Who's Handling Your Food?

For a caterer, or even the host of a catered event, having a guest get sick because of something he ate is the stuff of nightmares.

EVEN WORSE IS A SEVERE BOUT OF FOOD-BORNE illness that has a whole contingent of guests trekking into emergency. Although less important than the reality of severe health issues, food poisoning can ruin a caterer’s reputation, not to mention the host’s.

“When I ran my catering business, I thought about food safety every day,” says Gail Hall, well known Alberta professional and former owner of Edmonton’s Gourmet Goodies. “That’s why we only hired people who had their certificate in food sanitation and hygiene, issued under the Alberta Public Health Act.”

Not every catering company or restaurant (for that matter) is so strict. Although Alberta law requires that each food service establishment have at least one employee certified in food sanitation and hygiene, it still leaves room for a knowledge gap among those who haven’t had that opportunity.

CATERING PRESENTS UNIQUE FOOD SAFETY CHALLENGES

“There’s so much to know about food handling, for client and staff safety,” says Hall. “For example, not all foods are suitable for all catered occasions. Proteins in particular, present a special challenge for holding temperature. Each protein item must be thoroughly cooked before it’s transported and then held at the correct temperature. Often a menu has a range of foods that need to be held at different temperatures.When you’re operating with home kitchens or portable warming ovens that can be challenging.”

Hall says skilled caterers are trained to handle unique food-safety challenges. “We prepare food in larger amounts, transport it longer distances, and have to maintain those optimum temperatures, often under times and circumstances that may not be ideal. Experienced caterers take every possible precaution,” she says.

FOOD SAFETY IS IN THIS CORPORATE CULTURE

Allistair Barnes is the Corporate Chef for Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts, encompassing three hotel/restaurant complexes— Emerald Lake Lodge, Buffalo Mountain Lodge and Deer Lodge—plus several restaurants in Calgary and a central commissary in Canmore where their pastries and baked goods are prepared. With so many restaurants in his portfolio, Barnes says safe food handling is an anchor of their corporate culture.

Most of the people he hires are recruited from well-established schools like SAIT (Calgary) or NAIT (Edmonton), where sanitation and food handling are part of the core curriculum.Graduates understand the principles of safe food handling, what they have to do, and why they have to do it.

Fred Malley, of SAIT’s Foodservice and Hospitality Program, is quick to concur with the importance of food safety as a core element of culinary training. “We believe it’s imperative to teach emerging chefs that food safety is a paramount responsibility,” he says. “Our graduates know that one day public food safety will be in their hands, so they must know everything we can teach them about best practices to ensure optimal food safety.”

According to Barnes, a food-safety attitude is automatic for his employees. “Daily controls are implemented by the Chef in each of our venues; cleanliness, frequent hand washing at separate sinks with single-service towels and sanitizing soap—every staff member is expected to embrace the whole routine.”

NEW AWARENESS HAS CREATED NEW STANDARDS

Barnes believes the entire food service industry has changed for the better, and food handling, from the loading dock to the table, is much improved.

“We use as much fresh product as possible,” he says, speaking of his own venues, where deliveries are daily. “Groceries aren’t left to languish for hours on the loading dock while the sun beats down.Now shippers and receivers know the importance of rotating product and maintaining the correct temperatures in freezers and coolers.”

Barnes says the today’s food service industry is far savvier in terms food safety. “For example, we don’t defrost meat at room temperature; we avoid the potential of cross contamination by using separate cutting boards, and we wash, wash and wash.

“Even if one of our Chefs gets super-busy, and he’s already put in a long shift, he understands he still has to put in the extra time to see that the kitchen is cleaned after his shift,” says Barnes. “Cleanliness in the kitchen is one of his most important responsibilities.”

EVERYONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR FOOD SAFETY

Hall hopes someday to see compulsory sanitation training for all food handlers, from the behind-the-scenes unskilled worker who scrubs pots to the servers who present the finished plates. She is convinced that consumers have a role to play in demanding even higher food service safety standards in the food service industry.

“Food safety is something that should never be compromised,” she advises. “We need to know that what we put into our mouths has to be safe—every time.”•