Category: K12

By The Numbers…

$15.6 billion. That’s the estimated amount foodborne illnesses cost the United States each year. Yes, you read that correctly. $15.6 billion! Now, you might be thinking to yourself how this is even possible. You may even start to wonder if there are problems with the country’s food supply. Alright… relax, there’s not, but however, there is a slight problem that needs to be acknowledged: the large number of Americans that catch foodborne illnesses in the U.S. every year. Let’s take a quick look at the numbers…

• Roughly 1 in 6 Americans get sick from contaminated food annually.

• 128,000 Americans get hospitalized yearly.

• An estimated 3,000 Americans die from foodborne illness each year.

Food poisoning is more common than what most people think as nearly 17 percent of the U.S. population experience illness from contaminated food each year. That’s an estimated 48 million people! So, how and why is such a large chunk of Americans getting sick from contaminated food and drinks? In this blog, we’ll break down the reasons behind the common causes of poor food safety as well as provide solutions operators can apply to their everyday foodservice service operations. Let’s begin!

The Causes of Poor Food Safety

Why do so many people get sick from mishandled food? It’s a question that gets asked a lot, but one that can easily be solved if foodservice operators implement effective consistent processes. Here are the four most common causes of foodborne illness.

• Unclean Hands and Surfaces

On average, human hands carry about 3,200 different germs. Now imagine how you’d feel if someone with that amount of germs made your food? Unclean hands and countertops allow for germs and bacteria to survive and spread throughout a kitchen. This leads to the likelihood of contaminated foods. Operators must ensure their staff members are washing their hands thoroughly for 20 seconds.

• Cross-Contamination

Often an issue that gets overlooked, cross-contamination is something that operators and their staff need to be mindful about. This is when germs from raw foods get spread to ready-to-eat foods. For example, a classic case of cross-contamination occurs when a cutting board is used to cut bread after it was recently used to cut raw meat. That fresh, ready-to-eat bread is now infected with the germs left behind on the cutting board from the raw meat. For operators to prevent this, they should have their staff keep all raw meats completely separate from other foods. 

• Undercooked Food

Some of the most common food items that are easily prone to contamination include raw meat, chicken, seafood, and eggs. This is because raw meats contain a wealth of bacteria such as Salmonella, E.coli, and Yersinia. By cooking raw meat thoroughly, these types of bacteria will be killed off thus ensuring safety for consumers.

• Storing Food in the “Danger Zone”

The danger zone? What is that specifically referring to? Any type of environment that has a temperature between 40 degrees Raw meat, chicken, seafood, and eggs are all easily prone to being undercooked. Cooking these foods fully reduces the risk of Salmonella, E. Coli, and Yersinia. . Bacteria and other pathogens grow at a rapid rate when held in these types of conditions. Operators must keep their refrigerators at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below and their freezers at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below to avoid spoilage that can lead to a customer getting sick.

Transporting Food the Right Way

For operators, food transport is an integral part of any foodservice operation. Properly transporting food from one location to another in the back-of-the-house can mean the difference between a successfully safe day or one that could lead to contamination issues. We dissected how critical it is for food to be placed on clean surfaces and separated from raw items, but what about safety during transport? That’s when having sturdy, secure, and easy-to-clean equipment should become a priority for foodservice operators in all segments. 

Let’s take a look at a few versatile features on Lakeside’s Open Style Utility Carts that operators should have by their side to fully ensure food safety… 

Thick and Secure Shelf Edges

For the staff of operators, transporting multiple containers on one cart through tight spaces in the back-of-the-house is nerve wracking. There’s little room for error and the last thing you want to have happen is for those containers with fresh food items inside to fall over and be wasted! There’s good news for operators and their staff members in the form of the Lakeside 521 Utility Cart. This utility push cart has two shelves with three edges up to secure items such as containers from sliding off. This Lakeside Utility Cart also has larger fixed front wheels to help guide the cart in a straight line, while making it easier to navigate corners in tight spaces.

Sturdiness for Heavy Duty Loads 

When handling raw meats in room temperatures, time is of the essence for an operator’s staff to properly store these items in a cold refrigerator and freezer. If an operator’s staff has to take multiple trips to do so, the risk for contamination will go up. In order for staff members to minimize this risk, having a strong and spacious utility cart such as the Lakeside 543 Utility Cart is a smart investment. This stainless steel cart has an angled “U”-shaped frame design and two shelves measuring 21 x 33 inches for hauling up to 700 pounds. Trips will be minimized, time will be saved and so will raw meat that needs to be refrigerated or frozen.

Easy to Clean Stainless Steel Surface

Stainless steel is not only extremely durable, but also easy to clean. Having surfaces that are easy to clean and sanitize is critical for any foodservice operator to maintain food safety. With the stainless steel construction of Lakeside’s Open Style Utility Carts, cleaning and sanitizing is fast and easy for an operator’s staff to execute after each use. The best part? Any risk of cross-contamination between different food items is largely reduced.

Equip ‘em with Lakeside Utility Carts

While transporting food can sometimes require extra steps to ensure food safety, it’s a critical component of any foodservice operation, its operator and staff. Make sure an operator is transporting food properly and safely by clicking ‘Equip ‘em’ below to begin supplying them with all the right tools!

Wasting money. Isn’t that just the worst thing any foodservice operation can subconsciously do due to an unorganized back-of-the-house storage process? Especially, doing so as the foodservice industry is still below pre-pandemic labor numbers. Well… 

For operators, focusing on only making the front-of-the-house run smoothly is a huge mistake. The back-of-the-house is just as important because it acts as the central command center in order for food to make it onto a customer’s table. Without a successful back-of-the-house, who is going to manage and cook the food? Who will keep the processes of a foodservice operation in order? Therefore… 

Putting the correct procedures in place and having the right equipment are quintessential to the overall success of an operator’s foodservice operation. What are these procedures? Let’s take a quick look…

1. Develop and Maintain an Ergonomic Layout
2. Keep Inventory Organized
3. Regularly Throw Away Waste
4. Don’t Forget to Invest in…

So what do each of these entail for the success of an operator’s foodservice operation? Digging deeper, we’ve developed a checklist to help reps better understand the needs of what it takes for operators to run a streamlined storage system for back-of-the-house activities, starting with perhaps the most critical step…

1. Develop and Maintain Ergonomic Layout

Imagine the stressors an operator must be under if their foodservice operation’s back-of-the-house is constantly cramped and unorganized. Sounds like absolute chaos, right? For instance, having a chaotic environment like that can confuse staff members in not knowing where specific supplies are located, if there’s enough inventory to utilize, and if there’s enough space to move around. This not only slows everyone down, but can create tension between front-of-the-house staff members. Back-of-the-house cooks could become backed up due to working in an unorganized area. This will have front-of-the-house servers feeling tense toward those same cooks as the customer waits for their food.

However, in order for an operator to successfully develop a streamlined layout for the back-of-the-house, they must start by grouping supplies by category to get things going in the right direction. They must also consider the amount of space needed to create flow and accessibility among their back-of-the-house staff. This will help staff correctly stock items by putting old ones in the front and new ones in the back. By doing so, old items will be used before the new ones are even touched. 

2. Keep Inventory Organized

Once an operator has implemented an ergonomic layout for their foodservice operation’s back-of-the-house, now it’s on to keeping inventory organized. Mismanaged inventory is one of the causes for staff to unknowingly use spoiled ingredients. Keeping track of inventory and regularly checking up on due dates is a must for the success of any foodservice operation. It would be terrible for a happy paying customer to get food poisoning simply because of the lack of organization in the back-of-the-house.

For operator’s to keep inventory organized, tracking systems for shelves and refrigerators must be in place. This involves adding labels to containers with the date the item was first made. By doing so, it allows for easy discarding of old food during inventory checks. As mentioned in the previous point, inventory should be organized on shelves where the oldest items always are utilized first and the newest get used afterward. 

3. Regularly Throw Away Waste

Spoiled food and overused ingredients are money wasters! If spoiled food isn’t thrown away, an operator’s staff will think they have more food to work with than they actually do. This can lead to supplies running out faster due to less fresh food being available, and the loss of money in front-of-the-house since customers can’t order dishes that have ingredients that aren’t in stock.

Putting a system in place to make sure spoiled food is thrown out can do wonders for a foodservice operator in the long haul. Operators should also utilize the same ingredients across several dishes in order to use them up faster which will make stocking them more cost-efficient.

4. Don’t Forget to Invest in…

Versatile mobile utility carts! How can these be crucial to operators in creating an organized and simplistic storage routine for the back-of-the-house? In more ways than one. Having a portable storage stainless steel cart can do wonders for an operator’s staff during transport and efficient stocking of food supplies. Let’s break it down!

• Haul Heavy Loads with Durable Stainless Steel Construction

A Lakeside Tough Transport Utility Cart such as the 943 can haul up to 1,000-Lb. while maintaining a straight line during transport. This Lakeside cart makes hauling new products in and spoiled products out a breeze. This portable storage cart is a time saver by limiting the amount of trips an operator’s back-of-the-house staff will have to make from point A to point B.

• Ready to Roll Right out of the Box

It’s no secret that many foodservice operation’s back-of-the-house are short on space with many people. With the Lakeside 944 Tough Transport Utility Cart, maneuverability in even the tightest of spaces is ultra smooth right out of the box. This stainless steel cart’s all swivel extra-load, no-mark polyurethane rear casters help back-of-the-house staff get around quick and easy when hauling heavy loads.

• Easy to Clean and Corrosion Resistant with Multiple Shelves

The stainless steel on a Lakeside Tough Transport Utility Cart is not only easy to clean, but has multiple spacious shelves that absorb impact and haul more at once. Take for example the Lakeside 949. This portable storage cart has three deep well shelves to maintain item stability during transport, while its stainless steel construction helps an operator’s back-of-the-house staff save time and stay organized with easy cleanability. This Lakeside cart is the ultimate time and money saver for an operator’s back-of-the-house staff!

Help an Operator Complete Their Back-of-the-House Storage Checklist

Let’s review that checklist one more time…

1. Develop and Maintain an Ergonomic Layout 
2. Keep Inventory Organized
3. Regularly Throw Away Waste
4. Invest in Lakeside Tough Transport Utility Carts…

To assist an operator in their quest for the most efficient back-of-the-house storage equipment, click ‘Complete Checklist’ to see more!