CHARLOTTE, N.C — Steritech, an industry leader in food safety and operational assessments, hosted the Excellence in Food Safety awards on Sunday. The awards, which were part of the Fast Casual “Movers and Shakers” ceremony held in Chicago, honored Wingstop as this year’s winner of food safety excellence. Five Guys and Taco Bell were also recognized at the event, both receiving honorable mention awards.
Fast casual restaurants nationwide submitted nominations for the award, which were chosen and interviewed by a third-party research and assessment firm. The criteria included exhibiting foundational food safety behaviors, such as senior leadership commitment and engagement, food safety communications, defined standards and procedures, training, key performance indicators and scorecards, oversight programs and positive recognition.
“Food safety is a non-negotiable in the restaurant industry,” said Doug Sutton, President of Steritech. “This award recognizes those brands that take their food safety measures beyond the minimal requirements, investing in their people, in order to build a culture of food safety excellence.”
Winner of 2022 Excellence in Food Safety Award – Wingstop
Founded in 1994, Wingstop has quickly become one of the fastest growing fast casual wing destinations. With nearly 1,900 locations, Wingstop continues to expand its footprint, fueled by a mission to “serve the world flavor.” Through a multi-tiered approach requiring participation from every Wingstop team member, including senior leadership and vendors, Wingstop has created the winning recipe, earning top honors in the 2022 Excellence in Food Safety awards.
“It is clear that Wingstop has worked to ensure food safety is incorporated into the foundation of their brand,” said Sutton. “The youngest of the three finalists, Wingstop’s growth and success is a true testament to the benefits of establishing a food safety culture that can grow and expand with the brand.”
Honorable Mention – Five Guys
A veteran of achieving food safety excellence, Five Guys earned its third Excellence in Food Safety award in four years. With a targeted approach to food safety, Five Guys franchisees have the ability to develop custom food safety and operational checklists based on the restaurant’s unique needs. Five Guys uses communication, training and technology to advance the company’s food safety commitment, building a food safety culture worthy of a finalist spot in the 2022 Excellence in Food Safety awards.
Honorable Mention – Taco Bell
With more than 7,000 locations, Taco Bell is well-established in the fast casual restaurant industry. Led by a dedicated food safety team and supported by senior leadership, Taco Bell’s commitment to food safety is highlighted through annual food safety calendars, weekly field reviews and a designated intranet service providing digital access to every food safety resource. This strong culture of continuous improvement earned Taco Bell an honorable mention.
Click here, to download the full 2022 Excellence in Food Safety report. For information and resources on food safety please visit, https://www.steritech.com/.
About Steritech
For more than 35 years, Steritech has been an industry leader and pioneer in providing best-in-class assessments and consulting services to companies to mitigate risks, drive operational consistency and help multi-location businesses accelerate growth.
With the experience gained as a pioneer in the food safety arena, Steritech strategically partners with multi-location businesses on delivering their ideal brand experience every time, everywhere. Through on-site coaching paired with robust data insights and reporting, Steritech helps close performance-impacting gaps to create customer experiences that drive growth, promote loyalty and trust, protect people and reduce risk.
Steritech employs more than 430 full-time Specialists across the United States and Canada. These experts are trained to understand and assess a brand’s specific standards to provide insights to help close performance gaps and drive growth. Steritech is part of Rentokil North America, a leading business services company, operating across the United States and Canada.
For more information on Steritech, please visit www.steritech.com, call 800.868.0089 and connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.
