Good food service begins with a focus on the prevention of foodborne illness outbreaks.
The best prevention programs start with an understanding of:
- The risk associated with current practices
- The risk acceptable to owners and managers
- In this section you can use the “Self-Assess Worksheet” to:
- Measure the level of risk currently being experienced within your operation.
- Determine what actions are needed/desired to lower your risk.
- Set goals
How to complete the Handwashingforlife Self Assessment worksheets (SAW):
- Open the SAW file found at Self-Assessment Food Management (SAW) | SAW Excel File (Direct Link)
- It is best to have at least 3 different people complete the worksheet so that different perspectives can be compared.
- Open the Excel sheet and click on SAW tab at bottom of worksheet.
- Review the content before starting.
- It may be easier to complete the worksheet on-site in the kitchen. Print off a copy to facilitate answering the questions on-site. Then return to fill in the worksheet on-line since the program will need to calculate the results.
- The blanks to fill in are highlighted in red. Read the comments section for help in filling in the red sections (just type over existing content).
- The numbers highlighted in blue are calculated numbers (do not type in these areas).
- Print out a copy of the final document for your files and future reference.
How to read the self-assessment worksheets (SAW):
The blue numbers in bold represent your RISK scores related to food borne illness. A few comments on these numbers:
- Every operation will have it's own unique risk based on menu, customer base, facilities, prep process, controls and hand hygiene factors. Changing your input/decision on these variables will impact the level of risk.
- The total risk for foodborne illness can never be eliminated but it can be managed.
Total Risk Factor:
The blue number at the bottom of the page is the risk associated with your TOTAL food management program.
NOTE: For simplicity purposes a risk factor has not been included for facilities. Facility constraints certainly contribute to increasing risk for foodborne illness and our facility recommendations are presented under Best Practices. However, we believe good management practices and employee training are the starting point in reducing foodborne illness, regardless of current facilities.