Safety is a Science

Food Safety and Quality

Food safety and quality are at the core of our brands. Within Dine Brands, we work closely with key stakeholders across the organization and vendor base to develop robust safety standards and procedures that are used within or benefit the restaurants and their products.

Providing safe and consistent food across the supply chain daily is the top priority across our brands. As such, suppliers and distributors must be held to the same high standards as each of the restaurants. Food safety and quality are critical to restaurant operations and the health and safety of team members and guests.

Supply Chain

Our mission is to enable our brands to provide safe and consistent food daily.

Suppliers

Within the supplier selection process, we align with suppliers who are committed to the safety and consistency of the quality of food they produce. We work diligently to keep an open line of communication with suppliers through opportunities such as conferences, summits, and top-to-top meetings. Our brands’ supply base is bound by a Supplier Code of Conduct that details the parameters with which they are expected to govern themselves. Our brands’ suppliers are reviewed by industry-leading auditors and expected to receive a grade reflective of the industry's top-tier suppliers.

Our brands’ supply base is provided with the Supplier Quality Program (SQP), which serves as a guide for suppliers to maintain the standards we expect and meet our requirements. Our brands’ suppliers are expected to maintain exceptional Animal Health and Welfare standards through annual audits conducted by certified third-party auditors. Sustainable sourcing and reduction of environmental impact are important to Dine Brands, and we look for suppliers that align with that prioritization.

Distribution

We believe that distribution must be held to the same high-level standards as the supply base, as the safety and security of the food in route to the restaurant is critical. Our brands’ suppliers utilize transportation carriers that align with current industry standards. If a Cold Storage facility is used, the facility's Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) standards and industry standards must be followed. Temperature Tale programs are utilized to provide the temperature of the product and the product environment throughout the distribution process. Utilization of real-time tracking provides visibility into the trailer temperature and product temperature every second of the trip and allows for concerns to be addressed immediately. Using Temperature Tales enables better tracking and maintenance of the food quality and the safety of the product as well as decreases possible food loss in transportation. Upon receipt of the product, restaurant team members review the integrity of the packaging and the product temperature before placing the product in its rightful storage condition.

Products

To aid in the overall consistency of products, we take steps including:

In-person visits to the facilities to inspect production
On-site product auditing
Collaboration with suppliers on capabilities and equipment
Consistent conversations with the supplier
Product specific summits or reviews

Throughout the approval process of a product, we audit samples directly from the supplier over several production runs for adherence to specifications. Our auditing plan has a tiered structure that emphasizes reviewing each product served throughout the year. Upon completion of the audit, the audit results are shared with each brand and suppliers so the product achieves the expected quality and culinary attributes. The results of these audits are shared with the supplier and reviewed internally to ensure that the level of acceptance compares against the standard previously set. Each of our proprietary products has a specification outlining the physical, chemical, microbiological, and packaging expectations for a product.

Information and Document Management

We take pride in the meals our brands serve and use innovation and technology to help maintain food quality and safety. The Quality Assurance team uses a cloud-based third-party Quality Management System (QMS) technology to onboard and monitor food Suppliers and Distribution Centers' adherence to Dine Brands Quality programs. Suppliers and Distribution Centers must maintain an approved status based on Quality Assurance requirements to produce or deliver food to Applebee’s, Fuzzy’s, and IHOP restaurants.

Our software allows the collection, tracking, and monitoring of any food quality complaints submitted by restaurant managers to the Quality Assurance hotline, where we can quickly identify quality issue trends for swift action. Such product monitoring supports adherence to quality specifications and expectations.

Restaurants

Standard Operating Procedures

As new ingredients and food are added to our menus, along with the introduction of new equipment or procedures, we conduct cross-functional expert reviews. This process helps maximize food safety and quality, and ensures that recipes and procedures can be executed effectively and efficiently in restaurants. New recipe and procedure testing occurs in our Restaurant Support Center kitchens and lab and test restaurants across the country.

At Dine Brands, we uphold strong food safety, health and hygiene, and sanitation standards for our brands. We utilize one food safety standard operating procedure (SOP) manual for all three brands. This SOP manual integrates the most recent guidelines listed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code and covers all food safety, health and hygiene, and sanitation standards associated with our brands. Standard operating procedures cover from when the time food is delivered to the back door to when it is served to guests and everything in between, such as:

Team member health and hygiene
No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food
Cold and hot food holding
Preventing cross-contamination
Cooking, cooling, and reheating
Chemical safety and sanitation

One key to having our SOPs properly understood and followed is that all managers and team members with supervisor responsibilities running shifts must be a Certified Food Protection Manager. The Certified Food Protection Manager Certification program must be evaluated and listed by a Conference for Food Protection (CFP) recognized accrediting agency as conforming to the Conference for Food Protection Standards for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs.

Nutrition

Dine Brands is committed to transparency, and we are proud to offer accurate and detailed nutrition, allergen, and ingredient information for guests to make informed dining decisions. We also provide vegan and vegetarian guides for guests to meet their dietary needs.

Food Safety Evaluations and Health Department Inspections

To maintain the food quality and safety that guests expect, we work with a third-party food safety auditing company to conduct multiple routine Food Safety Evaluations (FSE) each year in the Applebee’s, Fuzzy’s, and IHOP restaurants. These evaluations conducted by food safety experts not only measure compliance with our food safety, health and hygiene, and sanitation standards but also provide onsite coaching and training to minimize restaurant risks. The FSE is based on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code standard Food Establishment Inspection Report, which is the official regulatory authority document regarding restaurants' compliance with FDA requirements.

In addition to Food Safety Evaluations, a Health Department Intelligence (HDI) program is used to track restaurant health department inspections from every domestic location and standardize the results. This can be used to better identify food safety issues or trends and help take targeted action.