Food Safety Management for Restaurants

In the foodservice industry, about 800 foodborne illness outbreaks—defined as sicknesses impacting two or more people—occur in the United States each year per the CDC.¹ While this statistic accounts for a small percentage of total yearly foodborne illnesses in the country, just one of these major outbreaks can severely damage an operation's reputation and could even cause it to close its doors.

To avoid outbreaks, foodservice operators should pay careful attention to how they manage food safety in their restaurants, implementing straightforward and achievable goals. Below is an overview of the most important restaurant food safety procedures and food service hygiene standards to help your operation keep its restaurant guidelines in top shape.

What is Food Safety?

Food safety in the United States and across the world has developed into a robust science-based practice. One of the foundational advancements in food safety occurred in the 1960s with the development of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points) program.

This program was originally created by NASA and Pillsbury to ensure food remained safe during space travel. Rather than trying to correct food hazards through testing the final product, HACCP involves preventative measures to help identify and assess any possible food hazards. This program reduced foodborne illness by about 20 percent during the first seven years after its implementation in the United States.²

Today, HACCP is a central standard for worldwide food safety, is integrated into the FDA Food Code, and serves as the basis for legislation such as the Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in 2011.

Although not legally required in retail and foodservice settings, HACCP provides a helpful framework for operators trying to maintain an environment free from food hazards.³

Below are some of the most common food safety hazards, restaurant guidelines, and resources on how to manage the food safety process.

Sourcing Food

One of the first steps to creating a safe food environment is finding healthy ingredients. According to the CDC study on foodborne illness outbreaks, food contaminated before arriving at the final point of preparation was the leading cause of bacterial illness, accounting for close to one-third of reported outbreaks from 2020 to 2022.¹ Make sure your suppliers comply with FDA standards and adhere to local food safety laws. Occasionally, food producers or processing plants must recall a product that's been contaminated. Monitor foodsafety.gov to find info on the latest recalls and outbreaks to make sure you aren't serving any potentially contaminated products.⁴

Storing Food

The FDA Food Code states food must be stored in a clean, dry location where it isn't exposed to splashes, dust, or other contamination; it also must be stored at least 6 inches above the floor.⁵ To meet these regulations, restaurants should use approved storage racks.

Many food products need to be refrigerated or frozen. Refrigerators should be set no warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while freezers should be kept at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.⁶ Within cold storage, food that has higher risk of containing bacteria, such as chicken and raw meat, should be stored on lower shelves to prevent cross-contamination from dripping.

To ensure efficient operations and keep food from spoiling, employees should use the FIFO (First In, First Out) method. Products received first should be used before new products. Implementing a labeling system or dedicating specific storage spaces for the newest and oldest items can help employees identify which products to use first.

As a rule of thumb, it's best to store most items in airtight, waterproof containers. This will provide the greatest likelihood of preventing contamination and will help maintain a clean environment.

Food Preparation

Safe food preparation means keeping your equipment clean and ensuring your food is hazard free. There are three common food hazards foodservice employees should watch for: physical, biological, and chemical.⁷

A physical hazard can be something like a piece of plastic or metal that accidentally gets into someone's meal; biological hazards refer to infectious bacteria or viruses; and chemical hazards typically result from exposure to non-food safe cleaning agents or cooking solutions that can contaminate food if precautions aren't taken. Other hazards include cross-contaminated food, whether it be food that affects the general public or allergen specific issues.

To avoid these hazards, employers should clearly outline best practices for their employees, including tasks like separating prep utensils for raw meat and thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing equipment after each use.

Ensure doneness in meat and poultry by cooking them to the right temperatures, and use a food thermometer rather than your own judgement to confirm these temperatures.

Employee Hygiene

Practicing improper personal hygiene can easily lead to an outbreak. The CDC's study on foodborne outbreaks found that symptomatic foodservice workers handling food is the leading cause of viral outbreaks.¹

To keep staff healthy and maintain food service hygiene standards, employees should be trained on how to identify and prevent food safety risks. The FDA's Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook provides essential guidance.⁸

The following restaurant food safety tips will also help ensure your employees aren't bringing in any microbes:

Proper Attire

Your employees should maintain clean clothing. Jewelry items such as large rings, bracelets, and watches should be removed during food prep because they can harbor bacteria.

Hair nets and beard nets should be worn when necessary to prevent hair from falling into customers' meals.

Washing Hands

One of the most basic food safety rules is also one of the most important. Since employees prepare food with their hands, they must ensure there are no pathogens or contaminated food particles on them. The FDA Food Code says food employees should thoroughly wash their hands for at least 20 seconds with a cleaning compound and dry them immediately afterward.⁵

Food employees should wash their hands multiples times throughout the day, especially before preparing food (even if using gloves), after using the restroom, sneezing, eating, or engaging in any other activity that could soil or contaminate their hands.

Create a Sick Policy

Everyone gets sick. Make sure you have a plan for when employees should stay home and when they can return to work. Many viral infections can spread to food even if employees are wearing gloves and a mask. Some of the most commonly transmitted foodborne pathogens, known as the "Big 6," are:

• Norovirus
• Salmonella Typhi (typhoid-like fever)
• Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli
• Shigella spp. (causes shigellosis)
• Hepatitis A virus
• Salmonella (nontyphoidal)

If a foodservice employee experiences any of the following symptoms, they should stop working immediately and treat the illness:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
• Sore throat with fever
• Infected cuts or burns with pus on hands, wrists, or exposed areas of the arms

In some cases, employees must present a note from a medical professional before returning to work. The FDA's Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Book has helpful resources on creating a sick policy and deciding when employees should stay away from working with food.⁸

Maintaining a Clean Environment

Beyond employee hygiene, operators need to ensure their operations stay clean. Microbes can easily collect on countertops, sinks, and shelves if you aren't regularly cleaning your kitchen and storage space. It's helpful to implement a regular cleaning checklist to make sure nothing slips through the cracks. This also involves properly disposing of food waste and maintaining clean restrooms—a common area where illnesses spread.

Cleaning vs. Sanitizing

Cleaning involves washing all visible dirt and grime off a utensil or piece of equipment. Sanitizing means killing any invisible pathogens on the surface and is a necessary step when cleaning foodservice equipment. Some sanitizing methods use chemicals, while others use hot water.

Common sanitizing chemicals like chlorine, quaternary ammonium, and iodine can be used in a three-compartment sink as part of the final washing process. Additionally, operators can install temperature boosters on their dishwashing machines to ensure they reach the 180 degrees Fahrenheit needed to properly sanitize wares. Learn more about how to sanitize your equipment with our guide to sanitation and guide to cleaning products.

Keeping Pests Out

Not only will pests cause problems in your kitchen, such as prematurely spoiling foods, but signs of pests can may cause you to fail a food inspection. Prevent infestations by removing all trash from the premises each night, cleaning food scraps off equipment and the floor, and enclosing all food in containers that lock in odors.

No matter how diligent you are in cleaning, food always attracts pests, especially insects. Operators can use equipment like insect traps to help manage pests like flies and wasps.

How to Maintain a Safe Foodservice Environment

Create a Food Safety Plan

Whether you're a large-scale operation or a small establishment, having a clear food safety management plan with measurable goals is one of the best practices to avoid food health hazards. The FDA offers resources like the Food Safety Plan Builder to help you identify the best practices, analyze hazards, and create risk-based preventative controls.⁹

Consistently using tools like HACCP will help you identify these potential risks and create goals to combat them before they occur.

Implement Employee Training

Dumping more than 600 pages of the FDA's food code on an employee is the fastest way to ensure they forget everything they learn. Instead, foodservice operators need to find ways to effectively and efficiently engage their staff on food safety essentials.

Some states and local governments require all foodservice employees to have a food handler's card, which they can obtain through online training and an exam. This is a cost-effective training method, but it may also be helpful to provide personalized training based on your operation.

A Word on Food Safety Regulations for Restaurants

Determining the specific rules you must abide by as a foodservice establishment largely depends on what kind of operation you run and where you're located. More than 3,000 local governments oversee their own foodservice laws.¹⁰ On a national level, FDA foodservice laws primarily address food processing, manufacturing, and distribution facilities. Retail and foodservice establishments are encouraged but not required to implement HACCP plans by the FDA.³ However, this rule may vary throughout local governments. Always check with local authorities to find out the food safety regulations in your area.

Resources and References

1. Contributing Factors of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks — National Outbreak Reporting System, United States, 2014–2022. Center for Disease Control. Accessed March 2025.
2. History, development, and current status of food safety systems worldwide. National Library of Medicine. Accessed March 2025.
3. Managing Food Safety: A Manual for the Voluntary Use of HACCP Principles for Operators of Food Service and Retail Establishments. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
4. Recalls and Outbreaks. FoodSafety.gov. Accessed March 2025.
5. 2022 Food Code. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
6. Refrigerator Thermometers - Cold Facts about Food Safety. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
7. HACCP vs. HARPC: A Comparison . FoodSafety Magazine. Accessed March 2025.
8. Retail Food Protection: Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
9. Food Safety Plan Builder. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.
10. Retail Food Protection. U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Accessed March 2025.