Many times during the last three years, people have expressed concerns about the cleanliness of restaurant food in general and about what Ecopolitan is doing about it in particular. So here's the scoop:
As a doctor, I know very well the importance of good hygiene, and repeatedly stress it to the staff during staff meetings, as well as use signs reminding the staff to wash their hands frequently, especially after touching unclean surfaces. Of course, we abide by the Health Department's standards of hygiene, training, signage, refrigeration, and cleanliness as would be expected of any licensed restaurant and kitchen. Our staff is well-informed about these issues and receives frequent reminders and reinforcements regarding hygienic practices. However, Ecopolitan goes many steps further in its attempt to break new grounds, inspiring others to follow suit. After reading this article with its eight-item list below, you may support healthy life choices for your community, friends and family by informing them of the special efforts and dedication Ecopolitan has become famous for nationally and internationally.
The Ecopolitan Minneapolis restaurant is proud to have been consistently offering its customers the WORLD'S MOST HYGIENIC FOOD! Here is why:
- Ecopolitan is the only restaurant I know of that rinses its fresh produce in SPECIALLY PURIFIED water. Other restaurants usually don't rinse their produce at all, and if they do it's in halogen-contaminated (chlorine, fluoride, etc.), heavy-metal and who-knows-what-else infested city water!
- Ecopolitan is the only restaurant that soaks its fresh produce in FOOD-GRADE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (H2O2), for the most effective and SAFEST sanitizing effect! This makes your salads as safe as can be! H2O2 also oxidizes pesticide residues that accidentally may have contaminated organic fields downwind.
- Ecopolitan cleans and sanitizes all its dishes, fabrics, and work boards with NON-TOXIC materials and with food-grade H2O2. Most establishments unfortunately use poisonous chemicals frequently and intensively everywhere (polluting the air), some of which unavoidably enter the food!
- Ecopolitan avoids toxic containers- we use organic hemp napkins and biodegradable/reusable containers instead! In other restaurants you may reasonably expect your food, hand, and face to touch dioxin-laden paper products, Styrofoam, volatile plastics, and other un-ecological chemicals! Even the bags used to pack the bulk foods for retail are compostable and are free of carcinogenic plastic byproducts, since they are made of cellophane produced from sustainably grown cottonwood trees.
- Ecopolitan is the only 100% vegan eatery in town! NO CROSS-CONTAMINATION of our food with dairy and flesh via cutting boards is EVER POSSIBLE! NO CONTAMINATED food by infected or infested flesh, eggs, and dairy fat through contaminated HANDS! This is crucial in raw dishes and the main cause for food poisoning in "mixed" restaurants, since the sanitizing effect of lethal heat is not employed.
- We are completely organic (including a broad selection of organic, no-sulfite-added vegan wines)! No compromises- none of our food have been grown with the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers! This by itself is an important achievement for health and hygiene. It would be all too easy to be "mostly organic" and "cut corners" for bottom line's sake and convenience, but we have made a commitment to set an example for the public to behold, proving that delicious, affordable food does not have to compromise our health or our Earth.
- Ecopolitan is the only COMPLETELY ORGANIC BAR and Restaurant that avoids ALL POPULAR GMO FOODS, including soy, corn, wheat, and potatoes. We don't want to expose our customers even to potentially cross-pollinated organic crops! This is not about hygiene only, it's also a warning statement toward the GMO industry, letting them know we won't support anything they've permanently and irreversibly contaminated (we hope they will stop at the crops they've already destroyed and not add any more devastation to our planet). According to scientists, the contamination by GMO's is associated with numerous assaults on the immune system (because of exposure to viral, bacterial, and insect DNA spliced into the food's genome), leading to immune disorders and possibly cancer. GMO production has also a devastating, intractable effect on the environment (this will be a lecture topic in one of May's Tuesday Meetings). Other restaurants (especially "vegetarian-friendly" ones) rely excessively on these frequently allergenic foods. You may want to express your opinion about this important matter when you visit any food establishment, in order to make a "dent" in the industry, perhaps leading to policy changes at Monsanto et al.
- We are the only restaurant purified by the best air purifier in the market, removing every pollutant down to the tiniest molecules of ammonia and formaldehyde families of gasses! We add concentrated oxygen to the air, providing a healthier environment for our patrons. Our painted wall and floor surfaces, caulking, glues, cleaners, and sealants are non-toxic, non-VOC SafeCoat compounds, which we sell to the public as well. This creates the safest environment for our patron's immune system, skin, brain, liver, lymphatics, and of-course- the digestive tract!
- No other existing establishment has ever invested so much, relative to its size, in safety, hygiene, and protection of people and the environment. When you choose to partake of Ecopolitan's cuisine, kitchen appliances, bulk foods, purifiers, anti-SAD lamps, discounted supplements, organic cotton/hemp goods, food take-outs, food deliveries, private and group Uncooking classes, and pre-packaged food items, you are supporting an establishment that has dedicated all its resources not for anyone's personal gain but to make our planet a better place.
We hope that other food establishments will follow our lead!