Whatever sort of food is served by your restaurant, following food safety regulations and general cleanliness are crucial habits, since this prevents food poisoning from happening.

To prevent food poisoning occurring due to salmonella contamination, two steps can be taken. First, always thoroughly cook food, this will kill the bacteria. Second, regular hand washing before, during and after cooking will stop the transmission of this bacterium.

Escherichia coli (or E-coli for short) is a form of bacteria which can cause serious illness or even death. Found naturally inside of the human body and in some foods, some strains can be lethal. E-coli produces harmful, toxic substances and includes unpleasant (to say the least) symptoms including watery and/or bloody diarrhea. A healthy adult can generally weather a case of E-coli food poisoning, but the elderly, the sick and young children are at risk of getting very ill if infected. As with salmonella, the way to prevent E-coli infection is thorough cooking and regular hand washing, along with careful cleaning of all cooking areas. Hand washing should become a thoroughly ingrained habit. You use your hands to pick up everything - even harmful microbes.

It is understandable that with all of the headlines about food borne illnesses that many may feel as if dining out is tantamount to playing Russian roulette. You can ensure that your restaurant is safe from the hazards presented by infected foods by following the HACCP principles (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points). These principles are a preventative measure designed to ensure the safety of foods made for human consumption. Most are common sense rules, such as putting perishable ingredients like milk back into refrigeration after using and dating items put into the freezer.

Being in charge of a restaurant means that you have to keep a handle on a lot of things at once - make sure that HACCP principles are at the top of your list. All of the hard work you've put into your business could be lost if someone gets ill from your food due to a preventable mistake by an employee unaware of the food safety regulations.

Having a HACCP certified kitchen is very marketable. If you have received stickers or certifications from health officials, be sure to place them where your customers can see them. This way they know that the food which you are serving to them was prepared in a clean kitchen which complies with health and safety regulations and they can dine in without getting anxious.