Safety Procedures in a Hotel (Part-1)

Accidents are unpredictable wherever or whenever they take place, but by taking safety procedures and following some rules the number of accidents and mistakes could be minimized. The hotel and restaurant authority ought to be more careful in preventing accidents and taking quick response to any accident or occurrence or any unwanted situation that happened in the hotel whether it is caused by the hotel staff or the guest. To minimize the rate of accident and to ensure immediate attention after any accident occurs, team spirit and group effort are must.

Previously we have shared 3 useful training tutorials for our readers. Here are those 3 that you should not miss to read:

  1. How to Prevent Accidents in Hotel and Restaurant

  2. How to Handle Guest Accident in Hotel – Complete SOP

  3. learn How to Prevent Cuts in Kitchen

However, safety procedures of a hotel do not only include preventing accidents in the workplace but also include food safety and sanitation procedures, safety procedures of food and beverage service, safe handling of service equipment and so on.

Hygiene and sanitation are the two main principles of the restaurant/hotel business. Hygiene deals with the preventing disease by ensuring a clean and neat environment and sanitation is the process that works as the safeguard for public health. The hotel and restaurant authorities should stand by hygiene and safety rules and regulations to guarantee a safe and sanitized eating condition.

Maintaining a hygienic atmosphere along with the sanitized food service is one of the prime responsibilities of a hotel. They have to employ every possible action to ensure a complete and appropriate safe and sanitized service for the guests.

Here is a complete guideline for the whole safety procedures in a hotel or restaurant that are to be taken by every hotel staff.

Workplace Safety

Every hotel personnel should be observant of a safe and sound environment in the hotel and restaurant. As a hotel staff you can follow the following recommendations to make your workplace a safe and hygienic place:

  • Develop a routine with other staffs for ensuring a safe operational activity.
  • Keep your work and serving areas clean and neatly arrange the service equipment. Do not allow any object in the aisle.
  • Know the emergency procedures to handle any ill or intoxicant guest. Keep in hand a well-stocked first-aid kit in case of an accident.
  • Always take special care of the disable and old patients to avoid any unwanted situation.
  • Always wear slip-resistant shoes with low heels while performing your duty.
  • To avoid collision with colleague during serving guests, pass him/her on the right in the passageways between tables.
  • Before pushing to open a door ensure that you do not bump into someone on the other side. Pull, never push, carts through doorways.
  • Ensure that the exit is free and unlocked during operating hours for emergency departure.
  • If any guest comes with his/her child then arrange a high chair or booster seat for the child.
  • If situation is beyond your control then report to management to take immediate attention.

Hygiene and Sanitation of Food Production

Food safety, or the safe handling of food, is an important public health priority hotel. Every hotel or restaurant staff is responsible for applying proper food handling procedures to ensure a safe and sanitary food service for guests.

If food and service utensils will be handled in an unhygienic and improper way then that can lead to contamination and generate foodborne illnesses, an illness which is transferred to people from unsafe food or mishandling of food. Each year, millions of people are attacked by foodborne illness and death.

Some tips and suggestions are given below to help the servers to prevent food contamination and to reduce risks at the time of preparation.

  • The production staff must strictly follow the standard recipe instructions during preparing food. They should be trained in the following sectors:
  1. Applying standard recipes.
  2. Using time-temperature combinations.
  3. Employment of sensory tests.
  4. Ensuring personal hygiene.
  5. Skilled in safe food handling and the proper use of equipment.
  • All ingredients that are to be used in a dish must be assembled properly to introduce at the right time during the food preparation.
  • Wash raw vegetables and fruits before using in the food preparation.
  • Ensure those sensory tests are applied repeatedly to assess the quality of the food.
  • While preparing new food, never mix old food with that new food.
  • Do not keep food into multiple temperatures. Store foods according to their required temperature.
  • Always defrost frozen foods in cold refrigerator first rather than defrosting in the room temperature since extreme reduction in the temperature can be harmful for the frozen foods.
  • All preparation utensils and the surroundings must be sanitized and cleaned properly after each preparation and each working shift. Rusty and used tools and equipment should be discarded after each preparation and each working shift.
  • All food production staffs should always wear hair restraints to avoid hair from getting into the food or on food preparation surfaces and surroundings.
  • Food preparation staff must ensure that their uniform, apron, hands, forearms, and fingernails are clean and neat in order to prevent the transfer of harmful bacteria to the food and tools.
  • Try to keep your hands away from your hair, scalp, and face and wash your hands properly after every chance of adulteration, such as:
  1. Before starting work.
  2. After using the restroom.
  3. After dealing with money.
  4. After handling soiled utensils and equipment.
  5. After coughing, sneezing.
  • Kitchen floors must be frequently mopped clean to make the surroundings safe and sanitized.

Holding

The term holding is a very important concept in hotel. The word is used to describe the time period between the completion of food preparation and its servicing to the guest. Basically it is the policy of the hotel to serve the food immediately after preparing the food, holding is not necessary in all types of service. For example, holding is needed in case of banquet service since here food is prepared well in advance in view of the quantity involved. However, some crucial points are needed to be followed by the production or kitchen staffs as well as service staffs. Here are the followings:

  • Hot foods must be kept in hot temperature. The standard temperature to keep the hot food is 60◦C and above. But ensure that foods should be stirred on a regular interval during holding.
  • Leftover food from buffets should be properly cooled as improper cooling can cause foodborne illness. These types of food must be cooled from 60◦C to 21◦C (within two hours) or between 70◦C to 5◦C (within four hours).
  • To keep the heat transfer rate (the rate at which heat leaves food) as per requirement for the leftovers foods to make them usable for future, the foods must be chilled in stainless steel pans that are no more than 4″ deep.
  • Every pot is to be sealed properly to avoid any sort of contamination.
  • Cold items can be stored in the cold refrigerator.
  • The responsible personnel should ensure that the food must get minimum internal temperature of 74 degree C for 15 seconds while reheating and also should practice the use of thermometers to check temperatures of holding food items.
  • Certain holding equipment should always be available in every hotel to accomplish the following tasks, such as:
  1. Baine marie for holding food.
  2. Warming drawers for carrying breads.
  3. Infrared lamps to keep pre-plated food warm.
  4. Cold holding equipment for salads and desserts cold.
  5. Hot cases to keep food warm.
  • Holding equipment should be restocked frequently in order to keep the fresh flavor of the foods.
  • All kitchen staffs must use plastic gloves, ladles, scoops, etc. during portioning food.
  • All holding equipment must be cleaned and sanitized instantly after each use to ensure hygienic foods.
  • To keep the hot beverages as hot, the temperature should be approximately 160◦F or 71.1◦C.

Read the 2nd part of this tutorial from HERE

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