Food Network recently published a post detailing what it called the “biggest food safety red flags” found at U.S. restaurants. Each red flag was identified by a nutritionist and encapsulated in the post with a photograph and description. After reading the article, we began to think about our own All Fresh by Alsco program can help restaurants with these problems.
The questions for you are these: how clean is your restaurant, and how many of Food Network’s red flags would apply to your establishment? These are good questions to both ask and answer for the health and safety of guests and workers alike.
Top 11 Red Flags
Now that we have your attention, let’s talk about those red flags. Here they are, as listed in the Food Network post:
Dirty menus
Improperly maintained salad bars and buffets
Dirty bathrooms
Sick employees
Improper food temperatures
Handling both money and food without washing hands
Cleaning tables with dirty rags
Not paying attention to food allergies
Lack of hand soap in restrooms
Fingerprint smudges on condiments
Dirty utensils
Some items on the list are easier to correct than others. Moreover, Alsco cannot help you with all of the listed items, but we can help you with having the proper supplies to take care of dirty bathrooms, cleaning tables and food preparation areas and address any lack of hand soap in your restrooms. Toward that goal, we would like to introduce you to the All Fresh by Alsco and the Perfect Mix Cleaning Solutions program.
The Right Supplies When You Need Them
All Fresh aims to guarantee that our customers have the right hygiene products, including soaps and sanitizers, paper products, mats, mops and more, all on-hand when they’re needed. All Fresh by Alsco includes what we call the Perfect Mix—an easy-to-manage cleaning chemical dilution system that ensures your employees are cleaning and disinfecting surfaces with the right chemicals for the job. Thanks to our at-a-glance modular system, the program is transparent and simplifies managing monthly cleaning expenses in addition to offering easy visual access to chemicals as they’re being used in your program.
When you sign up for Perfect Mix, you get a compact cabinet that stores your chemicals and dilution system in a convenient location; commercial-grade cleaners and disinfectants; our weekly service that automatically manages your inventory; and an easy-to-follow program that walks your employees through choosing the right chemicals for each cleaning job.
We make sure you always have the right volume of cleaning chemicals on hand. We don’t saddle you with excess quantities and then expect you to pay a higher bill. You get just what you need, when you need it.
Keep Your Restaurant Clean
If you were as surprised as we were to discover some of Food Network’s red flags, you know how important it is to take every reasonable step to ensure your restaurant is as clean as possible. From proper food handling to correctly cleaning food preparation services, everything you do in your restaurant should be done with health and safety in mind.
Alsco is here to help where we can. In addition to the products and services in All Fresh by Alsco, we would be happy to handle all your uniform and linen laundry needs. We want to be your partner in maintaining a clean restaurant by providing you with the services you need to meet and exceed all public health standards.
For more information about All Fresh by Alsco and other services provided by, contact your local Alsco branch, or get in touch with us through our website at alsco.com.