Chapter 4 : Food Product Flow

Overview

Foodservice operators have a plethora of choices when considering how they organize the product flow. There are four systems presented. Foodservice operators use a combination of these systems to manage labor, food cost, and food quality.

Goal

To identify the foodservice systems and understand their usage.

Objective

qDefine food service types

qUnderstand the difference between these food service types

qUnderstand the reason for preferring one over the others

Conventional or Traditional

q Raw food products are purchased from supplier or manufactures

q Raw foods are held at appropriate temperatures until prepared and cooked for consumption

q Space is provided to hold raw foods

q Labour must have a culinary skill set

q Specialized cooking equipment is required

q Advanced training required in food safety

q Moderate food cost

Ready Prepared

ü Used when cost of labor is high or lacking culinary skills

ü Food items are purchase cooked and held frozen or chilled until heated

ü Cold storage capacity is high

ü Small requirements for diversity of cooking/heating equipment

ü Consistent product quality

ü Moderate/high food cost

Commissary

qCentral production of food items

qAppropriate for large network of distribution

qAdvance talent of culinary labor housed in a central location

qCentralized control of quality

qCentralized location of physical culinary plant

qExpenditures are required for distribution of products to the field

qLowest food cost

Sound of Food supply

we as consumers may be excused for thinking it isn’t necessarily so. For example:

•“Mad cow disease,” or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has caused countries to ban the importing of beef;

•Chronic wasting disease, which afflicts deer and elk, has become a concern for hunters; and

•E. coli, Cyclospora, salmonella, and hepatitis A have been found far more than we would like in restaurants and supermarkets.

What is Safe Food?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) interprets “safe food” as food in

which illness-causing substances (bacteria, chemicals, etc.), when they are

present, are within acceptable levels.

Through food research, the definition of “acceptable levels” is continually

changing – for the better, it is hoped.

For generations, people in “developed countries” have purchased their food from the supply chain, which has lengthened with each generation.

As the supply chain has lengthened, the risk of encountering food hazards – any biological, chemical, or physical agent that is reasonably likely to cause illness or injury in the absence of its control – has increased.

Preventing the production & shipment of contaminated or adulterated food is heavily favored over reliance on corrective action plans once contaminated goods have entered distribution channels and subsequently the food supply.