Pandemic shines a spotlight on health, safety

A focus on cleanliness, surface sanitization and other health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated overall food safety at restaurants, according to the National Restaurant Association’s Larry Lynch. “I think the most significant thing that has come out of this, and I think it is a positive, is that customers are more attuned to health and safety than they had been before. Restaurants are now talking about their safety practices in response to COVID, and many of them are related to foodborne illness as well,” Lynch said.