1 in 6 Americans...
(48 million people)
gets sick from foodborne illnesses and 128,000 will be hospitalized. Less than half of the foodborne illnesses originate from restaurants.
Our Commitment is in Our Name
At White Castle, we’re committed to food safety. Founder Billy Ingram believed that a clean restaurant would attract customers at a time when many Americans had a negative image about hamburgers. Ingram chose the name “White” to signify cleanliness and “Castle” to signify strength.
Pioneers of Clean
Since opening in 1921, White Castle has been known as a restaurant industry leader and innovator in setting standard for food safety and restaurant cleanliness. Founder Billy Ingram began this commitment when he chose to use stainless steel throughout the restaurant because of its easy cleaning. White Castle was the first hamburger chain and the first restaurant to use stainless steel, which is now an industry standard.
Ingram also set a standard for the disposing of food every 30 minutes; multiple fresh meat deliveries throughout the day; and instead of the “shabby” hamburger stand that was common in the 1920s, Ingram designed a unique permanent building to help change the public’s perception of the hamburger business. Ingram reinforced cleanliness by hiring a separate “clean-up person” to scour each restaurant and the cooking utensils each night.
Did you know?
A White Castle restaurant would fail an inspection if a team member wasn’t preparing food with clean hands and/or gloves? A typical health department inspection will grade a restaurant on over 47 items ranging from cleanliness and sanitation to food preparation and storage. The level of inspection is so significant that the typical American kitchen would fail to pass.
Caring About Quality
White Castle is an industry innovator in food safety and takes this position very seriously. The family-owned company’s commitment to serving the highest quality food extends to the business owning and operating its own meat processing plants and bakeries.
Innovation meets quality
White Castle maintains quality in the restaurants by cooking the food as it’s ordered. At White Castle, food won’t sit under heat lamps for several minutes waiting for someone to order it. The unique griddle system is designed to properly steam-cook the Sliders to 160 degrees. Even the burger patties were designed with five holes to ensure that each one is cooked properly, especially for larger orders or at the restaurant’s busiest time of day.