5 Recommendations for Restaurants Reopening While COVID-19 Is Still Active.

The restaurant industry in India and worldwide is still battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Industry analysts expect that as many as 75 percent of independent restaurants could end up closing as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns that have restricted in-store dining across the nation. The restaurant business is one of the largest elements of the Indian service sector, accounting for approximately 3% of India's gross domestic product and employing 7.3 million people, according to the National Restaurant Association of India, the largest industry body.The industry's feeling of helplessness has been aggravated by the fact that the Indian government has not offered much help to struggling restaurants, even though many other countries have treated restaurants as small businesses eligible for government emergency funds. Worse, insurance companies do not cover events such as lockdowns.

But there are clear steps that restaurant operators can take today to lay the foundation or at least the hope for staying open long enough to see the other side of the crisis.

1. Set up and expand delivery and takeout options. Even in places where local shelter-in-place orders haven’t closed in-store dining, restaurants are still seeing reduced traffic. Delivery and takeout are the only options to satisfy guests who can’t or won’t eat in. Many third-party delivery services are trying to offer improved terms for restaurant operators, but now is a good time to look at setting up direct delivery programs, even if it means managers and owners are delivering meals themselves. Most importantly, communicate new dining options to customers through every available channel.

2. Get creative. Simply switching over to delivery and takeout with no other changes may not be enough to keep a restaurant afloat. Think outside the box. Some restaurants have transformed themselves into makeshift grocers and Community-supported agriculture (CSA) operations. They begun selling bundles of vegetables ,Others have re-worked their menus to focus on more cost-efficient offerings, such as family-style meals instead of a formal menu items or cook-it-yourself meal kits. Some restaurants have put a new focus on nonfood sales like gift cards and wine.

3. Enforce rigorous food safety practices. Although transmission of COVID-19 does not appear to be linked to food consumption, it's nevertheless more important than ever to enforce rigorous hygiene and sanitation practices if restaurants want to protect their staff and their guests against both foodborne illness and the coronavirus. It’s also never been tougher: With reduced staffing and other pressing demands, restaurants may struggle to find the time to do all checks. Consider switching away from time-consuming, paper-based processes in favor of digital food safety apps and systems that can reduce labor while still ensuring compliance with safety and wellness checks, etc..

4. Be conscientious about staff wellness. Staff working while sick will worsen every other problem that restaurants face today. Implement every possible safeguard against this potential issue. Be proactive: Restaurants, in accordance with guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) should incorporate employee wellness checks alongside their normal food safety and quality checks. They will also need to ensure that previously ill staff members meet all wellness criteria before returning to work. The

5. Attend training for food safety business. Keeping these issues in mind, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(F S S A I),Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has issued detailed guidelines to be followed by food businesses. And to help food businesses function without hindrance, and reduce the risk of contagion, FSSAI has launched a training programme, too, for food businesses, under its flagship Food Safety Training & Certification programme (FoSTaC). The training will be conducted online.

The training programme caters to all stakeholders in the food ecosystem comprising manufacturers, packers, transporters, retailers and food delivery partners and aggregators.

By Janish Chullikkal

Founder, FOOD SAFETY WEBZINE