If Chipotle execs had a New Year’s resolution, it was likely for closure on the rash of food-safety problems it faced in 2015, including an E. coli outbreak and a separate norovirus epidemic. The week's-worth of headlines brought food safety to the forefront—and rightfully so. It’s never a bad idea to reassess your own practices and protocol.
What can we learn from the recent news regarding Chipotle’s food-safety crisis?
The minute that you venture into foodservice, you also venture into the risk of foodborne illness and the havoc that it can cause for your business. It is simply a part of the business, and one that we all take very seriously. For companies such as Chipotle, when things go wrong, there is a lot of soul searching, damage control and certainly lessons learned, because hindsight is always 20-20.
The biggest takeaway is just how important strong sanitation practices are to your everyday operations. Human nature is such that over time, people let things slide. Your job is to prevent this through constant training, strict adherence to sanitation laws and practices, and keeping very detailed records—especially concerning time and temperature. Once the food enters your establishment, it is your legal and ethical responsibility.
While you may do everything correctly, supply-chain problems can also bring unsafe products into your stores. To make matters worse, you may have no way of knowing that the product is unsafe. Certainly, many manufacturers have made great strides in reducing risk and increasing traceability—but the risk still exists. From the foodservice operators’ standpoint, it is about doing the due diligence to find reputable suppliers and properly checking all deliveries.
Despite all your best eff orts, foodborne illness remains a risk. In our business, we always need to be ready for the “what if” scenario. Do you have a crisis plan in place? If not, develop one fast and train your employees on it. If there is a complaint, always have the manager take the call. Remain calm, get information, never admit guilt or wrongdoing, and recommend they get medical treatment if they wish. Notify local health authorities if there are multiple people that are sick and require medical treatment/hospitalization. Have only one qualified person speak to the press and be sure to cooperate fully with the authorities—the well-being of our guests and employees is always our biggest responsibility.
Christopher Koetke is vice president of Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago. He is a certified executive chef and certified culinary educator by the American Culinary Federation. Have a question for him? Email jbulat@winsightmedia.com, subject “Ask the Chef.”
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.