Making Good Habits Stick: How to Boost Food Safety for the Long Haul

Ecolab Has New Training That Can Help

Ecolab Science Certified program training on ipad tablet.

How do you build lasting best behaviors when it comes to food safety? Train often, personalize the curriculum, make it simple and fun, and correct mistakes. Those are the principles behind Ecolab’s newest training program, Food Safety Fundamentals in our Hospitality Course Library.

Food safety will always be a challenge for food makers, retailers and restaurant operators. Whenever food is moved, stored, handled and cooked, there’s potential for spoilage and contamination. The consequences can be dire in terms of public health, financial losses and reputational damage. That is doubly true during the pandemic, when we're all hyper alert for health risks.

Luckily, ensuring food safety can be learned, and most food safety issues within food service are behavioral. That’s why Lobster Ink, Ecolab’s digital training division, has developed the specialized food safety program that will help frontline teams learn best practices and keep them up for the longer term.

Foodborne Illness

Contributing factors to foodborne illnesses: most are behavioral

  • Improper Holding 27%
  • Poor Personal Hygiene 25%
  • Contaminated Equipment / Environment 13%
  • Inadequate Cooking 15%
  • Unsafe Source 15%
  • Other 6%

Continuous Reinforcement is the Key

Food safety is high on the agenda during employee onboarding. But because data also shows that knowledge retention fades as time passes, it’s important to look beyond initial certification. How can you make sure your employees always know what to do and, more importantly, actually do it when they need to?

In close collaboration with Ecolab’s in-house food sector experts, who see what goes on at tens of thousands of locations around the world every single day, Lobster Ink developed a comprehensive training program, based on learning and behavioral science.    

"With its continuous reinforcement, the new curriculum is set to significantly improve food safety behavior and compliance at the users’ locations," said Gina Owen, who is the food safety product development lead for Ecolab’s Quick Service Restaurant business. “It makes training simple and fun. It clearly explains the ‘why’ behind food safety principles and serves as an ongoing reference tool to learn, apply and revisit.” 

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What is a behavior-based approach?

Personalization improves retention
Users learn things that are relevant to their own role, at their own pace, with engaging content 

Reinforce, assess and correct
Progress is assessed by group and individual, so you can adapt and correct when necessary.  

Data shows these actions can help improve food safety compliance rates up to 38% 
Ecolab Science Certified program training on ipad tablet.

A Comprehensive Learning System

The program consists of more than 80 lessons and two distinct learning paths – one for food handlers and one for foodservice managers. Based on the U.S. Food Code, these lessons are currently available in English, Spanish and Mandarin. Learning experiences can be customized for different types of businesses and job profiles.

The experience is fully digital and can be accessed from any device. Below is a sneak preview of some of the lessons.

Handwashing

Handwashing has taken on renewed significance in our world. This short course ensures your frontline understands why handwashing is essential to reducing the spread of foodborne illness and other pathogens, and demonstrates the best practice technique.

Disinfecting Basics

Disinfecting is an important step of any cleaning routine as you can easily cross-contaminate. Understanding the guidelines for proper cleaning and disinfecting will help to eliminate harmful microorganisms.

Cross-Contamination

When you need to get food out fast it’s easy to make mistakes. However, understanding what cross-contamination is and why’s it’s dangerous raises this awareness and brings it top of mind.

To Learn More...

Visit the Lobster Ink website to learn more about food safety training program.