Ask the Expert:
How fl oor cleaning regimes can improve food hygiene
Natalie Dowse, Marketing and Product Manager for Truvox International, explains how, from hotels to cafés, the cleaning methods you use can help boost your health, safety and hygiene levels.
Q:
by the success of TV programmes like Masterchef, they also encourage people to think more carefully about how their food is sourced, produced and prepared. Food stories are seldom out of the headlines.
A:
Unfortunately, not all of that news is good news. It doesn’t matter whether you are a fi ve-star restaurant or a high street bistro; no-one is immune from the glare of negative publicity that accompanies a food poisoning outbreak, or an unfavourable hygiene inspection.
Food hygiene ratings The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is run by local authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA). It gives members of the public information about hygiene standards in restaurants, takeaways, hotels and other eating places, plus it covers hospitals, schools and residential care homes.
Establishments are inspected by a food safety offi cer from the local authority where the business is located. The inspection will include: • How hygienically the food is handled – how it is prepared, cooked, re- heated, cooled and stored.
• The condition and structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities.
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Hygiene is a critical issue for any business involved
in food preparation, but how can the equipment and methods used help to enhance hygiene ratings in the sector?
Food issues are a favourite topic for today’s media. Fuelled
• How the business manages and records what it does to make food safe.
The hygiene standards recorded at the time of the inspection are given a rating from the lowest ‘0’ meaning urgent improvements are required, to the highest ‘5’ indicating that the hygiene standards are very good.
In its document, ‘Food Hygiene: A Guide for Businesses,’ the FSA advises that in rooms where food is prepared, treated or processed, fl oor surfaces must be maintained in a sound condition, and be easy to clean and disinfect when necessary. Impervious materials which don’t allow fl uid to pass through are therefore most suitable, with non- absorbent, washable and non-toxic qualities also important when it comes to commercial kitchen fl ooring.
Staying safe and
keeping clean The correct cleaning equipment and methods can help to ensure kitchens meet the stringent hygiene standards required by law. This can help to greatly minimise the risk of slips, trips and falls caused by spilt food, which is an inevitable consequence in catering or hospitality businesses.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) states that people working in kitchens or food service are more likely to be injured through slips and trips than anything else. The fact that ovens, hobs and pans full of hot liquid or other foodstuffs are around, makes slipping in a kitchen area even more hazardous. Thankfully, today’s fl oor cleaning machines are now more portable and manoeuvrable than ever, making them extremely effective in kitchens.
Scrubber dryers are a good choice for this type of location, as they have the ability to clean right into the grain of slip-resistant fl ooring, and in between tiles. Many models have the facility to change brushes, allowing machines to adapt easily to each surface or task required – be it normal maintenance or intensive, deep cleaning. Cordless versions make sense as they eliminate trailing cables, which can be an additional safety hazard. Those that leave the fl oor dry and ready to walk on in the quickest time possible should always be favoured.
Cleaning chemicals and disinfectants should not be kept in areas where food is handled, so adequate storage facilities and staff knowledge of the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) guidelines is vital.
When planning cleaning regimes in kitchens, activities should take into account both routine, regular maintenance, and more responsive ‘emergency’ situations. In this way, you can ensure that your premises are hygienically clean and safe, resulting in better hygiene ratings, and maybe some favourable restaurant reviews!
www.truvox.com
If you have a question for the expert, please email:
caroline@opusbusinessmedia.co.uk
Your question could be featured in the next issue of Tomorrow's Cleaning.
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
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