Gumby's Pizza makes an awful lot of dough and wants to make sure its employees and guests are protected from mishaps.
The Gainesville, Fla.-based chain of 25 pizza shops recently has added some safety measures, including mesh grids to place over its large industrial mixers to protect hands from injury. "Those mixers are very powerful. You could really get hurt," said Chance Hippler, co-founder of the chain.
Gumby's also has added more slip-proof mats in its stores at the suggestion of an outside firm that it uses both for food safety training and payroll management. The vendor evaluated Gumby's operations and made the recommendations, Hippler said.
To limit the possibility of cross contamination in its locations, Gumby's does not bring any raw meat products into its stores. "We are very stringent on that," said Hippler. "Though it costs us a lot more for products, from Buffalo wings to chicken tenders, we bring them in fully cooked. We don't want to be involved in dealing with uncooked products."
There are signs throughout the kitchens reminding crew to keep washing utensils, including the industrial can opener. "We are big on signs," said Hippler.
To protect against burns from the conveyor pizza oven, employees are trained not to touch any products. They use tongs and a pizza peel. Pizza cutters are kept in sanitizing solution.
Safety staff from the outside management firm visit each Gumby's every six months, said Hippler. "I've loved the relationship with them," he said. "They have got procedures on how to do things better. That is what we want."
-- Louise Kramer