Food Poisoning Outbeak in a Hotel
Synopsis
This assignment analyses a case scenario, which is based on a food poisoning outbreak. This incident took place in the Iliada Hotel. Then, the hotel management called the local health department to investigate the outbreaks. The health inspectors determined that the chicken had been baked in the kitchen’s oven not in the proper temperatures and served to the guests.
This case tells us that there was inefficiency on the side of the management. The hotel management was unable to provide the proper sanitation-training program to the kitchen personnel. Furthermore, the hotel management had received several inspection reports from the local health department, which were not taken into consideration seriously.
The management should have evaluated the suppliers based on the following criteria: sanitation policies, size and services, staff and labour relations, products and prices, and reputation. The management should have given warning to the kitchen supplier for this food poisoning outbreak.
The management’s responsibility is to deliver to the guests the highest quality food along with the prevention of getting them ill. It should try not to loose the reputation within the Protaras Hotel Tourist Area. If the guests sue the hotel, then it could be financial loss in compensation payments. As a result of all the above, the management must establish sanitation programs.
The General Manager must appoint a Total Quality Management Control Team (TQMCT) in order to investigate the outbreak and prevent a new one. The TQMC team must be responsible for the following areas: facilities inspection, food and food handling, personnel sanitation training and performance.
In the hotel environment, a successful manager is the one who keeps all the key stakeholders happy. The management must provide to the expected guests healthy and safety food. Its main responsibility must be to hire the right employees for the right place, but also give to them the proper training. The customers are the ones who will estimate the hotel, according to the type and quality of food, service and leisure activities offered to them. The management must use reputable suppliers and adhere to the necessary food hygiene requirements.
It is important that the management must establish a system for ensuring that the expected suppliers are delivered according to the quality specified. The Board of Directors main concern is for the results of the new investment and at the same time to re-establish the reputation of the hotel.Tour Operators will not send any tourists to the hotel, until is shown to them that the hotel can provide the guests with healthier and safer products. The district court of Cyprus can condemn the hotel, impose financial penalties and ban the operation of the premises according to the Ministry of Health. The local Health Department will be satisfied if the hotel management took all the measures such as food production processes, better sanitary conditions and safety measures at all stages.
In conclusion, there are some recommended points for the hotel management in order to solve this food-poisoning outbreak:
Establish a training program for the kitchen personnel concerning:
- The benefits of the sanitation program.
- The rules of safe food service.
- Cleaning and sanitizing the kitchen.
- Choose a TMQC team in order to control and inspect the training program and implement the Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barton Lawrence, Crisis Management: Preparing for and Managing Disasters, The Cornell H.R.A. Quarterly, 1994.
H.C.I.M.A, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HAACP), Technical Brief Sheet No.5, 1994.
John Nicolson, Food Safety, Module 6, Hospitality Quality Management, Sheffield Hallam University, 1995.
Ministry of Health of Cyprus, Government Rules and Regulations, 1995.
Sprenger, Richard A., Hygiene for Management, Highfield Publications, 1997.