Course Project Restaurant Score

Food Safety and Sanitation | Five Guys Burgers and Fries Interview and Inspection | Course Project |

Carmen Hall
4/15/2012
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Table of Contents
Introduction2
Interview With Five Guys Burgers And Fries3-5
Restaurant Inspection Report6
Inspection Scores6
Weaknesses7
Correction Solutions8
Recommendations9
Overall Assessment9-10
Inspection of Interior and Exterior10
Cleaning List11
Summary12
Appendix A13-15
Dinning Room13
Exterior14
Employees14
Bathroom15
Total Score15
References

Introduction

For this particular assignment I have chosen Five Guys Burgers and Fries for the interview factor. There are 3 stores in Las Vegas and they are working now on opening their new store by June 2012. The reason that I chose them is because they are a growing fast food chain during a time of economic turmoil. So they must be doing something right, that’s why I have chosen them to participate in this project. While doing the inspection I asked question about why things were done a certain way. Also there were questions being asked about why they choose to do those actions and what the outcome was. Then we sat done and went over their safety practiced and why they are so important to their facility. There were some things I noted during the interview that they could do differently to get a different outcome. At the end of this report I will show and explain to you why food safety is so important in a food establishment. There will also be suggestions to changes things to better the efficiency of the facility and the overall cleanliness of the establishment.

Interview of Five Guys Burgers and Fries

This interview was done on March 23,2012 at the Five Guys Burgers and Fries, located at 9484 W. Flamingo, Las Vegas, Nevada. The manager interviewed was Christina, and she is the Assistant Manager. All mangers here are ServSafe Certified at this facility. Five Guys Burgers and Fries also higher a private company to come in quarterly to do a higher inspection then the health department. By getting all the mangers certified they are putting food safety at the front of the line making people know that this company is serious about food safety. They have their employees go through a vigorous program before they can even touch the food. When they are hired they need to go to the Health Department and get your card, shot and watch the movie.
After getting their health cards they have to go to Five Guys University, this is where they have to answer question about food safety. From what temperature foods need to be kept at and how to help eliminate contamination by washing and control food temps. To complete this course you need to pass a test and get at least 80% on the test to pass or you will take it again. You continue to take the test until you pass.
When employees start their first shifts they will be given a clean and tidy uniform with hair restraint. Then you will be taught the fine art of washing your hands. After this they will be then taught the correct colors for the cutting boards and for the prep tables. There are different prep tables, one is for meat and the other is for ready to eat foods.
The private company that comes out and inspects us makes rules and guidelines that we may choose to go by. Since they are in compliance with the health department and wish to have another entity come in and inspect the store the city doesn’t care. As long as the grade or passing document they give them isn’t posted on the wall next to the health department inspection card.
By hiring an outside entity to do inspections they put themselves to an even higher level of excellence. The private company looks at things the health department might overlook. For instance they look at the gloves to make sure that they are stocked for the rush, if there isn’t a backup of gloves then the private company marks them down. They also check underneath the dishwasher and toilets to make sure that they are being cleaned on a daily basis. Besides that all of their new hires have to have a health card and pass their food safety university. All employees have to wear gloves if they touch food at all. Christina made it very clear that they have to wear gloves at all times; they even wear gloves when they are handing out food and cleaning the facility. She even stated that her hands are all dry because they are washing and changing gloves so often. I asked her what is the limit of time they allow someone to wear glove. She said no more than an hour, because they tend to rip or tear because of the heat from the oven and fryers. Every employee when coming on shift has to be in a clean uniform and be clean themselves. Their hair has to be kept behind the hat and any facial hair needs to be trimmed and free of loose hair. If they have an apron it will be a new one from the back storage. Also no employee had on long fingernails and was wearing jewelry that could contaminate food. Since I wasn’t there for a delivery the manager showed be how they bring food into the facility and how they check their food. The flow of there is perfect, the freezers and coolers are right in the back allowing them to bring food in and check it right away. They also have a digital reader that helps them check the temperature of the food to the actual food. It is a barcode that is temperature sensitive and has all the information on it, from the time it was packaged, to the time it was shipped. They do not receive frozen food everything is shipped to them fresh and has to be below 47 degrees, anything above that will be sent back. There is also a private bread bakery that bakes their own bread, and they set the standards for that bakery to follow. No flat, bruised or damaged buns will be accepted. With having their own bakery they are able to control the standards that they receive. Every ten minutes a worker is sent to the front of the house to clean the lobby, sanitize the tables and eating area. There are a couple of boxes at the entrance that holds peanuts, and they are there to entertain their guests until their food arrives. Guests tend to throw the peanut shells on the floor and leave them on their tables. This worker makes sure all the peanuts are picked up of the floor and that the bathrooms are stocked and cleaned. This service is done every ten minutes to make sure that just because they are busy doesn’t mean the cleanliness has to slack.
This establishment in my opinion is within line with the food safety and sanitation practices. After doing the interview and not inspecting the store I feel that they have taken extra steps to ensure that their guests are safe and that their employees are educated in food safety. Since all of the staff has to attend educational courses online even before they touch food is a major tool in food safety education. Besides having the knowledge you gathered form your health card class, this re-education of what they deem important is a great tool to succeed in a food facility.
With the fact that they have their own private company come out and inspect them, leads me to believe that his company goes above and beyond what is needed. Not only following the local authorities had they set higher standards that all the companies follow. This is setting a standard that a lot of fast food places cannot keep up with.

Restaurant Inspection Report

After inspecting the restaurant I have a new respect for Health Inspectors. It wasn’t an easy job going around the store and grading the things you saw. When I saw things that should have been done I noted it and moved on. It was difficult to put a number on what I thought was clean to what my local Health Department may feel. So what I did was grade everything firmly and look at it from a healthy stand point, I don’t want to let things slide because someone could get sick.

Inspection Scores
Dining Room received 43 out of 75 points which is 57%, that’s because they didn’t offer a lot of amenities that were on the list. Like the table tops, bar and glassware or any menus to hand out, it was up on the wall. They offer hamburgers and french-fries with drinks and that’s all, this is done so they can perfect the burger and waste time on other things. So with that said there are not a lot of thing offered in the dining room like other fast food places.
Exterior received 34 out of 40 points which is 85%, it was a windy day when I did the inspection and the parking lot was full of debris. There was a bag and a couple of cups floating around and there was trash stuck in the bushes. It just didn’t look good and it was never cleaned up the whole time I did the inspection. Also there were a lot of gum stains out in front of the store; it really didn’t look good at all.
Employees received 25 out of 25 points which is 100%, I really couldn’t find anything wrong with their employees. I really tried but everyone was groomed very well and there were no over the top finger nails and everyone smelled and looked clean. Their shirts were tucked in and their hats were on and this was all before they even went into the kitchen. Maybe that’s what you get when your employees know that you take their appearance seriously and that it is a food safety concern if you come to work dirty.
Bathroom received 43 out of 50 points which is 86%, and this was because here was no changing table. There needs to be a place that a child can go and get their diaper changed, and this should be provided by the facility just like the toilets are for the other people. It’s horrible to know that a child is being changed on the bathroom floor, which is one of the dirtiest places to put a child, a public bathroom floor.

Weaknesses
There were a couple of weaknesses I have found during my inspection. Looking at the restaurant inspection report they didn’t have certain amenities.
Bathrooms - Have no changing table for a baby in either restroom, this is a major inconvenience for your customer and it creates a health concern for them. If there is no changing table then they will have to use the floor, which has been walked on by hundreds of guests already.
Then there was a fact that there was only one restroom per sex, it made it hard for people to use the bathroom. Most of the people when I was there were complaining about only wanting to wash their hands, not use the restroom.
Peanut Box - They offer people complimentary peanuts while they are waiting for the food. There is a scope that they leave for people to use and paper boats for people to put the nuts in. The problem with that is there are too many people with life threating illness that will not be able to walk into this facility. Also there is a tendency for contamination; because some people don’t use the scopes instead they use their hands. Not to mention a lot of people put their shells on the floor. This isn’t that bad until they are sucking on the seeds and then throwing the shell son the floor. If someone is sick or has an illness and they spit their shells on the floor they are spreading their germs everywhere.
Meat Draw - Is a major source of fear for cross contamination. Since they deal with raw meat they have to make sure that when they touch raw meat they wash their hands before they touch anything else. While I was inspecting them I saw the cook change his gloves over 25 times. They have this rule that when someone comes in the door the cashier says 5 in, that means you need to put 10 patties down on the grill. This means he is always going in and out of the draw, he always has to wash his hands and change gloves. No one but the griller is allowed to touch the meat drawer.
Spray Bottles - While I was there inspecting them I noticed that when employees came out to clean the tables and counter stops that they used a spray bottle. This is a bad idea because they were using too much of it when they were spraying the tables down. Then when they were done they left the table all wet too wet for some guests to sit down. I also noticed when they were spraying the chemicals cleaner on the table they really didn’t pay attention to the people eating around them. Instead of facing the spray bottle down they spray it up and it looked like some chemicals were floating around people while they were eating.

Correction Solutions
Bathrooms - Trying to eliminate people being upset about washing their hands. I would suggest them getting a bigger bathroom, with stalls, or offer a cleaning sink. Right beside the bathroom you could bot up a hand sink meant to only wash hands. This would be an open room allowing anyone at any time to wash their hands.
Next is to get changing tables for both restrooms. Do not put one in the women’s restroom only, today there are too many dads who are at home dads and who take part in the everyday family chores. The changing tables should be put in a stall. This offers the child privacy while it is being changed. Instead of being the center of attention whenever someone walks in the room.
Peanut Box - To eliminate people putting their hands in the box is to hand them to the customers when they order their food. Give them a paper bag so they can throw away the empty nut shells. Also you can buy just the peanut and the shells, and give them to the customers when they buy their food. This will eliminate from having to buy the paper bags and from having shells spit on the floor. They could eliminate the nuts all together; this would let the customers who are highly allergic to peanut be able to visit your facility.
Meat Draw - There is a major solution to this problem and it is add a different handle. By adding another handle this means that other people will be able to access the meat draw. This also allows for the cook to keep one hand dirty and one hand clean, stopping him from changing so many gloves and saving the overall cost. Keeping one hand clean and opening the draw, allow for the dirty hands to grab the meat. Leaving him not to have to wash his hands, it makes is faster for the cook, he doesn’t have to leave the line to wash his hands. Thus making the food come out faster and making the consumer happy.
Spray Bottles - The best way to eliminate leaving behind too much chemicals on the table and from contaminating people food is too us hand buckets. You can get them form your local chemical supplier, the one you buy your chemicals from. Place a bucket or two out in the lobby with clean towels in them so when needed you can grab one and clean of a table. Without having to spray anything into the air, this will make the guest feel safer and let an employee wipe down a table and not leave back a whole bunch of chemicals. Chemicals that can make people sick.

Recommendations
There are three major things that I saw at Five Guys Burgers and Fries that could use some suggestions to make it even better. The first thing is the fact that they use spray bottles to sanitize tables instead of a bucket with sanitize water. Then only certifying certain people in ServSafe not the entire staff is eligible. Finally is the fact that there is only one bathroom for each sex.
In my experience when people are eating they don’t like the fact of chemicals being sprayed around them. So my recommendation is to stop using the spray bottles for the tables and use a clean towel and a sanitizer buckets. The bucket allows you to rinse the towel off if there was a big mess, and it makes it easier then spraying chemicals in the air while people are eating.
The next thing I find that could change is the fact that the employee pays for the certification class and that only certain people are eligible for the class. If the employee has to pay for it why then why can’t anyone take the class? My recommendation would be to keep the fee and allow anyone who wanted to take the class. Offer it every other month and give your staff a chance to make your facility a safe food environment. Finally the bathroom situation is very bad in my opinion. While I was there many people complained about not being able to wash their hands and enjoy their peanuts. They had to wait in a line for almost 5 minutes, by the time they were done with the restroom their food was already ion the tablet. My recommendation is to get bigger bathroom facilities, or getting a hand washing station. Getting space in a fast food facility can be hard and expensive, so if you put a hand washing station people who want to just wash their hands and not use the restroom can without waiting 5 minutes. There was only one compliant from any customer while I was there and the inspection took 3 hours. It was about the restroom and not being able to wash their hand faster. So if they could alter this by giving them a place to wash their hands their complaints would go to nothing.

Overall Assessment I felt that the Five Guys Burgers and Fries were great in the sanitation department. They used the three compartment sink where there is detergent, rinse water and a sanitizer. This is used to wash and sanitize utensils and cooking equipment. There was also a spray bottle that was posted in perfect place to help clean mess up right away. When it came to having paperwork for safety concerns they were out and available so no one has to request to see them. In the dish washing areas there is a chemical spot where all spray bottles are labeled and chemical information is stored. There are sheets covered in laminate that is there so everyone can read what chemicals they are working with and how to use them. There are also plastic banners that show people what to do if a chemical is accidently digested or poured onto a person body, for instance if they accidently get a chemical in their eye. You could look at the banner and it would give an explanation on how to treat it and who to call for further medical advice. This helps the employee to know that everyday no matter what eh information they need will be in the same spot.

Inspection of Interior and Exterior My inspection has made me decide that this facility has met and exceeded the local health department’s standards and regulations. There hasn’t been a grade lower than an A from any of the Five Guys Burgers and Fries locations in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are setting the bar of excellence when it comes to meeting the expectation of any and all local authorities in the food industry. For instance they have Coca Cola machine that is electrical and has over 37 different varieties to choose from. It has on tap and it is replaced and cleaned daily. They don’t have normal syrup bags for soda they have cartridge that holds the syrup inside. It is then inserted and it flushed itself out and gets it ready for a customer. Using this high form of technology allows for them to eliminate backups within the lines, and eliminates large messes at the end of the day, by having to lean 37 different taps. Instead you only clean one, wipe down and sanitized the machine, and that’s all that’s needed to close the machine down for the day. When it comes to the outside facility they keep it very well lite during the evening hours and free from any obstructions. The parking lot is always full and unfortunately dirty from all the surrounding area. Even though it isn’t their trash it makes guest think twice about coming to eat at their place.

Cleaning List
There are two areas in a restaurant that you need to be concerned about and that is the front and the back of the house. The back of the house is everything behind the walls the customer doesn’t see. The front of the house is everything the customer like the bathrooms, windows and the tables.
Front of the House - The entire front of the house needs to be swept and mopped.
Dining Room clean the top and bottoms of the tables and chairs, then put them on the table. Clean the windows and the front doors. Close peanut box and bring back all scopes and left over table tops. Grab the soda machine dispenser cap (there is only one, they have the electric soda machine that has over 25 flavors but only on dispenser) and clean it. Bring back and clean the tea and coffee maker.
Bathroom clean the toilet, sinks and mirrors. Stock up on the toilet rolls, paper towels and toilet seat protectors. Then empty the feminine trash bags and the big trash cans and then clean the receptacle before you put the bags in them.
Front of the store needs to be swept and have any debris in the parking lot picked up, especially if it has our name on it. Make sure all cigarette buds are picked up and if needed wash down the walkway from any stains or gum that may give a bad visual for the entrance to the store.
Back of the House - The entire back of the house needed to be swept and mopped.
Kitchen is the most important area to be cleaned. Make sure that all the grills, fryers and warmers are off. Then clean every surface that food has touched. This is going to be hard for the dishwasher to keep up, so they should be prepared for a night rush of dishes. Next is to make sure that all food is pulled from the makeline and put in a cooler. This allows for the makeline to defrost if needed or not work as hard with all the food in it all night. After the cooking areas are clean the freezer and the walking cooler needs to be addressed. Everything on there needs to have a date and be covered correctly and in the right spot. Finally you need to make sure that the entire cooking area is sanitized and ready for the morning rush. Bring back all utensils form the dishwasher and put them in the right places. Do a final temperature check on the coolers to make sure the food is good through the night.
Back of the store needs to be kept up to. If there is any trash in the back lot or around the trash receptacles it needs to be picked up. Make sure all trash made it in the trash and that there isn’t a foul odor coming from there. Make sure that all the lights are working and that there is no dark area.

Summary

After going through the inspection at Five Guys Burgers and fries as the health inspector I have a new appreciation for their work. I was always on the receiving end of the inspection, but with this course I was able to look at food safety threw another person’s eyes. Reading the book re-educated me on food safety and how to prevent it and what to look out for when receiving foods.
The book only explained to me how things were done in theory, but going to the facility and watching them go through their normal procedures and actually grade them on it was a lesson in and of itself. I enjoyed doing the inspection and learning how other places run food safety. Christina the manager at Five Guys Burgers and Fries was well educated in the procedures needed to eliminate cross contamination.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries was a great place to go and inspect, they were using items and companies I have never hears of. It was the first time I ever heard about a company that hires another company to come out and inspect them and follows their suggestion for change. Also they were using the private company to check the temperature of the food when received. Both of these were great experiences to see and to know that the technology now is advanced in our favor.

Appendix A
RESTAURANT INSPECTION REPORT TABLES
Dining Room Topic | Score | | 1Poor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5Excellent | Windows
* no dust, dirt, streaks, smudges | 3 – windows had hand prints and smudges | Lights
* no dust
* clean and in working order | 4 – two lights were out | Ceilings
* no dust, dirt, in good repair | 5 | Air vents
* no dust, no cob webs, is painted | 5 | Floors
* in good repair, no trash, no spills | 4 – peanut shells on the floor | Tables
* no gum underneath, clean, in good repair | 3 – chairs were uneven and rocky | Chairs
* in good repair, legs are clean | 5 | Menus
* not sticky, clean, in good repair | No menus available | Table tops
* in good repair, clean | No table tops | Bar area-Glassware
* clean, no spots | No glassware | Indoor Windowsills
* no dirt, no dust, is clean | 5 | Walls-pictures
* no dust, no dirt | 5 | Stairs
* clean, no obstructions, in good repair | No stairs around | Table sugar caddies/salt and pepper shakers
* no dirt inside caddies, clean | 4 – caddies were dirty | Table tents
* clean, in good repair, no dirt | No table tents | TOTAL SCORE | _43(25 N/A) / out of 75 possible |
Exterior
Topic | Score | | 1Poor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5Excellent | Condition of sidewalks
* no gum, trash, cigarette butts | 3- there was gum and cigarette butts in front of entry door | Condition of parking lot
* no trash | 4 –their trash was being blown around the parking lot | Windows
* clear, clean, no dirt | 4 – had smudges and fingerprints | Lighting
* all lights working, not broken | 5 | Landscaping
* well maintained, no trash | 4 – trash was stuck in the bushes | Dumpster area
* no visible trash, no smells, well maintained | 4 – strong smell of trash | Front doors
* clean, in good repair | 5 | Building exterior
* clean, good repair, no graffiti | 5 | TOTAL SCORE | __34__ / out of 40 possible |

Employees Topic | Score | | 1Poor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5Excellent | Uniforms
* clean, well maintained | 5 | Hair
* long hair pulled back, clean shaven | 5 | Jewelry
* not excessive, clean | 5 | Body odor
* no apparent odor | 5 | Hands
* clean, fingernails maintained, no open skin | 5 | TOTAL SCORE | __25__ / out of 25 possible |
Bathrooms
Topic | Score | | 1Poor | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5Excellent | Sinks
* in good repair, is clean | 5 | Mirrors
* clean, no streaks | 4 – there were streaks and dried water spots | Floors
* in good repair, no trash, no water puddles | 5 | Baby changing tables
* clean, in good repair | No changing tables at all | Toilets
* clean, in working order, clean base | 5 | Bathroom stalls
* clean, no dust on tops of stalls | 5 | Walls
* clean, no graffiti | 4 – there is writing in the men’s stalls | Ceilings
* no dust, in good repair | 5 | Trash cans
* clean, no smells | 5 | Paper towel dispensers
* in working order, stocked | 5 | TOTAL SCORE | _43(5 N/A) / out of 50 possible |

TOTAL SCORE FOR THE RESTAURANT(Total of not applicable points added. If they added these items or services it would bring them up to this amount) | ___145 (175)_ / out of 190 possible_76 (92)_% |

References

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
9484 West Flamingo Road, Suite 180, Las Vegas, Nevada 89147

ServSafe Coursebook, Fifth Edition, Updates with the 2009 FDA food code

References: Five Guys Burgers and Fries 9484 West Flamingo Road, Suite 180, Las Vegas, Nevada 89147 ServSafe Coursebook, Fifth Edition, Updates with the 2009 FDA food code