New restaurateur: how to find the right hygienic tools?
The Regulatory Obligations of the Restaurateur 12 April 2021When we start catering, we do not necessarily realize that hygiene will be one of our priorities for the proper functioning and development of our business. Current legislation requires restaurateurs to follow certain standards, and it’s not easy to know how to go about it and who to trust to implement them properly.
What tools can I use to respond to the demand for French legislation?
The paper
The first records to meet legislative standards were recorded on notebooks and sheets. Today, many restaurateurs continue to do so. This is a method, a priori, inexpensive and quite simple to set up. However, it can quickly become tedious and above all, cumbersome. Having a space dedicated to this storage in already full kitchens is therefore essential and can very quickly become a nuisance.
Moreover, if the archiving of records is not rigorous, consulting documents in the event of official controls becomes a "nightmare".
Excel file
Another less cumbersome way is the digital recording of certain data. However, as the readings progress, the Excel table will become longer and longer. Also, the Excel file will not prevent the accumulation of dirty traceability labels, unless you also report all the traceability elements in the file but this generates a waste of time. However, it will avoid the accumulation of notebooks for what remains as mandatory regulations (T ° C reading, Cleaning plan, etc.)
Digital / digital help (application)
Nowadays, many HACCP aids in application form are quite capable of meeting the hygienic standards of current legislation. Thanks to dematerialization, they make it possible to classify efficiently and facilitate the search for items during health checks. However, a minimum budget to spend each month is necessary to obtain a reliable application and really facilitate the readings essential to hygiene standards.
This budget can be quickly amortized by the time savings generated and the reduction in food waste via DLC and T ° C alerts.
Hire a hygiene professional
Current legislation requires restaurateurs to have at least one hygiene referent in their establishment. However, hiring someone with hygienic skills can ease your mind while being confident that hygiene standards will be met. A method nevertheless costly, in time for the responsible employee and in budget for the restaurant.
What are the main points that hygienic tools have to deal with?
Traceability
One of the main points of the legislation is to know where the
raw materials and foodstuffs coming into my establishment come from, what they become in my kitchens and, for B2B sales, to whom my product will be sold. Label traceability is therefore required to prove their origin and allow, in the event of a poisoning problem, the source of the problem to be traced and the contaminated batches to be repatriated.
The temperature reading
Another point to take into account is the preservation of food.
Every food item must be stored at optimal temperatures to minimize and slow down microbial growth. To avoid any problem in the event of hygiene control, a temperature reading of the positive and negative cold rooms must be carried out every day.
The Cleaning Plan
Obviously, when we talk about hygiene, we must necessarily talk about a cleaning plan.
This is a demand for legislation to keep premises, equipment and food as healthy as possible and to prevent contamination of finished products. An essential step that should not be overlooked.
Control upon receipt
It is necessary to make a control on reception of its delivered products to
to avoid unpleasant surprises during their use. You must therefore archive the following information: who delivered to me, what, when and under what conditions.
You now have all the cards in hand to find your good hygiene partner. The choice is yours!
Back