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Tag: Food Service

Restaurants Struggle During Pandemic

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

The food service industry, as well as others, took a big hit during the pandemic. You may know a favorite establishment that had to close its doors.

Research shows that 10.2% of U.S. food establishments will permanently close. This is not just one type of restaurant, it includes fast food, casual dining, fine dining and food trucks. In fact, 22.5% of food trucks are permanently off the road. Among chain restaurants, those with 51-100 locations suffered a 16.2% closure rate. Thai and burger restaurants had the lowest closure rate.

The data for this research was from Datassential.

Source: Food Technology, June 2021

 

Non-traditional Dining

Posted on by Karen Blakeslee

PicnicFood service operations have been revolutionized beyond the typical corner diner or family dinner table. Online meal kits, mobile food trucks, online grocery shopping and more have transformed how we shop and eat.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture did a review of social media sources for online food sales. The two most popular were Facebook Marketplace and Facebook private groups. Of all food sales via Facebook, the Marketplace function makes up 82 percent of food sales. These selling platforms were analyzed for state licensing risks related to food safety. They found 45.3% of foods sold were high-risk such as entrées, meats, and seafood. Medium-risk foods made up 41.3% such as canned goods, eggs and dairy. Low-risk foods made up 13.3% such as produce and baked goods.

To help these groups succeed, education tools for social media are being created to help keep buyers from getting foodborne illness.

Source: https://bit.ly/2WzsGUV

 

Reference to any specific commercial products, process, service, manufacturer, or company does not constitute its endorsement or recommendation. Paid for by Kansas State University