Protect the Package: Ensuring Food Safety in Shift to Takeout and Delivery

Food safety discussions have taken on a new level of urgency, as restaurants face the enormity of consequences of COVID-19. Restaurants that spent the first weeks of the pandemic reassuring customers that they had expanded cleaning protocols are now shutting their doors and shifting to takeout and delivery models that have their own safety challenges.

Declaring that anything is safe at the present moment is a risky proposition. It was not that long ago that US Foods conducted their highly-publicized survey which found that nearly 30 percent of delivery people sample the food items they’re entrusted with. Both quick and full-service restaurants pivoting to takeout and delivery models should heed the warning: protect the package.

Here are three ways to support and communicate food safety claims and ensure that take-out and delivery items are safe once they leave the premises:

Screening If possible, screen delivery staff daily for any signs or symptoms that they have any illness –…