COVID-19 has had a costly impact on restaurants and other food businesses. As restaurants begin to slowly reopen for in-person dining, now is the time to double down on your cleaning practices. The most important way to do this is by regularly sanitising your restaurant. This will ensure you protect the safety of your staff and customers during this challenging time.
The importance of sanitising
How is sanitising different from cleaning? According to Safe Work Australia, these are two different processes. Cleaning means physically removing germs, dirt and organic matter from surfaces. Sanitising means using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. These are both important aspects of keeping your restaurant safe. Cleaning will reduce the soil load on surfaces, allowing sanitiser to work effectively. Sanitiser may not kill germs and bacteria if routine cleaning has not been undertaken first.
Start with a routine clean
Routine cleaning includes wiping down any touches surfaces, such as tabletops, door handles, light switches, benches, toilets, taps, kitchen surfaces, cupboard handles, and so on.
Do a routine clean by following these instructions:
- • Pre-clean utensils by scraping or wiping food scraps off the surfaces and rinsing them with water
- • Wash utensils and equipment with hot water and detergent to remove grease and food residue
- • Soak any stubborn equipment or tools, if necessary
- • Rinse off any detergent
Once routine cleaning has taken place, surfaces and equipment should be thoroughly sanitised.
How should you sanitise?
You can simply and effectively sanitise your restaurant by following these steps:
- • Soak items in hot water (77 degrees celsius for 30 seconds) or in diluted bleach, or
- • Saturate items with 70% isopropyl alcohol or ethanol, or
- • Use a commercial sanitiser and follow the instructions
- • Use a commercial dishwasher that sanitises. This can be achieved by using the hottest setting.
- • Air dry all equipment and surfaces
- • Where possible, take apart equipment and remove parts like mixer sticks and slicer blades to separately sanitise them
How often should you sanitise?
To keep your restaurant safe, it is best to sanitise throughout the day. Clean and sanitise equipment and surfaces after each and every use and before chefs or kitchen hands start working with a different type of food. Also, clean and sanitise utensils and equipment when food handlers are interrupted during a task, as this is when items have the potential to become contaminated. If items are continually used all day long, clean and sanitise them every four hours.
Review your cleaning products
Now is the time to review your cleaning products to make sure they will effectively sanitise your restaurant and that they are safe to use. When using a certain product, be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Speak to your trusted commercial cleaner service to ensure you are staying consistent with their practices as well.
Keep it cost effective
While cleaning and sanitising is an important part of keeping your restaurant safe, there is no doubt that it can be costly and time consuming. However, with planning and organisation, you can ensure it is done efficiently without blowing the budget.
- • Regularly maintain cleaning practices so that you don’t have to do large, deep cleans as often.
- • Create a cleaning schedule so that staff understand their cleaning responsibilities
- • Keep storage areas neat and tidy, so you can easily clean around them
- • Hire a regular here to do the job for you
Safe storage
Keep bacteria and other microorganisms at bay by storing food at the correct temperature for the right amount of time. One of the most common ways bacteria can spread is by contamination after cooking meat and poultry. For example, if a chicken sits in a hot tray for too long after cooking, the internal temperature will drop and bacteria may grow. Likewise, food should not be left to thaw on the top shelf of a refrigerator, as this can allow it to drip onto other items on the shelves below.
Train staff
Your staff are the ones who are on the ground running the restaurant day to day. It is therefore critical that they adhere to safe sanitising practices. Now is the time to ensure all staff understand how to do this.
- • Host an training session with staff around sanitising practices
- • Create a cleaning schedule
- • Implement a colour-coded towel system, so that there are specific towels for front of house versus back of house. This will allow for less cross-contamination.
By employing these important tips, you can be confident knowing your restaurant is safe for both your staff and your customers.
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