Food & Beverage (F&B) Report: New Standards in Hygiene and Safety
Almost all businesses across most industries have been severely impacted by recent global events. None have been hit quite as hard as the food and beverage industry due to the massive amount of interaction that takes place between delivery drivers, back and front of the house staff and patrons in public and community dining spaces.
Policies and regulations are changing, and new ones are being implemented rapidly to keep patrons safe in food and beverage environments. Here, we offer a few suggestions to get back to business with best practices with an eye towards potential upcoming new requirements and policies.
Summary
Designing a Safer Future
The newest guidelines offer pragmatic solutions that allow food and beverage industry tenants and owners the opportunity to be prepared for and to address current and future challenges that are likely to test the industry as a whole. While these ideas are not specifically focused on widespread contagions and pandemics, they do present the next logical steps to standardized and enhanced hygiene practice in the food and beverage sector. Some key issues addressed include:
- Handling future crises in a more productive and safe fashion
- Resolving current operational obstacles or shortcomings
- Putting preventative measures in place
- Implementing improvements in operations, design, and functionality
- Mitigating risks in both entrances, exits and front and back of the house areas
Our recommendations are not meant for a specific location, type of restaurant or food hal, a certain size venue or a certain clientele. The goals of this project are broad, generaly applicable, and universaly relevant in order to:
- Establish best practices that are productive
- Provide insights to assist developers in future developments
- Educate food handlers on proven standards and safe processes
- Provide clarity around best-in-class procedures and protocols
- Create practical and functional recommendations that enable businesses to operate efficiently while maintaining international standards in hygiene
Some chalenges hadn't been encountered before the pandemic, whilst others are long overdue for change. This paper is in response to a global shift in the needs and wants of the sector. Thus, it is focused on providing standards that can form the basis of a new paradigm on how to ensure the health and safety of individuals consuming food products in a common space.
