CLEANING & INFECTION CONTROL


Cleaning is Caring Bob Wood, Director of DC Warewashing & Icemaking Systems,


explores cleaning, hygiene and food safety in care home catering operations and offers advice for care home managers.


Good cleaning and food hygiene helps care home catering operators to obey by the law, reduces the potentially lethal risk of food poisoning among their residents and protects their business’ reputation.


Warewashing equipment in a care home has a critical role to play – not only in producing sparkling, hygienically clean glasses, dishes, pots, pans and utensils, but also in creating a neat, tidy, well-organised catering operation. This enhances brand reputation whilst instilling great confidence in your residents and their families that your establishment operates to best practice and the highest standards in food safety, hygiene and cleanliness.


Cross-contamination, when bacteria are spread between food, surfaces or equipment, is one of the most common causes of food poisoning.


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Controlling harmful bacteria such as E. coli, campylobacter and salmonella, which can cause serious illness and even death should be paramount to any catering business.


The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in their publication E. coli O157 Control of Cross-contamination August 2014 recommends that you clean and disinfect work surfaces, chopping boards and equipment thoroughly before you start preparing food and after you have used them.


A fully-functioning, well-maintained warewasher provides heat sanitisation, which is recommended by the FSA for hygienic cleaning and can help prevent cross-contamination of bacteria and food poisoning in a catering environment.


To prevent cross-contamination it’s important that your warewashing


equipment is cleaned regularly and maintained properly as part of a cleaning and maintenance regime.


For warewashers:- • Clean filters daily.


• Inspect (daily) and clean (as required) wash arms and rinse arms.


• In hard water areas, run the regeneration programme (as required). ‘Regeneration’ is the automatic or manual running of the water treatment/softening system which removes limescale and other minerals from the water.


• Check levels of chemicals and salt in the machine regularly and replenish as required.


• Ensure adequate stocks and supplies of chemicals/detergents/salt and other ‘consumables’ to keep your machine working well and to avoid costly breakdowns.


www.tomorrowscare.co.uk


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