Sustaining Healthy Oceans: FIF Talks Seafood

Offering guests delicious seafood options involves more than just picking the freshest seafood. There’s a responsibility, as well, to make the right choices for healthy, sustainable oceans.

Getting information to make good selections is much simpler, thanks to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. It advises businesses on which seafood items are best choices, which ones should be avoided and which ones would make good alternatives. A given is that you ensure you purchase seafood that’s been fished or farmed in a way that doesn’t hurt the environment.

Seafood Watch’s recommendations are supported by scientific, peer-reviewed information and ecosystem-based criteria. A lot is taken into consideration, such as the fishery, habitat, species, management and many other factors that affect each species. In-depth Seafood Watch Reports are developed and published online after thorough research and review. The Seafood Watch website also offers several other resources, including pocket guides for various regions of the country and applications for iPhones and other mobile devices.

As almost 85 percent of the world’s fisheries are fished to capacity or overfished, Seafood Watch’s ultimate goal is to ensure ocean ecosystems are sustained, providing wild and diverse sea life that will stay around through the distant future.

By choosing the right sources for your seafood, you have the power to improve the situation.

 

HACCP Training Not Just Relevant: It’s Essential

Restaurant management can rest easily about food safety standards by adhering to the principles and practices of the Hazardous Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) program, a management system that addresses food safety. HACCP address the control of biological, chemical and physical hazards — from raw material production, procurement and handling to the preparation and service of meals.

It is imperative in any restaurant that every chef, cook and associate is trained in HACCP practices and closely adheres to its food-handling guidelines  Along with that adherence, participating restaurants are audited on a monthly basis during an unannounced visit that focuses on validation of HACCP procedures being actively in place, and maintenance of HACCP principles being documented on an ongoing basis.

Most food service providers can use assistance in this area, which we can provide by conducting audits and assessments. Our audits measure the 10 primary compliance categories most critical to the restaurant industry as set forth by HACCP:

• Purchasing and receiving
• Storage
• Preparation and production
• Service and distribution
• Premises and equipment
• Cleaning and sanitizing
• Guest areas
• Staff standards
• Staff facilities
• Quality assurance and program management

After assessing a location, we provide our clients with reports including recommendations for  corrective action and the training possibly needed to attain and maintain HACCP standards. We can help you take the necessary steps so your guests and employees alike can enjoy a clean and safe environment.