Tips to Prevent The Spread of Infections in Food Premises
This information is intended to outline some of the best practices that owners/operators and patrons of restaurants, bars, food trucks, concession stands, and other food or drink establishments should follow to prevent the spread of infections.
Food Premise Owners/Operators should:
- Provide hand washing stations and/or hand sanitizers at the entry and exit points of every buffet/self-serve food line.
- Ensure employees conduct proper hand washing before handling food, between handling raw and ready to eat food products, handling money and any other time they become contaminated.
- Ensure additional measures are taken for buffets, which may include:
- Patrons enter and exit the buffet/self-serve food line in one direction.
- Avoiding crowding between patrons lining up at a buffer area/self-serve food line.
- Have a staff member dispense/serve the food portions to the patrons, if this is reasonably possible or applicable.
- Self-service utensils are changed every 2 hours.
- Ensuring guards or coverings for food, and utensils to protect food from contamination.
- Ensure the food premise is maintained in a sanitary condition. Generally, all surfaces are to be maintained so that they are free from accumulated dust, debris, grease, and/or other residues.
- Ensure that adequate masks or face coverings are worn at all times except when eating or drinking.
- Clean frequently touched surfaces at least twice per day. These surfaces may include doorknobs, light switches, toilet handles, counters, handrails, touch screen surfaces, tabletops, chairs, food contact surfaces, meal trays and kitchen and buffet serving utensils.
Patrons should:
- Ensure to wash and/or sanitize your hands before self-serving at the buffet or food line.
- Ensure to cough or sneeze in your sleeve.
- Attempt to follow the directional flow around the buffet and enter and exit in one direction.
- Avoid crowding as much as possible.
