Food Safety Tips for Dining Out

In Canada, all restaurants, coffee shops, drive-thrus, and food trucks are regularly inspected to ensure safe food handling practices. While inspections help protect customers, it’s still important to follow a few food safety tips for dining out to reduce your risk of foodborne illness.

Here are 7 food safety tips to watch for when dining out:

Choose a Clean Restaurant: It may seem obvious, but cleanliness matters. If the restrooms or dining area aren’t tidy, there’s a chance the kitchen may not be either. Clean surroundings often reflect safe food handling behind the scenes.
Watch Food Temperature: If your food is not cooked properly, don’t be afraid to send it back. Hot meal should be served hot and cold food like pre-packaged sandwiches should be refrigerated and feel cold when you eat them. Lukewarm foods are prone to bacteria growth if they are in the temperature danger zone of between 4°C (40°F) and 60°C (140°F) for too long.
Check Meat Doneness: Further, ground meat, hamburger and chicken must be well-cooked with no pink meat showing and the juice from the meat is clear. If there is pink send it back.
Ask About High-Risk Foods: Inquire about foods prone to foodborne illness. For example, is the Caesar salad dressing made with raw eggs? Are the flavoured oils and pesto made fresh or commercially sourced? Asking questions helps you stay safe.
Be Allergy Aware: Food allergies are serious. Most restaurants take them seriously, but always double-check ingredients and alert your server to avoid cross-contamination.
Be Mindful at Food Buffets: Are the hot foods hot and the cold foods cold? Does each dish have its own serving utensil? Is food replenished regularly? Is there a guard or cover for each dish? Are the plates and utensils clean?
Follow Safe Take-Home Practices: If you are taking food home after a meal or as take out, follow the two hour rule. Either eat or refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Throw away any cooked food left out over 2 hours. Make sure your waiter or waitress brings you the container to fill from the table after a meal rather than taking it back to the kitchen. This is a better food safety practice than taking half eaten food back into the kitchen.