The IFYA believes a frozen yogurt shop, including its toppings bar, should be spotlessly clean.
For sanitary reasons, frozen yogurt bars where toppings are not covered should have sneeze guards or food shields. The shields should be 14 to 18 inches above the food and should be kept clean. Long handled serving utensils should be used as these help prevent the utensil from slipping into the food. Each container should have its own utensil. All toppings should be labeled.
Temperature is not an issue for dry toppings but fresh fruit should be refrigerated (at 41 degrees or below) and kept away from dry toppings. If cut fruit is not refrigerated, it should be discarded after being displayed for 4 hours.
At a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, at least one employee should monitor the toppings bar, maintain cleanliness (e.g., wipe up spills), keep it stocked so that the toppings containers are full, and watch out for contamination (e.g., guests touching food, utensils falling into the food, coughing into the food, utensils have been dropped). Potentially contaminated food should be discarded.
Containers that hold toppings should be easy to remove and easy to clean. Avoid spraying the bar with chemicals while the toppings bar is in use and use sanitized wiping cloths instead.
Be sure to provide hand sanitizer near the frozen yogurt cups for your customers. Keep in mind that many of them will be touching the same spoons, knobs, handles, and serving utensils, so clean hands should be encouraged.
A sanitary frozen yogurt toppings bar looks far more appealing to the eye and it keeps your customers safe.