|
Imperative Roundtable: From Dawn's Desk Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO, National Restaurant Association September 10, 2009 — As we all know, the restaurant industry has a strong track record in the area of food safety. Yet problems in the food supply chain keep arising, and food safety continues to be a top priority for the National Restaurant Association. Our industry -- like consumers -- relies on a supply chain that needs to provide restaurants with safe food to serve guests. At the National Restaurant Association, we are committed to taking a proactive role in helping the industry deal with issues related to food safety. We believe that these issues will be raised with or without us -- and that our proactive participation will enable broad industry input as these issues percolate. Whether it is standardized state inspections, uniform epidemiological investigations, employee food safety education and certification, global harmonization of food safety supply chain standards and audits, or the strengthening of federal agencies that have oversight of food, the Association continues to be involved from "farm to fork" to help drive industry and regulatory change in these important areas. Specifically, the Association is focusing on increasing food and alcohol safety/security in the restaurant industry. One way to support our efforts is through the 15th annual National Food Safety Education Month (NFSEM). It is a great way to highlight what restaurateurs do every day to promote food safety in their operations. NFSEM drives home lessons on important topics, such as personal hygiene, proper cooking and storing temperatures and prevention of cross-contamination. You'll find free activities and posters at www.ServSafe.com/nfsem. These great training tools can be used year-round, not just this month. Some restaurant operators take these materials and go a step further. They personalize the posters to their operations, create employee quizzes and contests and promote their efforts to guests and local media. Please take part in National Food Safety Education Month. Download the free weekly training exercises, and encourage your managers to use them in shift meetings and other training opportunities. Promoting your food safety training efforts is yet another way to show the industry's enormous commitment to protecting its guests. |
© Copyright 2009 National Restaurant Association. All rights reserved.
|
RSS Feeds