How To Create A Thriving Food-Safety Culture
By Laurel Maloy, contributing writer, Food Online
Time and time again, negative press will pounce on the facility that falls short on food safety; one hotel gets noticed for doing things right
When it comes to embracing the culture of food safety, belief in the principles surrounding its necessity is imperative. A recent blog from TAG-The Acheson Group highlighting a visit to the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, Japan deserves notice.
Based upon the mostly negative headlines regarding food scandals and food safety in Asian countries, this chain of luxury hotels marches to the beat of its own drum. Maintaining 50 properties on Mainland China and a host of assets elsewhere in the world, Singapore is home to five hotels and resorts bearing the Shangri-La name. Shangri-La, a name long associated with paradise, caters to its patrons’ gastrointestinal health like no other.
The Acheson team, while attending a conference there, took part in a management-hosted reception for hotel guests. It was evident that the Director of Sales for the hotel did not know who they were, or what they did, until she engaged them in conversation. Upon learning that TAG is a strategic consulting firm for the food and beverage industry, the Director expounded on Shangri-La’s culture of food safety. She talked about the fact that the hotel actually has onsite Quality Assurance (QA) to oversee food safety within the hotel. She was even cognizant of the role of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). The Director of Sales knew about HACCP and recognized the importance of supply chain risk control. Normally, food safety would not be within a sales director’s area of expertise; however, she was well-versed in the subject.
During this increasingly-interesting conversation, the hotel’s General Manager joined in. The Director introduced the members of TAG and the GM reiterated the same commitment the Director had; the importance of food safety. The GM also talked about HACCP and QA’s job. The TAG team realized that there was clearly a higher-than-average level of understanding of the effect a foodborne illness outbreak could have on its guests and its brand. The GM graciously directed the Director to organize a tour of the kitchens to “show them what we do.”
The tour actually materialized, much to the surprise of the team, and in and of itself, was full of many pleasant surprises. First, the Chef conducted the tour personally, providing hair nets and disposable smocks, what he called “proper attire” for the kitchen.
The first stop on the tour was the raw-meat preparation areas — three of them — one each for meat, seafood, and poultry. Each area had color-coded knives, cutting boards, and implements, as well as its own walk-in cooler. Even the coolers were stocked from one end and accessed from the other, all in an effort to control traffic flow. The prepared meat was then placed in a two-door cooler, one accessed from the meat prep side and the other accessed by the kitchen. The baking kitchen is separate from the food prep kitchen, which is separate from the vegetable prep area, the coolers, and the dry goods storage areas. This entire process effectively avoids cross-contamination and segregates the high-risk areas from the relatively lower-risk sections.
Learn more about TAG and food safety in FSMA Fridays
Temperatures of the foods as they are received and stored are recorded and meticulously kept. A food delivery that is not transported at the proper temperature is refused. The coolers and freezers are monitored frequently with the temperatures painstakingly recorded. The internal temperatures of foods as they are cooked are even recorded. The thermometers are calibrated on a regular basis, with records to prove it. The Shangri-La even color-codes each day’s food in order to ensure it is used by a particular date or discarded.
HACCP is evident as the TAG team is shown Critical Control Point (CCP) wall posters. These are not the mass-produced; every-facility-has-one, poster lauding the importance of HACCP. These are meticulously laid out wall charts with every CCP in the Shangri-La kitchens identified, along with how to monitor them.
Allergen control, not normally highly recognized in Asian countries, is addressed at this hotel with preemptive action. Guests are questioned about food allergies prior to their arrival. Once identified, a chef will meet with the guest upon their arrival to discuss menu choices and which foods to avoid. If necessary, special meals are prepared in order to accommodate a guest’s specific food allergies. This not only controls risk, but demonstrates corporate responsibility, engendering that “warm-fuzzy” feeling, as the guests feel cared for and valued.
The food receiving area not only insures temperature consistency and food quality, but takes into account food defense. A chef will refuse any unscheduled shipment or one with an unknown delivery driver. Suppliers are carefully vetted through corporate-level on-site audits and testing programs; only approved suppliers are utilized. At the hotel, certain high-risk foods are tested upon arrival, in addition to the hotel’s daily environmental testing and monitoring procedures.
The TAG team questioned management and employees and found that the GM is a food-safety believer. However, the GM could not maintain this level of obligation without the backing of the corporation above him or the employees below him. The entire food-prep team took pride in and had an enthusiasm for food safety that may very well be unparalleled.
According to TAG, which provides the latest food safety consulting insights in a global environment, “the Shangri-La has it right.” The GM was open and proud of his operational food-safety plan, even sharing it with strangers from the U.S., who he knew could find fault with his program. The transparency displayed was heartening to the TAG team. They were, at the basic level, welcomed with open arms while performing an unannounced audit. Dr. David Acheson was told by everyone, from the Director of Sales to the dishwasher, that the GM runs his hotel like it is his own. The GM was clearly given all the credit, though it takes training, along with commitment, to achieve such an overwhelming sense of pride and dedication to food safety from your staff. Acheson was profoundly impressed, writing, “Maybe when you have your food-safety culture “right” there isn’t anything to fear. “