QSR October 2022

SmartChain FoodSafety

as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. Another major study showed a 35 per cent increase in the risk of COPD in peo ple who used disinfectants weekly and a 45 percent increase for those using them more often.” Savvy operators are looking for ways to improve working conditions for their employees, including ways to make cleaning procedures safer and easier. “Operators are listening to their employees’ concerns about exposure to chemistries that are irritating,” says Tom Myers, COO of PURE Bioscience, Inc. “They are making routine cleaning, like in the bathroom, a priority; they have established procedures from front of the house to the back of the house that ensure the entire facility is cleaned often. Often, operators are look ing for products that can easily be used in multiple areas of the restaurant without added labor for their employees.” In the wake of the pandemic, consum ers expect to see evidence of increased ees and managers adapt to make do with less. Employees are also demanding bet ter safety procedures, improved training, and less harsh chemicals. Operators are recognizing the role they play in public health, and how they can help shield staff and guests from the spread of commu nity-acquired infections—by making food safety a priority. “COVID-19 forced the food indus try to rapidly shift to a proactive model focused on preventing food contamina tion, replacing its prior reactive approach of determining how to respond to out breaks,” says Esperanza Carrion, vice president and general manager of Sani Professional , the food safety division of PDI, Inc. “Thankfully, there is a mutual understanding that keeping each other safe (and healthy) is a shared responsibil ity amongst the operators, the staff, and the guests.” Ultimately, these changing expecta tions reflect that food safety is everyone’s business. “Managers, operators, and cus tomers all need to be safe, and we all play a critical role in creating a safer world,” Tai says. SC sanitization and diligent food safety practices, even as restaurant employ

Sani Professional

SANI PROFESSIONAL / ISTOCK

“ We all play a critical role in creating a safer world.”

cal environment tidy and free of hazards? These symbols make a difference.” Keeping hand sanitizer in customer areas is one of those markers that’s become an expectation. More than two years after an enormous spike in demand due to the latest understanding of COVID at the time, customers still prefer to see hand sanitizer available. “Consumers expect hand sanitizer to be offered in pub lic places, and they expect to see trusted brand names after having many bad expe riences with runny, smelly, or sticky hand sanitizer during the early days of the pan demic,” says Chip Manuel, Ph.D., food safety science advisor at GOJO . As COVID risk still continues to fluc tuate among different communities and populations, pandemic-related safety mea sures can also be folded into communi cation efforts. “Operators can make their community aware that they are following the expected protocols per the CDC and ensuring that the staff and food providers are in a healthy condition that does not put them at risk for sickness,” says Jason Mobley, president of ITD Food Safety . Not only are customers watching how restaurants clean and sanitize—so are employees themselves. In today’s tight labor market, when experienced restau rant employees are in high demand, poor food safety practices put companies at risk

for turnover. Public health has stayed top of-mind for so many, and employees may simply decide to leave for another brand that takes those concerns more seriously. “Quick-service restaurants are re-eval uating their employee training and safety protocols not only to keep customers safe, but also to retain and attract workers,” Tai says. “In a post-COVID world, safe work environments can be just as important to employees as competitive salaries and improved benefits packages.” In some cases, the cleaning products themselves may cause employees to feel unsafe. Chronic exposure to many com mon cleaning chemistries like bleach, quaternary ammonium compounds, and fragrances has been shown to have det rimental health effects. “One of the big gest mistakes restaurant operators make is using chemicals that risk staff and cus tomers’ health,” Posa says. “Restaurant staff are around cleaning products all day long, every day. Research shows that chronic exposure to cleaning products containing ingredients like bleach, quats and fragrances can be as harmful to lungs

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OCTOBER 2022 | SPONSORED SECTION