
- Smaller, specialized designs can clean built-up residue from intricate machine parts, such as nozzles and valves.
SCRAPERS
- Heavy-duty designs powerfully remove burnt-on food, stubborn grease, and built-up residue from cooking surfaces.
- Safe and effective on a variety of surfaces, including stovetops, countertops, and oven doors.
- Regular use can prevent flavours from transferring to other dishes.
DESCALERS
- Removes bacteria-harbouring mineral deposits (scale) from equipment and prep areas.
- Ensures dishwashers are cleaned effectively and prevents scale from affecting the taste of food.
- Maintains optimal performance and quality of coffee machines, ice machines, kettles, and steamers.
Smarter Food Storage Systems
Failing to properly store food can cause major problems for your business, including food spoilage, food poisoning, and increased waste. Lack of temperature control, cross-contamination, and failure to use ingredients on time can all lead to bacterial growth and the spread of harmful pathogens.
Proper storage containers and a well-maintained labeling system can ensure your ingredients are stored safely:
- Labels should clearly identify the food item, prep date, expiration date, storage instructions, and allergen warnings.
- Select professional-grade, dissolvable labels that are easy to remove in the dishwasher to minimize the risk of bacterial growth.
- Use airtight food containers with tight-fitting lids to maintain freshness and prevent contamination.
- Regularly clean and sanitize food storage containers and labels and replace cracked or damaged containers as they can harbor bacteria.
Prep Refrigerators with Digital Temperature Displays
Stay on top of your cold food storage temps with digital displays that provide real-time monitoring and control over your prep refrigerators. These easy-to-read displays provide accurate internal temperatures and allow you to quickly adjust them depending on the ingredients you have inside.
With around-the-clock monitoring, these refrigerators will alert you to potential issues, so that perishable items aren’t kept at temps where bacteria can thrive.
WANT TO KEEP EXPLORING?
Check out our Health & Safety Lookbook to see more of our top-of-the-line restaurant equipment solutions.
