The Benefits of Food-Grade Conveyors in Restaurants

When you think of conveyor systems in restaurants, you probably think of Krispy Kreme’s giant metal conveyors, baking and glazing their famous original glazed donuts. Or maybe you think of those small conveyor belts at sushi restaurants, where kaitenzushi winds its way around the restaurant, allowing the diners to take whichever dishes they’d like.

But there are more opportunities to incorporate conveyor systems into restaurants in the future, especially in the fast-food business. Burger King’s “Restaurant of Tomorrow” concept has already opened the door for this idea. Here are just a few of the benefits of food-grade conveyors in restaurants.

They Increase Productivity

It is a simple fact that industrialization increases productivity. When certain processes are automated, workers are able to better focus their attention, enabling them to produce more overall.

As an example, let’s look at kaitenzushi. On average, a skilled sushi chef using traditional methods can prepare 4 sushi rolls per minute. On the other hand, a chef making kaitenzushi with the help of a sushi robot to mix and flatten the rice can assemble 10 or 12 sushi rolls per minute.

Though the luxurious, personal nature of traditional sushi is lost using this method, kaitenzushi allows diners to enjoy larger quantities of sushi at a far lower price point. When it comes to increasing output, automating wherever possible is always a good idea.

They Reduce the Spread of Illnesses

Conveyors, especially when combined with touchpad ordering systems, allow employees to reduce their contact and proximity to customers. Especially in the context of the recent pandemic, this could be a huge milestone when it comes to keeping customers and staff safe.

Reducing unnecessary contact between individuals lessens the chance of spreading sicknesses, even with common illnesses such as the flu.

They’re Extremely Sanitary

Conveyor systems have a long history of usage in the food processing industry. Industries that use them are held to high sanitary standards by the FDA. The conveyors in the food processing industry are often used to handle raw meat and must do so without contaminating the product. The chances of these conveyors contaminating cooked or packaged food items are incredibly slim.

There are plenty of benefits to introducing food-grade conveyors into restaurants. It will be fascinating to see whether this innovation will become commonplace in the future!