Food Safety in Convenience Stores

The ever-growing foodservice industry encompasses more than just restaurants. As the food service industry continues to grow and adapt to consumer preferences, we’ll continue to see new types of food services pop up, including the rising trend of convenience stores selling food.

Convenience store profits are increasing due to in-store food purchases. Food service sales account for 21% of the revenues generated by the convenience store industry each year, and that number continues to rise. Convenience store visitation is up, and we know that increase is partly due to the food they serve. As such, it’s important to include convenience stores and gas stations in the conversation surrounding food safety.

The Importance of Food Safety in Convenience Stores

Considering that food-borne illness costs the food industry an estimated $55.5 billion each year, developing a culture that emphasizes food safety is more important than ever—to consumers and business owners alike. Years ago people didn’t use gloves when cooking in restaurants; today, we know that concept violates just about every basic food safety rule. That’s the same way we need to feel about food labeling, cross contamination, and other food safety concerns.

Many convenience stores are working fast to change the way they’re preparing, storing, and handling food because the products they serve have changed and expanded. Instead of simply restocking candy bars and checking expiration dates on chip bags, many gas stations and convenience stores are offering fresh food—which comes with new food safety guidelines. Prepared salads need to be labeled for freshness, fried chicken needs to be kept hot, and employees need to be more aware than ever about their basic hygiene.

The challenge for convenience stores is that food service isn’t the only service they provide. It’s difficult to make gas station food safety a priority when you’re handling fuel, lottery tickets, and other various sales in addition to food. Proper labeling, food storage and handling, customer contact surface storage, and to-go storage are just a few of the issues that are particularly important to convenience stores.

Boosting Food Safety in Convenience Stores with NCCO

Along with awareness about food safety concerns, having the right products and procedures are the best ways to prevent food-borne illnesses associated with unsafe conditions. NCCO provides innovative and cost-effective solutions for convenience stores. From SecureIt™ tamper-evident labels to “Use By” stickers, we’re committed to helping you make convenience store food safety a priority.