Food safety is still an issue—here’s how technology can help

Article Published March 13, 2023
Article Source: Food safety is still an issue—here’s how technology can help (restaurantbusinessonline.com)

Food safety remains a critical concern for restaurants, as it not only affects the health and well-being of their customers but can also have significant financial and reputational consequences. It's estimated by the CDC that 1 in 6 Americans get sick from contaminated food and beverages every year. The CDC also estimates that foodborne illness costs the US about $15.6 billion annually.

Food safety in restaurants

The impact of food safety issues can be devastating to a restaurant's reputation. With the rise of social media and online review sites, negative feedback about food safety concerns can quickly spread and damage a restaurant's image. This can lead to a loss of customers and revenue, and it can take a long time to regain the trust of consumers.

In addition to reputational damage, food safety issues can result in legal liability and financial penalties. If a customer becomes ill due to contaminated food, the restaurant can be held legally responsible and face costly lawsuits. Food safety violations can also result in fines and closure orders from regulatory agencies.

Customers are increasingly aware of food safety concerns and are more likely to avoid restaurants with a reputation for poor food safety practices.

Preventing an issue

To prevent food safety issues and protect their business, restaurants must implement strict food safety protocols at every stage of the food preparation and serving process. This includes training employees on proper food handling and storage, maintaining clean and sanitary facilities and monitoring food temperatures and expiration dates.

Given the difficulties of today’s labor market, restaurants have also turned to technology to automate and digitize their food safety procedures. Though back-of-house technology may seem like a luxury, brands using tech have seen instant returns on time spent on food safety procedures and a reduction in food safety issues. For instance, one national brand implemented the BOHA! solution from TransAct Technologies and, as a result, saw a 56% decrease in food quality issues.

How technology helps

One way to utilize technology for food safety is through digital temperature monitoring. This approach ensures high accuracy and reliability, which is often challenging to achieve with manual monitoring methods. Traditional paper logs can be susceptible to “pencil whipping,” where employees may fill out the log without taking the necessary temperature readings. However, with technology like BOHA! Temp, staff can use Bluetooth thermometers to record food temperatures and automatically add them to a digital HACCP log. This log is easily accessible to managers or during future health inspections. Plus, if any food item falls out of the safe temperature range, employees are promptly notified and given corrective actions to prevent unsafe food from reaching customers.

Digitizing food labeling is another effective way to prevent food safety issues. Manual labeling processes are often time-consuming and can produce date code labels that are illegible, inconsistent and miscalculated. Using technology makes it simple to print dozens of clear and accurate labels in a matter of minutes. One brand using BOHA! Labeling saw a savings of two hours of labor every day simply by automating their date code labeling process.

How BOHA! can help

Temperature monitoring and labeling are just two of the ways that BOHA! helps restaurants digitize their food safety procedures. To learn more about other BOHA! applications and why leading brands choose an all-in-one solution to build effective food safety processes, visit  www.bohasolutions.com.