QSR October 2022

FoodSafetySmartChain

Prevent and Communicate Consumers—and employees—expect to see a focus on public health.

their food is being handled, so food safety certainly has more emphasis following the pandemic.” “Consumers do not distinguish between food safety and COVID-19 safety,” says Chris Boyles, vice president of food safety at Steritech . “In today’s world, highly vis ible sanitation practices are obligatory. Customers are watching for cleaning and sanitizing, careful handling of food and utensils, and no signs that employees are working while ill. They are more obser vant and perhaps less tolerant.” Of course, customers have always expected a certain baseline of food safety— but the pandemic arguably raised the bar. As consumers grow more knowledgeable about front-of-house and back-of-house practices, it’s becoming more and more important for restaurants to strongly con vey that their locations are safe places for guests to eat. “It’s no secret that the pandemic cre ated a more informed and cautious con sumer regarding food safety,” says Bart C. Shuldman, CEO of TransAct Technologies . tion everything. It’s crucial for operators to be understanding as well as proactive and transparent about communicating their processes that ensure food is safe for patrons.” “ Customers are hyper-aware of what practicesmust be followed and question everything.” “Customers are hyper-aware of what practices must be followed and ques

Gojo Industries

GOJO INDUSTRIES / KP PHOTOGRAPHER

T he FDA has been clear there is no evidence that food can trans mit COVID-19. Even so, the pan demic has pushed public health concerns front and center. It’s also fundamentally changed what customers—and employ ees—expect to see in terms of general food safety and sanitization. “COVID-19 has made people much more germ-aware in general, so they’re attuned to what’s being sanitized and how,” says Sandy Posa, CEO of Force of Nature. “Operators can make customers trust that they’re adhering to the strictest possible food safety standards by communicat ing with them. This is a total switch since

before the pandemic.” Before the pandemic, many brands chose to clean and sanitize out of the view of customers. The idea was that if cus tomers saw sanitization happening, they might assume the worst. But the world is different now. A recent study from Emerson found that five out of 10 consumers said they’d be less likely to shop from stores that aren’t using the latest technologies available to keep food safe. “COVID-19 has heightened the need for cleanliness in restaurants,” says Jeffrey Kautz, global account man ager, cold chain for Emerson. “As a result, consumers want more visibility into how

SPONSORED SECTION | OCTOBER 2022

83