Wallin Foodservice Resources

One of the top five leading causes of foodborne illness is improper hot and cold holding of potentially hazardous foods such as meats, poultry, dairy products, and seafood. Food safety experts refer to this risk factor as “time and temperature abuse.” The temperature range between 41° and 135° F, known as the “danger zone,” supports faster bacterial growth in food that leads to a large percentage of foodborne illnesses. The “danger zone” is exciting in movies, but in the kitchen, not so much! With even salads and cooked rice and pasta falling under this high-risk category, potentially hazardous foods are virtually unavoidable in foodservice. Hazardous situations, on the other hand, are preventable (except for when the power goes out). Identifying any point in your operation where potentially hazardous foods may be left to sit at ambient temperature, or are being held in under-performing equipment, is the best place to start reducing risk in your operation. Integrating effective h...

One of the leading causes of foodborne illness, cross-contamination happens when harmful bacteria or allergens are accidentally transferred from one food to another.  It can occur at any point up to the moment food is served and consumed. That wide window of vulnerability paired with a sneaky, invisible nature can make cross-contamination a challenging concept to teach and a tough foe to guard against. When employees are new or working at a fast pace—both frequent situations in modern foodservice—critical steps can get skipped and lead to dangerous mistakes. Having the right tools and visual reminders in place can help prevent food safety mishaps across your foodservice operation. 1. Keep Work Surfaces Clean Cleaning is a constant need: start with clean surfaces and ware, and keep cleaning to ensure surface contaminants don’t get picked up by clean wares, utensils, or ready-to-eat foods.  Anything that makes cleaning easier and more convenient for staff, such as disposable...

Every month is Food Safety Month in our book, but September gets the official title. Sanitation was a top priority in our business long before the pandemic, yet material and equipment technology has continued to evolve since we all faced the germ challenge of a lifetime in spring of 2020. Understanding what different sanitation technology and features can and can’t do can be confusing, however. If you’ve ever wondered about the capabilities and limitations of antimicrobial surfaces, UVC light disinfection, and self-cleaning equipment, read on to see what makes sense for your kitchen and what may not. 1. Antimicrobial Surfaces and Materials Antimicrobial surfaces and materials are manufactured with permanent antimicrobial agents such as copper and silver ions that slow the reproduction and growth of harmful microorganisms. The operative word here is “slow.” Antimicrobial surfaces and materials still require regular cleaning. From the Welbilt lines, Convotherm ovens and Kol...

Winter is coming. Seasonal summer ingredients will soon become harder to find, at least at a reasonable cost.  With food and labor costs rising in general, and business conditions remaining unpredictable, the concerns may be many, but the solutions are also more plentiful and effective than ever.  This is where new products like the Nuovair Roll-in Blast Chiller , recently introduced in the United States by Welbilt , can make a positive impact. Blast chilling can be the answer to conquering some common and costly business and operational challenges. The process itself rapidly reduces temperature to counteract the natural deterioration of food, decreases weight loss, and extends storage time. Unlike more gradual chilling or freezing methods that can actually damage food, Nuovair delivers three times longer shelf life, increases yield and maintains delicious quality, perfectly preserving even delicate foods with state-of-the-art blast chilling and freezing technology. Here...

The Keys to Safe Food Holding      To wrap up September, National Food Safety Month, we turn our attention to safe holding of both hot and cold foods. You’ve received, stored, and prepared food with great care. Often the last step before serving, holding is a time when the greatest risk to food is time and temperature abuse, while the risk of cross-contamination remains. From staging for pickup or delivery to hot serving wells and bulk food holding, an expansive variety of equipment has been developed to protect food safety and quality on its final journey from kitchen to table, so much so that an entire book could be written on the topic. Today, we’ll focus just on holding individual to-go and catering orders. Delivery and Takeout Order Holding There was once a time, not too long ago, that the industry standard was to place packaged to-go orders on a counter or bar for pick-up. Now, with increased off-premise business and the added need to support social distancing...

  Get Ready to Jazz up Your Tabletops and  Gear up Your Kitchen!  We’re stylin’ now! Wallin Foodservice Resources is pleased to announce the addition of leading brand TableCraft to our manufacturer portfolio. If you aren’t yet acquainted with TableCraft, we’d like to introduce you. This stylish brand can be found on tabletops and in kitchens worldwide, striking a balance between beauty and functionality with an extensive assortment of tabletop, beverage, buffet, catering, display, counter service, and bar supplies. And like the other manufacturers in our portfolio, TableCraft meets our high standards of safety, reliability, service, and quality. Always in step with our industry, TableCraft recently assembled a collection of tools to help foodservice operators adapt to the new landscape of foodservice, with products designed specifically to promote safety and hygiene. Hot well covers to temporarily re-tool buffet lines for pre-packaged single portions and safety shield...

Food Storage Safety Risks and Remedies Our last post reviewed safe receiving practices. The next step to safely shepherding food to the table is storage. Most foodborne illnesses are caused by one of the following three things: time and temperature abuse, poor personal hygiene, or cross-contamination. When it comes to food storage, cross-contamination is the most common culprit since food is all-too-often stored in a vulnerable manner. Risky Food Storage Practices Disposable coverings such as plastic film and aluminum foil are used extensively across the foodservice industry. They are inexpensive and convenient, but they pose some serious drawbacks that increase risk of cross-contamination and reduced shelf life. A single pan or container with a properly applied disposable cover typically doesn’t cause a problem until it’s accessed more than once, or it’s stacked on other pans or containers. Each time a disposable cover is lifted, pulled, or pushed back to access contents, its...