How Restaurants Can Protect Themselves Against Foodborne Illness

It could happen to any restaurant. Business is strong, with sales and unit counts growing quickly.

And then it happens. Contaminated food supplies filter into the system. Hundreds of customers get sick. Traffic and sales plunge as consumers worry over the food’s safety.

This scenario plays out in the restaurant industry all too often. The Center for Disease Control estimates that every year, around one in six Americans is afflicted with a foodborne illness. That’s around 48 million people—and a whopping 50 percent of those cases stem from restaurants that most of us frequent on a regular basis.

Prevention is one of the most important tasks that companies are faced with. But oftentimes, knowing where to stop an outbreak before it starts is easier said than done. To learn more about how better preparation, safety precautions and training can play a role in drastically minimizing a restaurant’s risk of transmitting foodborne illnesses, Chris Morrison, chief marketing officer for Trace One, a company that connects retailers, manufacturers and suppliers to accelerate product innovation while creating supply chain technology explains that prevention involves many partners—from farm to table.

Know the Origin of Ingredients

“Knowing where and how your ingredients were created is an often taken for granted practice. While many manufacturers and retailers feel that they are aware of where the ingredients are made and how, common foodborne illnesses have originated by the assumptions of the health and quality of ingredients used. Extra due diligence steps need to be taken, documented and regularly validated. You should know exactly where your tomatoes or spinach is coming from and what processes it went through.”

Know your Facilities

“A lot can happen in the storage and transportation of food. Failure to comply with best practices can wreak havoc on public safety, health and consumer trust. While consumers may take the extra step to determine the source of a foodborne crisis, most will not because they are focused on the impact of the food crisis itself. It’s up to your company to determine where exactly in the supply chain the error and risk occurred. Make sure you fully understand and can trace the storage practices of your food.”

Have Greater Supply Chain Visibility

“Most partners in the supply chain have limited visibility into the entire supply chain. It’s common for a company to have visibility just within one or two levels, but a threat to public safety can originate at any level. In the industry, we often say that the greatest precautions are being taken to ensure public safety. Yet, in a recent global survey, approximately 25% of consumers worldwide said they don’t trust the safety of their food. What does this say about manufacturers and suppliers? An increase in transparency at all levels is being demanded by the people consuming the food—so it’s time restaurants deliver.”

Maintain Accurate Labeling

“It’s important to give consumers the information they need to know and want to know. Some consumers would argue that while they feel GMOs do not possesses a grave impact on human safety, they do consider it to impact their overall health and would rather know that they are consuming them from the labeling itself.”

Have a Swift Response for Potential Food Recalls

“When it comes to the immediate containment and swift intervention of a public health concern, it could mean the difference between a small scale scare and the loss of human lives. The average cost of a food recall can reach up to $1 million. One of the most effective ways of identifying and containing potential food safety crises is to adopt the right technology that can support your entire food supply chain, from farm to retailer to consumer. Knowing what, where and to what extent a contaminant has occurred in a matter of minutes can minimize the damage.

Establish a Collaborative Business Plan Between Suppliers, Manufacturers and Retailer