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Eateries gear up to take on the flu

Restaurants are focusing on cleanliness to help prevent the spread of H1N1

BY CATHY JETT

Date published: 10/18/2009

BY CATHY JETT

Virginia Barbeque founder Rick Ivey is placing a renewed emphasis on teaching cleanliness to new franchisees in the face of the H1N1 pandemic.

Points of customer contact--from door handles to the squirt bottles of his tangy barbecue sauces--are to be disinfected at least twice a day. And employees should be told to wash their hands regularly, and stay home if they're sick.

"That's always been in our operations manual," said Ivey, whose company began in Fredericksburg and now has 14 franchises in Virginia and several other states. "We've certainly refocused on it with the outbreak of H1N1, but we haven't added anything new. We're just really pushing the cleanliness."

Personal hygiene is critical in preventing all strains of the flu, including H1N1. A recent webinar organized by the National Restaurant Association for its members recommended that they clean and disinfect their establishments more frequently this flu season since many people haven't been exposed to H1N1 and developed immunity.

The flu can't be spread by eating food, even pork products despite H1N1's initial moniker of "swine flu." But restaurant employees and customers can catch it by inhaling the virus after someone coughs or sneezes, or by touching a contaminated surface and then touching their mouths, noses or eyes.

The webinar, which was put on in conjunction with food-safety and infection-prevention company Ecolab, said members should do just what Ivey and other local restaurateurs and food service companies are doing.

They're following current procedures for cleaning food contact surfaces, dishes and utensils; reinforcing the importance of thorough and frequent cleaning and sanitation with employees; and encouraging them to stay home if they show signs of coming down with the flu.

Ivey said he hasn't gone so far as to ask Virginia Barbeque employees to get the H1N1 vaccine, "but that could be the next step."

The National Restaurant Association also is telling restaurant owners to plan for the possible impact of a flu pandemic on their businesses, and establish policies they can put into effect if the flu strikes their employees.

Darden Restaurants, parent company of LongHorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Red Lobster, among others, assembled a task force to develop and refine its already strict standard operating procedures when H1N1 was first detected, said spokesman Rich Jeffers.

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Date published: 10/18/2009