Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1111996
Restaurant Daily News Saturday, May 18, 2019 7 8 Flax-Based Products from Flax4Life By Kasondra Shippen, General Manager, Flax4Life Flax4Life is a small family owned and operated bakery located in the Pacific Northwest that is certified gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free (except coconut). Our goal is to make flax-based products that not only taste good, but are good for you. Healthy ingredients are essential, but the taste is, too. Our baked goods are meant to be enjoyed by anyone, allergies or not. If you are looking for a flavorful treat that is high in Omega 3s, healthy protein, fiber and lignans, look no fur- ther. Your taste buds will not be disap- pointed with our delicious line of muffins, brownies, granola, cakes and toaster buns. All the products are all nat- ural, preservative and cholesterol free. We are excited to introduce the newest flavor of our brownies: Chocolate Mint. Our rich and gooey brownies just got a little better with this sweet addition. Make sure to come by our booth and experience some fudgy, sweet mint goodness. This new flavor will delight your senses. If you are in search of something on- the-go, our single-serve muffins and brownies are a perfect solution. The same quality product, but in more convenient packaging. You can choose from three muffin flavors: Carrot Raisin, Chocolate Chip and Wild Blueberry, and now all five brownie flavors are available. These small, delicious packages are perfect for lunches, road trips, games or any time you need a little treat. Are you in the mood for something a little richer? We also have our guilt-free rich Chocolate Cake covered in fudge frosting and dark chocolate shavings, or our scrumptious Carrot Cake cov- ered in dairy-free cream cheese frosting with toasted coconut. If you are at a birthday party or dinner gathering, there won't be any left- overs of these cakes, so get the party started! Or stay in and eat the whole cake by yourself. No matter the time of day, our prod- ucts are healthy treats that will keep you going and satisfy any hunger cravings. If it's first thing in the morning with a bowl of our uniquely soft granola or a late- night chocolate brownie snack, you will not feel guilty enjoying our products, because they are good and good for you. Handmade wholesome goodness, nutri- tious and delicious! Muffin Flavors: Wild Blueberry, Carrot Raisin, Chocolate Chip, Cranberry Orange, Apple Cinnamon and Hawaiian Pineapple. Brownie Flavors: Chocolate, Toasted Coconut, Dark Cherry, Cappuccino, and new Chocolate Mint. Granola Flavors: Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Chip, Pineapple Coconut & Mango, Banana Coconut and Cranberry Orange. Toaster Bun Flavors: Original, Everything and Cinnamon Raisin. Cake Flavors: Chocolate and Carrot. Visit Flax4Life at booth #10509. For more information or to order a sample, go to www.flax4life.net, call 360.715.1944 or email customer service@flax4life.net. Follow the compa- ny on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Five Issues That Can Cause Food Safety Failures According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans will get sick from a foodborne illness this year; if foodborne illnesses fell by just 10 percent, it would save five mil- lion Americans from getting sick. However, food safety incidents can result from more than just the usual sus- pects – like storing food at unsafe tem- peratures or failing to cook them to suffi- ciently hot temperatures. Here are five unexpected issues that can cause food safety failures in a restaurant. 1. Misplaced Trust Sometimes restaurant owners will invest in a temperature monitoring system ... and then ignore it. For example, when cold-holding equipment offers a built-in readout and displays data that conflicts with the new temperature sensors, own- ers often favor the readout. Unfortunately, the thermostat in cold- holding units can be very fragile and fail before the equipment itself does. At min- imum, test any discrepancy with a third sensor. 2. The Wrong Temperature Sensors Restaurants have many options when it comes to checking temperatures, but not all thermometers, probes and sensors are appropriate in all locations. For example, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi sensors placed in a deep freezer might struggle to transmit signals without modifying the unit (and thus voiding the warranty). In other cases, the specific temperature sensor may not be sufficiently accurate for its intended usage. The FDA requires that a probe inside a restaurant be accurate to +/- 2 degrees Fahrenheit. However, some probes and sensors will only meet that requirement within a very narrow operat- ing range, like 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Consequently, once you place it in a cold-holding unit, the accuracy may exceed the +/- 2 degrees Fahrenheit error margin requirement. 3. Equipment Malfunctions and Failures Even the best cold-holding equipment will suffer from maintenance hiccups, and eventually, total failure – taking restaurateurs by sur- prise if they didn't realize there were problems. Careful temperature tracking can reveal patterns of behavior, like tem- peratures fluctuating over time, that can enable restaurants to take care of the issue before the device fails and invento- ry sits at unsafe temperatures until some- one happens to notice. 4. Fraud Not all worker fraud is malicious. Often, it's just lazy practices. If the boss isn't around, why not just fill out the paper- based temperature logs in advance? Unfortunately, a lazy employee means the restaurant may miss equipment malfunc- tions or other issues, as described above, until it's too late. Digital checklists and automated temperature sensors can save the day here; they can either automate the process (removing the worker from the process entirely) or impose controls that force the worker to fill out checklists and logs when, where and how they're supposed to. 5. No Alerts One of the biggest risks in food safety: you don't know what you don't know. If your food safety system depends on someone checking all temperatures all the time, the system is prone to problems. An automated system can generate alerts via email, text message or even phone any time temperatures go out of spec – potentially saving your restaurant from an extremely unpleasant surprise. For more information, visit booth #9442, go to www.compliancemate.com, call 678.526.4628 or email info@ compliancemate.com.