Tourism & Hospitality | Thursday 11 February, 2016 3:15 pm |

Food safety is a scientific procedure ensuring the food is free of contaminants at levels that could cause harm or illness to the consumer. Food safety plays a pivotal role in Centro’s kitchen operations and key personnel from the Hotels management give us insights into how this is executed at the property level.

“Food safety & hygiene are of paramount importance at Centro Sharjah” said Michael Kasch, General Manager. He further added “The Centro brand is focused on placing the guest experience at the forefront of our business objectives and consequently we ensure a multitude of steps are taken to keep our guests safe and are provided with top notch executive hospitality”.

Jayesh Kandangapurath, Environment Health & Safety Officer shares the steps for better food security & food safety taken:

Food Poisoning is mainly associated with symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain, head ache and fever. The most prevalent cause of food poisoning is bacteria and other causes are associated with chemicals and physical agents like metals. We focus on a multi-level process to reduce such incidents.

This incessant process starts from point of sale where our purchasing department ensures edible items are purchased from our Corporate approved supplier who abide by strict standards of quality. Our receiving team physically monitors the product at the time of delivery to ensure it is not tampered with. In case of any suspicion on the goods as a protocol Sharjah Municipality department of public health is contacted. 24/7 CCTV cameras monitor any potential fraudulent activity.

In case of situations like power failure, colleagues are trained on food handling & shelf life procedures. A fully stocked freezer will stay at safe temperatures for about 48 hours and half full freezer will for approximately 24 hours.

Assuring the safety of the food served at Centro Sharjah is a vital part of our Food Safety Policy. On a regular basis multiple procedures are carried out as per the policy like equipment cleaning and sanitation, pest control, laboratory analysis of water and ice, colleagues training and development, allergen management and many more. We are HACCP certified and follow its principles and guidelines stringently. There are a total of 8 critical control points and several glass & wood policies in place to avoid any physical contamination of food.

Concerning food handling procedures Executive Chef Sunil Palakkattu said, “Colleagues at all levels of food handling are trained in Good Hygiene Practices to follow the industry standard of food safety practices in the Emirate of Sharjah”. He added, “We follow standard operating procedures like proper hand washing, fruits and vegetable disinfection, monitoring food temperatures, proper cooling, safe cooking, labelling and many more to help us reduce cases of food poisoning”

At Centro food is stored in chillers, freezers and dry stores and for outdoor catering events chillers are installed in vehicles that transport food to the venue. Cleanliness and temperatures of the stores and vehicles are monitored to ensure the food is not contaminated. In case of allergies, we ensure food items communicate through our menu and labels that they have for example, traces of nuts. In case the guest has any allergy we personally meet the guest to discuss how his food preparation shall be done. Allergen free foods are prepared in separate areas to avoid allergic cross contamination.

 About Centro Sharjah

Centro Sharjah is uniquely located adjacent to Sharjah International Airport and close to the business districts of Sharjah. The hotel is just 15 minutes away from the city centre. It features 306 rooms classified as Classic Room, Classic Studio, One Bedroom Suite, Classic Studio Plus and One Bedroom Suite Plus. Two outlets, c.taste and c.deli and three meeting rooms’ facilities and a modern fitness centre with a spacious swimming pool.