By Morten Larsen, CEO & Founder of EcoloxTech and Francine L. Shaw, food safety specialist, Founder of Savvy Food Safety, and author of “Who Watches the Kitchen?”
Restaurant staff are facing multiple, simultaneous safety challenges that may threaten their guests, employees, foods, and businesses:
- COVID, influenza, and RSV cases are on the rise. In fact, COVID is currently being categorized as a “high” or “very high” outbreak in many areas, with high levels of transmission expected for at least another month or more.
- Highly contagious norovirus outbreaks are more common in colder winter months and are frequently linked to restaurants and other foodservice settings. As we saw in the infamous Chipotle foodborne illness outbreaks years ago, these outbreaks can sometimes be traced to infected workers who may not follow proper handwashing protocols and spread the pathogens via surfaces, equipment, and food to colleagues and customers.