Outbreak: A Food Professionals Worst Nightmare

Humans are mammals, and as such, tend towards being omnivores. This means that humans are among the handful of species (rats are the other) that can suffer from food poisoning. In towns such as Melbourne, Australia, where good food and a good night out are taken seriously, a case of food poisoning could prove disastrous for your restaurant.

If you give your customers a great dining experience, you can bet that they will be back for more and that they will tell their friends, but if you mess up, word is certainly going to get around. Every restaurant manager fears a food poisoning outbreak, but if you work in Melbourne, you may have more reason than most to be frightened of it.

In the event of a food poisoning outbreak, at the very least you'll get bad publicity and horrible word of mouth advertising. A serious outbreak could lead to fines, legal disputes or even the complete shut down of your restaurant. Food poisoning outbreaks are about the worst thing that can happen to you as a restaurateur, and you should take every possible effort to prevent them from happening.

Guests who are unlucky enough to eat at a time when your food safety isn't as high as it should be may become quite sick, and while many cases of food poisoning can be quite mild, others are extremely severe or unpleasant. This is most common when children or people with weakened immune systems are exposed to tainted food.

Food poisoning often occurs as a result of bacterial growths on uncooked meats, raw eggs, seafood or even vegetables. All meats have a handling set of instructions, from pork (which must be cooked thoroughly) to fish (which can, in the case of sashimi, be eaten raw), with intermediate cases for chicken, beef and crustaceans. Food borne pathogens are also a cause of food poisoning. This is most often the result of food being mishandled somewhere in processing, an employee not washing their hands after going to the bathroom or inadequate washing of meat cutting areas.

There are many different ways to prevent a food poisoning outbreak. The first and most obvious thing that you need to think about is the fact that your staff need to be taught how to handle and prepare food. Strict regulations about hand washing and sanitation on the food preparation floor are things that you really need to drill home.

You will also find that good storage, where raw food is never permitted to come in contact with food that is ready to serve is something that all staff need to be aware of. It is important to establish routine to ensure that staff form good hygiene habits.

In reality there are hundreds of ways that a food poisoning outbreak could occur. This is not however a reason to fear. Whilst most restaurant managers are fairly well versed in the essentials of food safety it is always worthwhile consulting with an expert to ensure that nothing gets overlooked.