Having trouble getting into the basics of quality control in your kitchen?

When you are in the F&B business, there’s nothing more serious than this. This is a vital process that every kitchen needs to undergo to ensure that your product quality is up to a consistent standard and is reliable to consume. Whether you are new to the F&B industry or an established player, here are 5 general guidelines you should know to champion in quality control while operating your business. 

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1. INGREDIENTS

The best foods are made with the best ingredients. This is the number one rule in the F&B industry in creating not only safe, but appetizing meals for the consumers. It is only safe to say that the best starting point to quality control is to manage the ingredients and raw materials in your kitchen. Start with listing the ingredients you need, then note down the specifications of these ingredients. 

The specifications can vary from time to time, so make sure to discuss this with your suppliers. Upon arriving, cross check and document the ingredient specifications such as: names of ingredients, important dates, and vital product attributes. The reason for this is to confirm that the suppliers maintain the standards and quality of their materials. Also, don't forget to store them at a proper storage facility.

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2. FOOD HANDLERS

Food handlers are the second most important figure to quality control after the cook. As employers, you need to ensure that your employees are properly trained with the restaurant’s needed set of skills. This step will save you plenty of production time. In addition, the Ministry of Health Malaysia has also made mandatory for food handlers to attend certified food handling courses and receive typhoid vaccination to prevent the possibility of spreading infectious diseases. Also, don't forget to wear proper attire at work! This system provides assurance and a peace of mind to the consumers for the safe and reliable food experience.

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3. PRODUCTION

The next step to quality control is to have an SOP for food production. To maintain a certain standard and consistency, a well-written recipe formulation must be documented and should be made available for the designated cook to observe in the kitchen. Food Market Hub provides a solution to this problem with our latest recipe management feature where you can now manage and view the SOPs during production and create consistent dishes at the same time! It is also important for the kitchen to have a clean environment and that the utensils are sterilized prior to the operation. On top of that, all foods need to be cooked to a safe temperature to kill most types of food poisoning bacteria. 

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4. IN PROCESS RECORDING

Record any purchases and keep track of every inventory detail to prevent unnecessary purchases and costly wastage should be the most important step to quality control. Recording important dates of your inventories such as the expiry date help confirms and assures the production team that the ingredients they are using are safe to used.

Apart from that, in-process recording also allows restaurant owners to maximize the use of their resources and generate the most revenue every day. Food Market Hub automates the process of tracking your kitchen inventory, the quantity of ingredients, and even journaling disposed ingredients. Conveniently, our app will inform you once your inventory needs restock! 

These details should be taken seriously because a simple change or mistake can cause the finished product to be hazardous and unsafe for consumption. With our procurement and inventory management system, kitchen managers can leave this troublesome in-process recording to our system and focus on the production process to provide the customers with the best quality products.

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5. PACKAGING

Bacteria grow rapidly at the temperature between 5°C and 60°C, which is known as the danger zone. For restaurants that serve warm buffet food, it is advisable that the food is kept at a safe temperature above 60°C. In the case of food delivery, the delicate taste of warm foods is best preserved using heat insulating containers while cold delicacies should be kept in the coolers before they are delivered to the customers. 

Optimal packaging should also be practiced in central kitchens before delivering the food to other branches. Hence, this form of quality control guarantees the customers’ satisfaction regardless of the external conditions when the food is being delivered. However, we do understand your worries in managing Central Kitchens especially with messy documentations and burdensome stock picking processes. Therefore, Food Market Hub now offers you an exclusive opportunity to digitize your business with us! With an inventory count system and user-friendly procurement management, worry no more! You can now manage your business with ease.

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CONCLUSION

Quality control in every kitchen is essential in the F&B industry because it creates a business that delivers a product that meets with customer’s demands and expectations. Simply saying, it ensures the products comply with the standards. Without it, your products will fail to thrive in the F&B business.

If you’re wondering where you can find a system where procurement and inventory are made easy, then maybe you should try Food Market Hub!

We’re a procurement and inventory management system that integrates with POS systems, and your accounting systems too. So you can truly centralize and digitize all operations in one platform. Save time in data entry, unravel hidden food costs and eliminate food wastage just by using our app today! 

Log on to www.foodmarkethub.com to find out more

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