Have you ever had an upset stomach? If your answer is yes, you may be one of the millions of Americans who experience digestive problems after eating contaminated food. Hygiene standards in food production are of utmost importance. This means that food-contact surfaces need special attention while preparing your favorite food items.
So are the food-contact surfaces at your home or restaurant as clean as they should be? Here are some facts about disinfecting food-contact surfaces to help you ensure high cleanliness standards:
Sanitizing and disinfecting aren’t the same thing
While sanitizing and disinfecting aim to reduce pathogens on a surface, they’re not the same thing. Sanitization was found to reduce the germs in an area by 99.99% when tested once, whereas disinfection is known to eliminate 99.99% bacteria in a spot through several tests.
Follow the rules while using food-contact surfaces
While dealing with food-contact surfaces, you need to follow certain rules to ensure optimal hygiene. Your kitchen should be sanitized and disinfected before you start working. Food-contact surfaces should be cleaned in between preparing different meals.
For example, if you’ve cooked steak and now it’s the chicken’s turn, you should clean and disinfect food-contact surfaces before touching the bird. Similarly, if there’s an interruption during your cooking, make sure you clean before resuming.
As a rule of thumb, restaurants should aim to clean the food-contact surfaces every four hours.
Setting SOPs in place can help maintain food safety
Your restaurant’s reputation is based on your ability to cook hygienic food. One of the most effective ways of maintaining food safety is by employing standard operating procedures. If you set up a step-by-step guide to help your staff clean and sanitize, it will become easier to ensure food safety.
Your sanitizers should be EPA registered
Any sanitizer that you use at your restaurant or home should be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. All products need to go through stringent testing to prove that they are effective and safe. Only articles that meet specific performance standards can be used to clean food-contact surfaces.
Seek a professional’s help
A professional disinfection service like ourselves can help you maintain high cleanliness standards at your home and restaurant. If you’re looking for a reputable service provider in Portland, Falmouth, and Kennebunk, reach out to us at EnviroClean Maine. We’re also the leading carpet cleaners and water extraction service providers in the area.