Cleaning is a crucial part of food safety in a food service establishment. If your facility is not cleaned properly, customers could get sick, pests could enter and infest your establishment, and many more undesirable consequences will likely occur
Learning to manage cleaning tasks is a critical part of your duties as a food manager.
Cleaning Schedules
Cleaning schedules can help you and your employees know what needs to be cleaned and how often it should be cleaned. Some things, like food preparation utensils and surfaces, should be cleaned very often.
Surfaces
Any food-contact surface, such as a knife or cutting board, constantly used with time/temperature control for safety foods should be cleaned at least every four hours. Why the four hour rule?
Other Surfaces
Non-food-contact surfaces are surfaces that do not directly come into contact with food that will be prepared. Clean them often enough to keep soil and mold from accumulating.
In addition to the items mentioned above, make sure to clean:
- Floors
- Walls
- Ceilings
- light fixtures
- equipment
- other components of your restaurant
Doing a thorough walk-through will help you determine how often to clean these items.
Other Cleaning Tips
Regularly check to make sure that the cleaning is getting done correctly, and that your employees are fully trained on what is expected of them. See employees doing their cleaning duties and inspect their work afterward.
Food Safety Reminder
Clean and sanitize ice machines regularly to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
