Hal King Ph.D.

Most restaurant brands already collect enough third-party audit data to understand risk better, but the data are usually trapped in a compliance framework. The problem is not a lack of data; it is that the data are organized around checklist completion rather than outbreak causation. 

The retail foodservice industry’s challenge in preventing foodborne illness comes from gaps in prevention—i.e., the interpretation, implementation, and execution of existing knowledge about root causes and hazards controls.

This article examines the common elements and synergies between food safety culture and food safety management, and how to leverage both food industry needs.  

This article discusses how to prevent allergen cross-contamination in a foodservice environment, with expert guidance on methods and best practices from food safety experts and business leaders from the retail foodservice sector. 

This article explores the consumer-driven digital transformation of foodservice, including off-premise delivery, ghost kitchens, and mail-order foods. These new food models are characterized by potentially higher food safety risks and low regulation, raising questions about how to move forward safely. 

New uses for existing technologies are being deployed in foodservice establishments to prevent persistent pathogens like Salmonella, and viral pathogens like norovirus and Hepatitis A, on surfaces where continuous sanitation and disinfection is needed. 

The food safety management program in a foodservice business should be periodically benchmarked against the most current regulatory requirements and best-in-class food safety standards to determine if gaps exist in the program. The gap analysis should be performed by a third party to ensure an unbiased benchmark, and include a review of the corporate governance, systems/specifications, training/education, supply chain management, foodservice operations, and facilities design. The food safety management team should coordinate and review all deficiencies with an action plan prioritized to the level of risk identified.

It is imperative that we have an immediate paradigm shift in how we manage risk in foodservice establishments to significantly decrease the health and economic burden of foodborne illnesses. This article discusses how to develop a prerequisite program that can be used to train and be monitored via a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) in a foodservice establishment.