Food & Beverage

A deep dive into one brand's food safety strategy

At Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, food safety is paramount and the safety strategy is proving to pay off in more ways than one.

Photo by istock.com

August 10, 2021

With 14 years of operating experience, Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a 2021 finalist in the Excellence in Food Safety awards, continues to make a name for itself as it grows and expands across the globe.

A driving element of its success is a strong and robust focus on food safety.

The brand, which has 89 franchise locations across the United States, Canada and the Middle East, relies on their food safety oversight programs to hold franchisees accountable and keep everyone working toward the same goals.

The food safety strategy

Mooyah partners with Steritech, a provider of assessment and consulting solutions for operational consistency and brand protection, to conduct third-party assessments for each location. In addition Mooyah also conducts its own personal inspections and provides virtual training for any location that needs additional support.

"Investing in food safety oversight programs is a small price to pay for the host of positive outcomes and results they uncover for restaurants and multi-location facilities," said Doug Sutton, president of Steritech. "These programs are designed to help companies achieve consistent brand experiences that drive growth, promote loyalty and reduce risk across all their locations."

Before a Mooyah franchise can open its doors, a business review is conducted to assess franchisee knowledge, practice and execution of food safety, environment cleanliness, sanitation routines, chemical practices along with the manager's ability to identify opportunities and coach their team members to compliance.

"Our goal is to grow our brand by partnering with people who share our vision and values in food service, quality and safety," said Mike Sebazco, Mooyah vice president of operations. "With the help of our oversight programs we want to continue to close the gap between our top and bottom performing restaurants to consistently be the best choice for our franchise partners, team members and guests."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mooyah worked with Steritech to conduct COVID-19 safety checks. The assessment helped the company roll out a detailed sanitation routine that focused on high contact touch points, using EPA registered chemicals specific to killing COVID-19 with the quickest dry time.

Mooyah has also instilled a mantra that will remain part of its day-to-day operations beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Its "see safe" mantra resonates with team members as visual cues, such as hand sanitizing stations and reminders about specific cleaning practices, helping ingrain safety into the Mooyah culture.

The brand's commitment to achieving food safety excellence is shining through in food safety ratings. In its most recent Steritech food safety rating Mooyah's food safety score improved from a 7.2 to a 6.2 — ratings below 9 is considered a high achievement. The brand also saw a 15% increase in the number of overall stores ranking in the top-tier of food safety, closing the gap with 80% of stores in the green.

Why it requires strong oversight

The benefits of food safety oversight programs extend far beyond helping restaurants serve safe food.

The insights such assessments provide can help restaurants identify warning signs before issues arise, and will increase guest satisfaction by delivering a consistent brand experience across all locations.