Oh my Cod! Here’s every Fish & Chip shop owner’s guide to 5-star food safety
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ith an impressive 5* food hygiene rating, The Cod’s Scallops was awarded ‘very good’ for hygienic food handling, cleanliness and condition of facilities, as well as management of food safety. Here, Ben Gardner, CEO of digital food safety consultancy Navitas Safety, shares a few tips for chip shops seeking to reach the same high standards. Food hygiene It’s imperative that fridges and freezers function efficiently and keep foods at the optimum temperature. Now, manually recording temperatures is time-consuming. Some solutions exist, such as the digitalisation of temperature monitoring. Pods placed in fridge and freezers can automatically log temperatures and alert staff when they fall out of the compliant range. That way, food is kept as fresh as possible and less food is being wasted. Chip shops must also be mindful to use separate equipment for specific foods, such as dedicated fridges for storing raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) food. Colour coding can also help to reduce cross-contamination risks as well as designating separate preparation areas for raw and RTE food. Structure: It is important that in all hospitality premises equipment is well laid out and in good condition – this includes keeping waste areas clean and emptying them regularly. This will help to prevent pests and reduce accidents
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Chippy Chat & Fast Food Magazine • November 2021
from occurring, such as slipping in the kitchen or its wider premises. This is particularly important for fish and chip shops due to the amount of oil used to cook and prepare the food. Typically, ensure there is nothing stored on or next to fryers, along with regular sieving and filtering. Safety Management This encompasses how food safety is managed and so, in other words, whether the Environmental Health Officer can trust your processes. It is therefore key to have all evidence and records available (opening/closing checklists, cleaning rotas, maintenance) to showcase your food safety management commitment. Having all documents and checklists available digitally allows quick access while also reducing paper waste. This also enables fish and chip shops to manage staff efficiently while providing them with a system that is quite simply, faultless. The Navitas Safety system does just that. Protecting 13,000+ sites, our clients include The Bay, who’s Chef Director Calum Richardson said; “We just love having all our Food Safety and Health & Safety records in one smart online system that makes everything easier. It’s created a real atmosphere of confidence for our staff.” “Without the burden of paperwork, we save more than 22 hours every month!” Navitas Safety helps fish and chip shops become more efficient and aids them in their journey to reach a 5-star rating. Find out more here: https://www.navitassafety.com/ fish-and-chips/ Chippy Chat & Fast Food Magazine • November 2021
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