Maintaining proper food safety protocol during food serving is just as important as keeping patrons safe during food preparation. The most popular medium for transporting that food is a serving tray. Are these serving trays secretly a food safety risk?
Are Serving Trays a Food Safety Risk?
Yes, your serving tray is a genuine food safety risk. Even the hospital and healthcare industries have alerted to the necessities of serving-tray hygiene. A clean serving tray is every bit as important to your venue or home as handwashing, prepping and food storage practices. Let’s take a closer look at serving trays and how this simple, often overlooked tool can become a health risk in your home or place of business.
Serving trays come into direct contact with a wide range of foods. This includes cooked and uncooked ingredients. As a result, serving trays can harbor a shocking array of foodborne hazards if they are not properly washed and sanitized after use. In addition to food items, serving trays also succumb to spills, crumbs and other food-related residues. Freshly prepared food is delivered on the same trays that have previously bussed used dishes, utensils and glassware. Those innocent looking scratches, seams and nicely textured surfaces also work against you as they provide breeding grounds for a potential army of bacteria, mold and allergens.
Serving tray cross-contamination is compounded by lazy washing habits. Many consider a quick splash of warm water to be “clean enough.” Warm water alone will not do the trick. In fact, this lazy method actually allows for a more bacteria-friendly environment as microbes now have a more fertile environment to multiply. When those high-trafficked serving trays are then stacked while still wet, you can expect a monstrous reaction on a microbial level.
Keeping Your Serving Trays Safe
Let’s consider a few quick tips for properly cleaning your service trays at home or work. To start with, don’t apply harsh chemicals to your serving tray. All that’s truly needed is an anti-bacterial soap and warm water. If your tray is wooden or not dishwasher-safe, then you must plan for a routine of manual cleaning. If you’re wishing to remove any unsightly stains or odors, then consider a solution of warm water and vinegar.
In the likely scenario your serving trays handle both fresh food and food waste, the recommendation is to be a little more proactive when it comes to sanitizing those serving trays. You may wish to clean your tray more than once over the course of a single shift. It might seem overkill but nothing puts a damper on an evening or your business’ reputation quite like a sudden and hard-striking foodborne illness that can be easily prevented.
Food safety and sanitation is a big part of our state-approved food handler training programs. If you’re looking to get your food handler certification or renewal today, then look no further. Our courses are available to you in both English and Spanish and, in most cases, you can complete your training and receive your food handling certification in under two hours. See our current list of supported states here and enroll today!
