There are many important areas that need considering when you run a restaurant business, but nothing is more important than health and safety. This is an industry where there are many hazards and threats to both customers and staff, so you want to make sure that you prioritize health and safety to prevent incidents from occurring and to avoid any legal issues.
Potential Restaurant Hazards
There are numerous hazards in a restaurant environment and it is your responsibility to remove or mitigate these risks. Obviously, the kitchen is an area that is high risk and there are many dangerous things that can go wrong here. This includes employees cutting themselves or burning themselves while cooking, slipping on wet surfaces, handling raw meat and kitchen fires. You must also then consider the threat to your customers, which can include food poisoning, the spread of disease and slipping on wet floors. If an employee or customer were to have an accident in your restaurant that could have been prevented, you might find that they make a personal injury claim against the business.
Health & Safety Checklist
With so many hazards, it can be easy to overlook certain areas of health and safety in a restaurant business. This is why it is helpful for restaurant owners to have a health and safety checklist that they can turn to which will help them to provide a safe work environment for both employees and customers. Additionally, these are some of the areas that will be evaluated during your health and safety inspection (taking place every 6 months or so). The checklist consists of:
- Pest control system
- Separate sinks
- Equipment cleaning
- Fridge temperature
- Clean storage areas
- Protective equipment when working with food
- Hairnets
- First-aid kit
- Stock control procedure
- Safe procedures for thawing and reheating
- Separate prep areas
- Hand sanitizer and soap stock
- Single-use cloths
- Workplace cleaning schedule
- Evidence of safety procedures
- Food cooked and stored at correct temp
- Relevant staff qualifications
- Correct hand washing procedure
- Food probes cleaned before use
Important of Hygiene
Hygiene is also incredibly important when running a restaurant. You need to ensure that there are hygiene practices in place that will create a safe environment and prevent the spread of illness. It is also important in terms of your food hygiene rating, which helps consumers to make informed decisions about where they eat. If you have a high hygiene rating, you will find it much easier to attract customers.
The information in this post should help you to improve the health and safety standards in your restaurant. There is nothing more important than health and safety in this type of business as there are so many hazards, so it is vital that you take steps to create a safe environment for both employees and customers.