By Dale J. Venturini
President and CEO, Rhode Island Hospitality Association
Just when we put the turmoil and financial adversity of 2009 behind us, there is a new threat to business lurking on the horizon – restaurant sanitation grading by boards of health and sanitation departments.
It’s no secret that many state budgets are in decline and facing even steeper cuts. As such, state services suffer and restaurant inspections across the board are down. States just don’t have the adequate manpower to inspect restaurants in a timely fashion.
While some proprietors may take advantage of the situation and not keep a careful eye to their establishment’s compliance, it certainly doesn’t behoove any owner to take a lackadaisical approach to cleanliness and sanitation.
There is no easier and faster way to kill your business than to have an outbreak of a food borne illness originate in your restaurant. And as we all know, word-of-mouth spread from patrons who might notice a lack of cleanliness has been the downfall of many an establishment.
Because there are not enough inspection resources available, it is the obligation of every restaurant proprietor to continuously ensure that he or she is doing her part to be compliant with state law. There are numerous ways to accomplish this, and first and foremost, checking your state’s department of health regulations is a good starting place. In addition, many of your state restaurant associations offer ServSafe® classes in safe food handling and preparation. Finally, some associations, including RIHA, offer Food Safety Self-Inspection Programs that are approved by your state department of health.
It is in the best interest of restaurant owners to be compliant and to take the necessary preemptive steps to maintain a clean environment – or be faced with the potential of having your place of business branded with a ‘scarlet letter’ designating your cleanliness and compliance level.
Sanitation grading – either by alphabet letter, color or a numerical designation – could be coming to your state. Already on the West Coast, parts of Canada, the Carolinas and in a few southwestern states, it is believed that this type of grading will scare restaurants into paying more attention to their sanitation. After all, who wants to be branded with an undesirable designation – and one that is often posted for all patrons to see?
There is no surer way to see business decrease than to have a less-than-desirable grade posted on your front door. Who would go to a B or C level restaurant, when guests could easily frequent the A level establishments?
While we haven’t seen this type of grading in New England...yet...it could be coming soon. In Rhode Island, the department of health has recently raised this topic as a way to help ensure that the industry is policing itself, and is doing the best job possible to maintain the department of health’s compliancy standards.
The bottom line is that people want to eat in clean, safe restaurants. They want to feel that their food is being handled safely and that all necessary and legally-mandated measures are being followed. And, who can blame them? It is their right to expect this, and it is your responsibility as a restaurant owner to provide a safe dining experience.
It is our responsibility as members of the hospitality industry to work together to find the best and the most effective preemptive ways to ensure that we represent safe, clean, and hospitable businesses. Do the right thing, spend the time and educate your employees to the letter of the law so that we don’t have to face new rules and regulations in our industry. We are all in this together, and we all have a huge responsibility to keep our guests safe.
If you are not focused on safety and cleanliness in your restaurant, you are literally betting the house that you won’t get caught. Nobody can afford that wager.
It’s no secret that many state budgets are in decline and facing even steeper cuts. As such, state services suffer and restaurant inspections across the board are down. States just don’t have the adequate manpower to inspect restaurants in a timely fashion.
While some proprietors may take advantage of the situation and not keep a careful eye to their establishment’s compliance, it certainly doesn’t behoove any owner to take a lackadaisical approach to cleanliness and sanitation.
There is no easier and faster way to kill your business than to have an outbreak of a food borne illness originate in your restaurant. And as we all know, word-of-mouth spread from patrons who might notice a lack of cleanliness has been the downfall of many an establishment.
Because there are not enough inspection resources available, it is the obligation of every restaurant proprietor to continuously ensure that he or she is doing her part to be compliant with state law. There are numerous ways to accomplish this, and first and foremost, checking your state’s department of health regulations is a good starting place. In addition, many of your state restaurant associations offer ServSafe® classes in safe food handling and preparation. Finally, some associations, including RIHA, offer Food Safety Self-Inspection Programs that are approved by your state department of health.
It is in the best interest of restaurant owners to be compliant and to take the necessary preemptive steps to maintain a clean environment – or be faced with the potential of having your place of business branded with a ‘scarlet letter’ designating your cleanliness and compliance level.
Sanitation grading – either by alphabet letter, color or a numerical designation – could be coming to your state. Already on the West Coast, parts of Canada, the Carolinas and in a few southwestern states, it is believed that this type of grading will scare restaurants into paying more attention to their sanitation. After all, who wants to be branded with an undesirable designation – and one that is often posted for all patrons to see?
There is no surer way to see business decrease than to have a less-than-desirable grade posted on your front door. Who would go to a B or C level restaurant, when guests could easily frequent the A level establishments?
While we haven’t seen this type of grading in New England...yet...it could be coming soon. In Rhode Island, the department of health has recently raised this topic as a way to help ensure that the industry is policing itself, and is doing the best job possible to maintain the department of health’s compliancy standards.
The bottom line is that people want to eat in clean, safe restaurants. They want to feel that their food is being handled safely and that all necessary and legally-mandated measures are being followed. And, who can blame them? It is their right to expect this, and it is your responsibility as a restaurant owner to provide a safe dining experience.
It is our responsibility as members of the hospitality industry to work together to find the best and the most effective preemptive ways to ensure that we represent safe, clean, and hospitable businesses. Do the right thing, spend the time and educate your employees to the letter of the law so that we don’t have to face new rules and regulations in our industry. We are all in this together, and we all have a huge responsibility to keep our guests safe.
If you are not focused on safety and cleanliness in your restaurant, you are literally betting the house that you won’t get caught. Nobody can afford that wager.
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