THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: SETA CEOS

30 APRIL 2019

 

CGCSA cordially invites you to converse with the SETA’s. Kindly note below details.

BOOSTING CONSUMER PERCEPTION OF RESTAURANT CLEANLINESS

29 APRIL 2019

In today’s competitive foodservice landscape, restaurants cannot rely on their food and service alone—that is, they must make sure that the atmosphere is good and that the kitchen and restaurant are clean. In fact, when choosing a restaurant, 93% of consumers say restaurant cleanliness is important or very important. That’s even higher than kitchen cleanliness—89% say that’s important or very important, according to Technomic’s Consumer Brand Metrics.

When a restaurant is untidy, customers might have the perception that the operator doesn’t care or pay attention to attention to detail elsewhere. In turn, they might think that dining there could mean running the risk of contracting a foodborne illness and falling ill. A proven way for operators to stand above the competition and ensure customer loyalty is to keep their restaurants as clean as possible, from the front door to the back door and everywhere in between.

Which cleaning solution is the right choice?

There are thousands of cleaning products on the market—some only clean, while others only sanitize. Operators have to ask themselves which cleaning products are the most effective at killing germs, which are the best at cleaning, which are the best at sanitizing, which are non-toxic and which are safe to use on guest tables and in the kitchen.

Today, 3,000 surface sanitizers and disinfectants are registered with the EPA, but most antimicrobial products contain warnings indicating they are hazardous to humans and domestic animals as well as instructions to use in a well-ventilated area and to wash hands after use. Fewer than 100 surface disinfectants have been placed in the EPA’s lowest category for toxicity rating—Category 4 products do not require warning labels or hazard statements. Fewer than 10 surface disinfectants also received the EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) certification, and one of those is the revolutionary new all-in-one PURELL^® Foodservice Surface Sanitizer.

PURELL^® sanitizer’s one-step cleaning and sanitizing solution quickly eliminates germs on surfaces, including norovirus, salmonella, E. coli and listeria in 30 seconds, as well as hepatitis A in 60 seconds. The fragrance-free formula was designed for food contact surfaces, featuring NSF D2 no-risk certification and the EPA’s lowest allowable toxicity rating. And, with no harsh chemical fumes, it’s the ideal sanitizing solution for an entire restaurant—from food prep surfaces in the back of house to front of house guest tables and guest areas.

Cleaning checklists

Cleaning is a pre-requisite to a hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) plan,but with so many things to clean in a restaurant, it can be difficult to remember all of the individual cleaning tasks that need to be taken care of and how regularly equipment needs to be cleaned. Key areas that need to be considered are back of house, front of house, restrooms, exterior of restaurant, windows, laundry, floors and more. Cleaning schedules also need to be established for areas and equipment that need to be cleaned on a daily, weekly, monthly and annual basis.

Boosting customer perception of cleanliness is less about any buzzworthy strategy and more about presenting a very clean business. Using the right products, like PURELL^® Foodservice Surface Sanitizer, along with establishing cleaning schedules and checklists and training employees, is a winning combination for operators

FOOD CONTROL

29 APRIL 2019

Millions of people in the world fall ill and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. In 2000 the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised food safety as an essential public health function.

The food control section within the department is responsible for ensuring the safety of food in South Africa. This service is based on the basic needs of communities and the right of South Africans to make informed food choices without being misled.

The main functions of food control include to –

• Administer food legislation. This includes developing and publicising regulations for food safety, food labelling and related matters as well as developing technical guidelines where necessary
• Inform, educate and communicate to industry, consumers, the media, government departments and other stakeholders about food safety and related matters
• Audit and support Port Health Services in the provinces related to the control of imported foodstuffs. Audit and support Municipal Health Services in metros and district municipalities related to law enforcement, monitoring, information, education and communication and other activities
• Evaluate risk assessments related to agricultural chemicals and food produced through biotechnology for the departments of agriculture and forestry and fisheries Co-ordinate routine and specific food monitoring programmes and attend to food safety alerts
• Act as South Africa’s National Contact Point for the joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) and the European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)
• Convene or serve on national and international bodies that deal with food control matters.

The department will establish units for contraception and termination of pregnancy at all facilities.

Click here to view Food Control

TINY SOUTH AFRICA BEACH RESTAURANT CROWNED BEST IN THE WORLD

29 APRIL 2019

 

A tiny beach restaurant in an isolated fishing village in South Africa was named the best in the world on Monday, at the inaugural World Restaurant Awards in Paris.

Chef Kobus van der Merwe, who only learned to cook when he was 30, forages every day for ingredients on the wild Atlantic shore of the Western Cape near his Wolfgat restaurant. Van der Merwe, 38, also makes his own bread and butter.

Wolfgat just opened last year in a 130-year-old cottage and cave on the beach at Paternoster.

Its seven-course tasting menu costs the equivalent of 53 euros ($60), a fraction of what you are likely to pay at a top Paris table.

But its humble setting and van der Merwe’s belief in sustainable, back-to-basics cooking won over the judges of the World Restaurant Awards in the French capital.

Van der Merwe can only feed 20 people at a sitting, which usually lasts two and a half hours.

With dishes such as twice-cooked laver (seaweed), angelfish with bokkom sambal and wild garlic masala, limpets, mussels and sea vegetables harvested within sight of its “stoep” (porch), it also won the prize for best “Off-Map Destination”.

Bearded van der Merwe – a former food blogger – said that, apart from the influence of the subtle spices of local Cape Malay cooking, his philosophy was to “interfere as little as possible with the products, and to keep them pure, raw and untreated”.

“It’s a very minimalist approach – it doesn’t make sense to gather amazing herbs but then transform them into a sauce that has nothing to do with them,” he added.

No-nonsense restaurants known for their affordable food featured prominently in the awards, set up by one of the 50 Best Restaurants list’s own founders, Joe Warwick, to challenge its primacy.

While the 50 Best has been hit by allegations of lobbying and bias against French cuisine, the new awards claim to pride themselves on “diversity and integrity”, with 50 men and 50 women on the judging panels.