Purchasing

Your responsibility for food safety in your establishment begins long before the food arrives and is prepared. You must purchase wholesome, safe foods to meet your menu requirements. Safety at this step is primarily the responsibility of your vendors, but it’s your job to choose your vendors wisely.

Suppliers must meet federal and state health standards. They should use the HACCP system in their operations and train their employees in sanitation. Be sure to ask if they use a HACCP system.

You should also make sure that suppliers are getting their products from approved sources—ones that have been inspected and are compliance with the law. In addition, make sure your suppliers are reputable. Ask other operators about their experiences with a particular vendor.

Delivery trucks should have adequate refrigeration and freezer units, and foods should be packaged in protective, leak-proof, durable packaging. If it’s possible, inspect their warehouses and trucks. Are the trucks clean and well maintained? Are they holding products at the proper temperatures?

Also make sure your supplier is shipping quality product. Look for broken boxes, dented cans and leaks for signs of unsafe packaging.

Let vendors know up front what you expect from them. Put food-safety standards in your purchase specification agreements. Ask to see their most recent Board of Health Sanitation Reports, and tell them you will be inspecting trucks on a quarterly basis. Also ask them to deliver your products when your employees will be able to put them into storage in a proper and timely manner.

Good vendors will cooperate with your inspections and should adjust their deliv- ery schedules to avoid your busy periods so that incoming foods can be received and inspected properly.