05 | Monitor Meal Service and Establish Continuous Quality Improvement
identify what food items are coming back on the trays as poorly eaten or not even touched.
Another source of plate waste information is the diet office. Frequent requests for second trays or substitute items for particular meals is a clear indication of a problem menu.
Checklists and Self-Audits
Checklists and self-audits are good tools for ensuring ongoing compliance with standards and regulations. An audit is a systematic, documented method of evaluating an operation in comparison with established standards. Self-audits, as implied by the name, are performed in-house rather than by external surveyors, as part of an internal quality management activity.
A self-audit identifies exceptions or problems that can lead to an immediate plan to correct them. One of the greatest benefits of self-audits is timeliness—providing a mechanism to proactively identify problem areas and correct them without waiting for a surveyor to point them out.
Table 5.10 Plate Waste Information
In the second column, tally the number of people who refused the product; use the third column to show how many plates came back with half the product, and the fourth column for empty plates.
CYCLE MENU:
Week 1, Day 3, Meal 3
Soup
Juice Salad
Entrée Vegetable Dessert
Plate Full of Product
lll
Half the Food Consumed
llll
Empty Plate llll llll ll
Self-Audit A systematic internal “self” review of a process or procedure
into Practice Refer to the Supplemental Materials for answer.
7. A plate waste study shows that all whole fruits, such as apples and oranges, served in the cafeteria are being thrown into the trash. What suggestions can be made to reduce plate waste?