Supermarket Perimeter - November 2020 - 54

Food safety: Deli

NAVIGATING
the REGUL ATORY
L ANDSCAPE

cases and dry service counters, more packaged products on island food
bars, and an increase of door cases around the perimeter of the store.
"Also, from a food safety standpoint, maybe our moms were right
when we were little and they told us, 'Touch with your eyes, not
your hands."

"Smart" makes the difference
Two and a half years ago, Dayton, Ohio-based Globe Food Equipment
introduced its ﬁrst completely new slicer redesign in decades.
Now the company believes it's well-positioned to reassert itself in the
supermarket perimeter space, particularly when it comes to the instore
deli. And Todd Clem, Globe's director of project management, believes
that food safety is one of the top draws of the S-Series, which comes in
four basic models.
The S-Series slicers have a clear text graphic display on the front
which tells users with ease all that's happening with the slicer at that
point in time - an attribute that's unique in the industry, Clem said.
(Other slicers have number codes that require interpretation.)
S-Series slicers also keep a complete record of everything that's done
on the slicer, and when.
"How many slices were in manual, how many automatic, automatic
ﬁrst, second or third, stroke length, etc.," Clem said. "It records everything
internally. How long has it been since the machine was unplugged?"
That record-keeping capacity, Clem said, is critical to guaranteeing
the highest food safety standards are met in the instore deli.
54 - NOVEMBER 2020

Whether the instore deli will ever go back to the
way it was before COVID, Richard said, is still up for
discussion. Online sales of deli items have soared,
as they have for most grocery items, and many
consumers who picked up their digital shopping
pace during the pandemic will continue to buy
more online after it's over.
In the meantime, instore delis need to stick
with renewed energy to the things they've known
forever, Richard said.
"Wash your hands, make sure equipment is
properly cleaned, keep surfaces clean to reduce the
likelihood of listeria and other foodborne illnesses,"
he said. "It holds as true today as it did ﬁve years
ago when we started putting a focus on it."

supermarketperimeter.com

DOVER FOOD RETAIL, GLOBE

Keeping product
adequately spaced
helps guarantee
air ﬂow and
therefore proper
temperature levels.

FEW if any areas of the grocery fresh perimeter
have been hit harder by COVID than salad and
hot bars in the instore deli. Some bars have,
however, started to reopen, said Eric Richard,
industry relations coordinator for the Madison,
Wis.-based International Dairy Deli Bakery
Association.
But that process has been frustrated by what
is often unclear direction from health authorities.
"We're hearing from retailers that there are
a lot of unknowns," Richard said. "It all comes
down to local food codes, and many are waiting
to hear from their local authorities."
Richard has been in touch with US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and US Food
and Drug Administration officials, and later this
fall IDDBA expects to host a webinar that will
provide retailers with more clarity on navigating
what they can and cannot do in the new safety
environment created by the pandemic.
"We're thrilled that both agencies have agreed
to do this," Richard said, adding that it's more
common to get just one of the two agencies on
board for a webinar or other educational event.
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