How to Sanitize and Disinfect Food Preparation Area

Want to know how to sanitize and disinfect food preparation area? If you are in the food business then keeping the food preparation area hygienically clean, and sanitized is your moral as well as legal responsibility. But in the present circumstances of the outbreak of COVID-19, it has become more crucial for the management of a hotel or restaurant to focus on the cleanliness as well as sanitization and disinfection of its areas where food is prepared.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS ABOUT FOOD STANDARDS

In a kitchen, three types of hazards are found – physical hazards, microbiological hazards, and chemical hazards. So it is important to maintain safety in the kitchen environment.

But most of the food businesses are accused of not following the guidelines of cleaning and disinfecting the food preparation areas by using quality cleaning agents and disinfectants. According to the guidelines of the Agency of Food Standards, cleaning the areas of food preparation can help in reducing the microbiological and chemical hazards in the commercial kitchens.

According to these guidelines, a kitchen must be cleaned and disinfected between the tasks, as well as while going out of it. The disinfectants used by them should comply with either BS EN 13697 or BS EN 1276. The food waste should be disposed of properly and the cleaning schedule should be followed strictly. They are advised to clean greasy and dirty surfaces with detergents and disinfect with quality disinfectants to bacteria and viruses effectively.

PROCESS OF CLEANING AND DISINFECTING FOOD PREPARATION AREAS

ERADICATION OF PESTS

Food businesses can be affected greatly due to pests like cockroaches and mice. They can be removed from your kitchen by cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting it regularly. The growth of these pests in your kitchen can be prevented by clearing up the spills anywhere in your kitchen immediately, storing food items in sealed containers, regular disposal of garbage, and clearing out clogged drains and repairing leaking pipelines. So the manager of the food business should ensure to prevent pests from the food preparation areas by immediately cleaning spills in the kitchen.

SCRUB FLOORS TO DEEP CLEAN A KITCHEN

Though the floor of a kitchen can be cleaned deeply by scrubbing it manually with detergent and a mop but by using industrial equipment to clean and disinfect a kitchen you can save a lot of time and effort. So the floors and food preparation areas of a commercial kitchen should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. But after a week or a month, it should be cleaned and disinfected deeply.

You can hire a cleaning service to deep clean the floors and other surfaces in your kitchen by using scrub dryers etc. It will save you lots of time along with cleaning and disinfecting your kitchen effectively. This can help in sanitize and disinfect the food preparation area.

PREVENTING THE CHANCES OF CROSS-CONTAMINATION

Your food business can be risky for your customers as well as staff due to cross-contamination caused by the spreading of bacteria on surfaces, and equipment used in its food preparation areas. This cross-contamination can be prevented by cleaning and disinfecting all the worktops regularly, performing different tasks with different equipment, and before handling raw food wash your hands thoroughly.

Cross-contamination can be prevented effectively by preparing ready-to-eat and raw foods in different areas and instructing your staff to follow these guidelines strictly.

EFFECTIVE CLEANING OF FOOD PREPARATION AREAS

The food preparation areas of a food business should be cleaned and disinfected regularly by using soap and hot water. First of all, they should use a sponge or cloth to remove dirt visible on the surface. Then they should disinfect all the surfaces and touchpoints in the kitchen as sinks, taps, switches, and door handles by using a quality disinfectant. It can help in preventing the danger of cross-contamination as well as bacteria, germs, and viruses.

TACKING WITH INVISIBLE DANGERS

Several things that can be dangerous for the hygiene of your food may include rats, mice, flies, cockroaches, and pigeons, etc. along with microscopic viruses and bacteria. Some of them can even poison your food whereas some can cause infectious diseases like COVID-19 etc. To eradicate invisible viruses and bacteria you should use chemical detergents and disinfectants instead of usual cleaning products.

DEEP CLEANING WITH A STEAM CLEANER

To clean, sanitize, and disinfect FOOD PREPARATION AREAs it is necessary to clean them deeply by using a steam cleaner. The super high temperature of the steam will disinfect all the surfaces more effectively than cleaning them manually as it will kill all the microscopic bacteria and viruses effectively. It will also reduce the use of water, chemical detergents as well as time to kill bacteria, fungus, and viruses from work surfaces.