Sponsored by Hoshizaki
One of the lasting effects of the COVID-19 crisis on restaurants is likely to be a heightened appreciation of the importance of sanitation, food safety and cleanliness. Of course, long before the pandemic burst onto the scene, operators were already striving to keep customers safe from the familiar pathogens apt to dwell in kitchens, such as salmonella, E. coli and listeria.
This awareness is spurring the development of foodservice equipment with enhanced sanitation and safety capabilities. The safer kitchen has prominent roles for ice machines with anti-microbial features and ozone disinfection cycles, infrared-sensor-equipped ice and water dispensers and refrigerators with hands-free, door-opening pedals. Also auguring improved sanitation—as well as higher efficiency—is the rapidly advancing Internet of Things (IoT) technology that is making remote kitchen equipment monitoring a practical tool for operators.
“I absolutely believe that the world has started to look at sanitation and cleaning with a much more elevated angle than before,” says Srikar Vemula, director of product management at Hoshizaki America Inc. “And manufacturers have elevated their equipment to satisfy the needs of restaurant owners and operators.”
Built for safety
Hoshizaki ice machines and refrigerators, particularly the Steelheart series of products, are built with high-grade, durable, corrosion-resistant stainless steel.
“We take pride in using high-grade stainless steel inside and out to ensure that our products have greater longevity, efficiency and productivity,” says Vemula. “Stainless steel is durable and easy to clean thoroughly, making it ideal for high-use commercial kitchen equipment.”
Stopping microbes in their tracks
Another feature, the H-GUARD Plus antimicrobial agent, is embedded in Hoshizaki ice machine bins and internal components to resist contamination. “The agent is built into the components to reduce or eliminate the growth of bacteria and mold on key surfaces which are hard to reach,” says Vemula.
On high-touch areas of equipment, such as pushbutton controls on ice and water dispensers, antimicrobial stickers can be attached to ward off bacterial growth.
In addition, the Hoshizaki’s EcO3Ice Antimicrobial Ice Protection system uses ozone-treated water to kill bacteria, yeasts and mold, and reduce biofilm buildup in the ice-making path of the ice machine. With each cycle, Ec03 Ice continuously treats the machine interior, storage bin, dispenser and drains. This vastly reduces the risk of contamination and reduces downtime and labor for routine cleaning.
The hands-free advantage
The trend of touchless or hands-free operation of equipment has been given further impetus by the desire to prevent contamination during the pandemic. One of the most basic tools is a foot pedal for hands-free opening of refrigerator and freezer doors. Just a toe tap of the easy-to-install pedal opens the door, preventing the possibility of contamination by hand, and making loading and unloading much more convenient. The door automatically closes when you are done. “You can digitalize everything, but sometimes the simplest of changes helps you operate more safely,” says Vemula.
A higher-tech touch-free solution is at work in Hoshizaki ice and water dispensers with OptiServe infrared sensors that dispense cubelet ice and/or water into a beverage container. It is especially useful for high-volume beverage areas such as break rooms, lobbies, nursing stations and cafeterias. New Hoshizaki OptiServe Conversion Kits are available to convert button-operated ice and water dispensers to hands-free dispensing.
Remote monitoring pays off
Vemula points out that in the last few years, Internet of Things (IoT) technology for remote kitchen equipment monitoring has evolved from “high-end, nice-to-have equipment” to a more practical and widely adopted solution that promises benefits in food safety and sanitation as well as equipment maintenance.
IoT refers to a network of interconnected pieces of equipment that operate together with little or no human interaction. A smart reach-in refrigerator on an IoT network could alert the restaurant manager by text or email if its temperature falls into the food-safety danger zone. Remote monitoring may also ascertain when equipment needs preventative maintenance, so kitchen staff can more efficiently execute it. This also can prevent serious maintenance problems. Certainly, it is far better to fix an ice-machine problem in advance when it is minor than to have it worsen and require a rush service call during service.
“A lot of larger chains have adapted this as part of their overall digital strategy to better understand their store performance and efficiency,” says Vemula. “The more that larger companies use it, the more this technology will be accessible to the rest of the market.”
“Within a few years, I foresee this becoming a must-have, as more and more customers adapt to IoT-enabled features,” says Vemula.
