Creating Healthy Kid’s Meals

Healthy children’s faire seems to be on everyone’s minds these days, from meals prepared at home to school cafeterias to restaurants. Kids are notorious for being picky eaters, making it difficult to tempt their tiny palates with simply a plate of vegetables. However with a little creativity many meals can be made-over to be lower in calories and fat, without skimping too much on the tastes kids crave.

Did you know that Serv-U has an entire department on their website dedicated to school supplies? Visit our school supplies department to find everything you need to create healthy, fresh and flavorful meals in your school’s cafeteria.

What is your school or restaurant doing to ensure that children receive meals that encourage dietary variety and balance?

Safe Food Handling Starts with your Employees

Week two of National Food Safety Education Month is well underway. This week’s topic includes tips on proper food handling by employees. The free training activities offered at www.ServSafe.com/NFSEM teach employees how to avoid touching their bodies and then touching food, and how to use gloves correctly.

This week kicks of National Food Safety Education Month. If you haven’t checked out the free resources available from the NFSEM’s website, you really should. You can download free posters and materials to help remind your staff of the importance of safe food handling.

The weekly ten minute training activities are a great way to reinforce food safety education. The activities are great to incorporate into your establishment’s training program and since they are designed to be completed quickly they are also ideal for refreshers during staff meetings.

This week’s exercise deals with the proper way to handle a visit from the health inspector. Be sure to download your free activity sheet today!

Stay Safe with Products from Serv-U

In honor of National Food Service Education Month, I thought it would be good to highlight a few of our more popular food safety-related products.

Saf-T-Ice® Tote
With a new and improved design, this durable polycarbonate container is intended for the sanitary transporting of ice while controlling cross contamination.

Saf-T-Scoop™ System
This ice scoop features a germ guard to prevent contact between hands and food.

Food Rotation and Storage Labels
Never guess on the age of something in your refrigerator or storage room. When used properly food storage labels will let you know when an ingredient or product is no longer safe to use or serve.

Color Coded Cutting Boards
Reduce the risk of cross-contamination by taking the guesswork out of using the right board during food preparation.

Kleen Pails™
Color-coded pails allow you to distinguish between pails for soap and cleaning solutions and sanitizing solutions.

Lessons Learned from the Health Inspection

September is National Food Safety Education Month, and this year’s theme is “Lessons Learned from the Health Inspection”. The National Restaurant Association is kicking off a month-long initiative to encourage restaurant and foodservice operators to renew their commitment to food safety by raising awareness of the importance of education and training.

National Food Safety Education Month was created in 1994 to heighten awareness about the importance of food safety education. Each year a new theme and free training activities and posters are created for the restaurant and foodservice industry to help reinforce proper food safety practices and procedures. Visit the NFSEM website for more information on how you can implement this year’s activities and materials in your foodservice establishment.

Don’t Underestimate the Microwave Oven

A commercial microwave oven can be one of the most indispensable pieces of restaurant equipment in a restaurant kitchen. Commercial microwave ovens differ significantly from their residential counterparts in terms of durability, technology, controls and capacity. Microwave ovens cook, defrost, self-steam and reheat foods. Many operators use microwave ovens in accord with other types of restaurant equipment to speed production and help keep ambient kitchen temperatures low.

Many types of operations, including bars, quick-casual restaurants, banquet halls, hospitals, nursing homes and hotels, use microwaves to defrost and rapidly bring foods back to the proper serving temperature. Microwave ovens can also be used to prepare frozen packaged products, steam seafood and vegetables and cook pastas and certain grains.

Most microwave ovens feature programmable memory pad selectors, multiple-portion touch pads, manual operation capabilities, cycle counters to track oven usage, electronic timers with digital displays, see-through doors and lighted cavities. Many microwave ovens are capable of storing up to 100 cooking programs for easier preparation of best-selling menu items. Some microwave ovens will also adjust the cooking time for pre-programmed menu items when multiple items are being prepared. This feature not only prevents over/undercooking, but also results in more consistent food temperatures and textures.

Opening cans in your commercial kitchen should never be a struggle. The commercial manual can opener is quite a simple machine. Electric can openers perform the same function with effortless operation. The basic principle is the same: the knife punctures the metal, the gear then rotates the can, creating an even opening.

The knife on your industrial can opener is intentionally dull and rounded. The knife’s function is to fold the metal, not slice it, thereby providing a smooth rim edge. Regular use sharpens the knife and eventually creates a point. A sharp knife can result in metal shavings being deposited into your food. Avoid this by regularly replacing crucial parts. As a rule of thumb, can opener knives should be replaced every six months and can opener gears should be replaced annually. Serv-U carries replacement parts for many popular models.

The standard manual can opener for the foodservice industry is Edlund’s #1 model. The Edlund #1 commercial can opener has been improved with a new smoother action base design, long wearing spool and rust resistant arbor. Most importantly, the knife is tempered steel and reversible, reducing the need for frequent replacements. The Edlund #1 commercial can opener opens most can shapes and sizes.

If you are looking to save time and labor, consider investing and an Edlund electric can opener. The convenient countertop model slides cans into position for easy opening without lifting. A spring-loaded mechanism will even open dented cans. For convenience without giving up precious counter space, consider the portable electric can opener.

Remember to take into account calculations of opening rate per minute, recommended daily use and can size. Some models are also NSF rated. Save yourself time and energy by having a can opener that can get the job done!

Serving your customers thin shavings of smoked turkey breast and savory slices of roast beef is key to the success of your restaurant or delicatessen. Equally important is having the highest quality commercial food prep equipment well-maintained in your kitchen. Making the cut is not possible without a quality meat slicer and proper meat slicer maintenance.

Serv-U offers a great selection of commercial food prep equipment from top industry brands including Berkel meat slicers and Hobart meat slicers. Refer to this Restaurant Guru blog for guidance in selecting a slicer.

Just like any equipment in your commercial kitchen, meat slicers require proper care and maintenance. Meats are perishable foods that easily breed many forms of bacteria. Small pieces of meat can easily collect between the blade and the slicing machine of a meat slicer. If left for a period of time, microorganisms will grow in and around the meat particles, posing a health risk.

Follow your machine's instructions on how to operate the meat slicer. Protect your hands from injury by wearing gloves that resist cutting. During active use of a meat slicer, the machine must be cleaned at least every four hours, and after each use if the machine is used only on occasion. Do not leave a great deal of time between meat slicing without sanitizing your slicer.

Pay special attention to cleaning the entire surface area of the meat slicer, as well as underneath it and the entire counter that it rests on. Some parts of the meat slicer may have to be disassembled for proper cleaning. Clean all of the meat slicer parts, including the handles, sides and underneath, with very warm or hot water and a food-grade detergent and rinse the machine well.

When storing your commercial meat slicer, be sure to lock the blade! The food prep equipment may also be stored disassembled, as long as the blade is protected and secured. Cover the commercial meat slicer to protect it from airborne dust in your kitchen and store in a safe and dry place away from the high-traffic areas.

Dirty ice has become a big problem. At one time it might have been acceptable to believe that bacteria couldn’t survive the frigid temperatures of your ice merchandiser, but cold won’t kill all germs. It’s important to follow food safety protocol with ice in your restaurant. After all, ice is food! Some guidelines from the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe guide will help keep your ice cuber square with the health inspector.

Ice that will be consumed or used to chill food must be made from drinking water.  Ice used to chill food or beverages should never be used as an ingredient. Transporting ice is an important task. Ice transport equipment varies greatly in size and scope. There are small, ice buckets that are typically used in bars for chilling beer, wine or champagne. These come in a variety of different styles to match the theme of your décor. There are also larger, 6 gallon ice transport buckets, which have both a swinging top handle and a side handle, allowing you to easily carry the ice, but never forcing you to touch it with your hands.

Lastly, there are 125 lb. and 200 lb. wheeled ice transports, which are constructed without any metal to ensure that there is no contamination from rust or corrosion. They feature self-storing lids that allow for greater access to ice bin contents while preventing contamination.

Use a clean, sanitized container and ice scoop to transfer ice from an ice machine to other containers. Ice scoops protect against ice-borne illnesses and, when placed on a visible ice merchandiser, show the public that you and your business are dedicated to proper sanitation. Commercial-dishwasher-safe ice scoops come in 6 ounce,  16 ounce, 32 ounce, 64 ounce, and 85 ounce varieties. Plastic and aluminum varieties are available.  Scoops should be stored outside of the ice machine in a sanitary, protected location. Ice scoop holders, mounted near the ice machine, are the best way to ensure that everyone follows sanitary ice scoop storage procedures.

Buying a walk-in cooler for your business is a big decision. Don’t let all the calculations and considerations put a “chill” on the process! From their compressors and doors to their shapes and sizes, walk-in coolers are extremely complex pieces of restaurant equipment. The Restaurant Guru blog is here to help with a list of the main factors to consider when purchasing a walk-in freezer.

How much storage space is needed? Walk-in coolers come in standard or custom sizes. Sizes range from as small as 4’x5’ to walk-in units that are room-sized. In figuring capacity, on average, 1-cubic foot of open storage area will accommodate about 28 pounds of solid food. Shelving is an integral part of walk-in refrigeration storage systems. Welded wire shelving with a polymer coating is generally the best choice for walk-ins, allowing cold air to circulate around food products. Keep shelves at least 6" off the floor for ease of cleaning and low enough to prevent the food from touching the ceiling. Mobile cabinets or storage racks provide alternatives to fixed wire shelving.

Once you have space needs figured out, it’s time to think about how you will maintain the chill within your walk-in cooler. Holding foods in a safely chilled or frozen state to avoid cross contamination and keeping products at correct temperatures are a walk-in cooler’s primary food safety functions. Temperature monitoring and recording can help operators comply with HACCP guidelines, and can be especially useful in storage of pre-made foods. Designate separate sections of a walk-in cooler for raw and ready-to-eat products to minimize threat of cross-contamination. Place at least one accurate thermometer in the warmest part of the walk-in freezer to measure the air temperature. It is best to have several placed throughout the unit.

Walk-in accessories will keep your restaurant equipment at peak performance. An air-circulation system that allows a walk-in to draw in cold outside air when the exterior temperature is colder than the interior box temperature is available for your restaurant equipment. An air door or vinyl curtain strips may be mounted above walk-in entrances to make sure proper temperatures are maintained, as well as to protect units from insect infestation.

Ensure that your floors and ceilings are in the right condition for proper load bearing and ventilation and you are ready to install a walk-in cooler!