Food safety plans work perfectly on paper. Until power cuts hit mid-service. Until deliveries arrive late and disrupt the cold chain. Until a busy weekend shift pushes kitchens to full capacity, with teams stretched to keep service flowing.
This World Food Safety Day on June 7, the WHO theme, “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected,” is a timely reminder that the real test of any food safety system does not always occur on a normal operating day, but what happens when conditions shift.
“Most commercial kitchens understand food safety principles,” says Jeffrey Madkins, Marketing Manager at Unilever Professional South Africa. “The challenge is not awareness, it’s execution under pressure. That’s when systems are tested in real time.”
“Food safety guidelines often assume ideal conditions,” he continues, “but kitchens don’t operate in ideal conditions. The question is whether their processes will still hold up when the kitchen is under pressure, short-staffed, or dealing with disruption.”
Power Disruptions
Power disruptions are a practical example of the “unexpected” that the WHO highlights, and one of the most immediate pressure points, even with a generator for backup. Most commercial kitchens connect generators to essential systems such as lighting, ventilation, cooking equipment, and payment systems. Refrigerators and freezers are often left off because they draw a lot of power, and kitchens usually depend on insulation to keep food cold during short outages.
In busy service environments, this challenge is compounded by fridges and cold storage being opened and closed in a hot kitchen throughout service, placing additional pressure on temperature control. Even a short outage can affect refrigeration stability under these conditions, with perishable foods like meat, seafood, and dairy being pushed into the unsafe zone within just 1–2 hours.
“The biggest risk when the power is off is not just temperature change, but whether the right processes are in place to protect food safety and maintain cold storage integrity, as per South Africa’s Regulation R638,” notes Madkins. “For example, link your most frequently used fridge to your generator and keep appliance thermometers in fridges/freezers to monitor temperatures. Discard food that has been above 5 °C for more than 2 hours.”
Delivery Delays
In practice, stock rarely arrives at the perfect moment. Deliveries can be delayed by traffic, supplier scheduling issues, or peak demand at multiple sites. And if they do arrive late, incoming supplies, including perishables and produce, may sit longer before being fully checked and stored, especially if the kitchen is already in the middle of service.
“A delayed delivery during a busy shift can quickly become a risk point,” says Madkins. “Receiving steps get rushed, and assumptions are made about temperature control and product condition. That’s where food safety and the cold chain can start to break down, and when receiving discipline becomes just as important as the delivery itself.”
Service Surges
Peak service, when demand spikes faster than staffing levels can keep up, creates its own unpredictability. During holiday periods, functions, or unexpected busy periods, kitchens often rely on temporary or less experienced staff to keep up with service demand. While this is operationally necessary, it increases the risk of inconsistency in hygiene routines, communication, and task ownership.
“Readying for these moments is not about avoiding using temporary staff, but about building systems that still work when conditions change,” explains Madkins. “When kitchens are under pressure, processes often become assumed instead of followed. That’s why simplicity matters. Staff should not have to remember everything in the moment. The system should guide them, especially when things get busy.”
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that unsafe food causes around 600 million cases of foodborne illness each year, highlighting how small breakdowns in process can scale into serious consequences. This is why preparedness needs to be practical rather than theoretical. It’s not about trying to predict every scenario. It is about building systems that still hold when normal conditions change. In hospitality, where disruption is routine and pressure is constant, that distinction is critical.
As Madkins concludes, “When faced with the unexpected, you fall back on the strength of your systems. The better those systems are designed for disruption, the more consistently you protect both your customers and your reputation.