FOOD SAFETY & STEAM CLEANING Kitchen hygiene: at the double
Food service needs to be swift and efficient in order to satisfy today’s discerning diners but, at the same time, cleaning and hygiene must never be compromised. Jeremy Bennett from Tork manufacturer Essity looks at ways of speeding up kitchen cleaning and hand hygiene to ease the pressure on overstretched staff.
The commercial kitchen is a fast-paced environment. Staff members need to prepare several meals at a time, chopping vegetables, assembling ingredients, adding garnishes and decorating plates. Chefs must also work swiftly and efficiently to ensure that every dish is perfectly cooked and served piping hot.
Throughout this process, they will need to adhere to strict cleaning and hygiene protocols. It's important for all kitchen staff to wash their hands frequently and to ‘clean as they go’ in order to maintain a safe and hygienic working environment.
Any lapses could be disastrous. The results of an oversight could include a poor health inspection, cross- contamination, food poisoning on the part of the customer and bad reviews. Any of these outcomes could cause the business to fail.
So, kitchen staff need to balance speed and efficiency with meticulous hygiene at all times. How can this be achieved?
Many kitchens use the ‘mise en place’ principle, which involves organising all tools and ingredients before the service begins. A well-prepared kitchen will speed up the service and result in fewer mistakes. This will improve customer satisfaction and staff morale.
The workspace should be kept clutter-free to ensure that operatives can lay their hands on the right utensil or ingredient when they need it, since this will save valuable time. A tidy and well-organised kitchen will allow staff members to move around effortlessly and carry out their jobs efficiently.
Hands and surfaces need to be cleaned regularly to optimise kitchen hygiene. Failure to do so could lead to cross- contamination, unhappy customers and a significant loss of reputation on the part of the restaurant. Plus, hygiene protocols could be compromised – or even skipped altogether – if the right products are not always available to hand.
One study we at Essity carried out revealed that many chefs were typically spending 20-30% of their time on cleaning their hands and surfaces because the appropriate products were not always to be found in logical places. This meant operatives were wasting valuable time hunting them down.
Cleaning and hygiene products should therefore be in plentiful supply and all soap and paper products should be easily accessible, ideally with one hand, since the other hand may be occupied in cooking or dishing up.
When a spill occurs in a kitchen it is important to remove it swiftly to avoid issues such as slipping hazards, cross- contamination and food spoilage. Time will also be wasted if no-one can lay their hands on a wiper.
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Loose paper rolls are often provided for general kitchen wiping, but these are constantly being moved around the premises as the need arises. This makes them hard to locate when a spill occurs. It therefore makes sense to ensure that wipers are located in fixed positions and are easy to spot.
The Tork Reflex Single Sheet Centrefeed system has been designed specifically for use in food preparation areas. The dispenser has a rotating nozzle which allows the paper to be pulled out swiftly with one hand and from any angle, speeding up cleaning when time is of the essence. The Tork Reflex dispenser is available in both a wall-mounted and a portable version and comes in glossy black and turquoise and white options to provide an eye-catching contrast to the kitchen backdrop.
All kitchen cleaning products should be quick and easy to use. For example, the Tork 2 in 1 Scouring and Cleaning Cloth has been designed to save time and effort when cleaning. The non-scratching scourer can be rinsed and reused, and is compatible with all common detergents.
When it comes to hand hygiene, soap and paper dispensers should be both plentiful and ergonomic. High-capacity systems housing skin-friendly products will ensure a long- lasting supply and prevent the hands of staff members from becoming sore with frequent use. They should also be designed with the food operative in mind. For example, Tork Odour-Control Liquid Soap is skin-friendly and helps remove common food odours from the hands.
The dispenser for Tork Soap has been designed to require a particularly low push-force and has been certified Easy to Use by the Swedish Rheumatism Association, promoting good hand hygiene for all users. Each refill comes in a factory-sealed bottle with a new pump to help reduce risk of contamination. A new cartridge takes just seconds to snap into place to ensure a constant supply.
Drying is a vital part of any hand hygiene regime, but the wrong type of paper towel dispenser can slow up the hand drying process. For example, it can be hard to pull out a single C-fold towel from a dispenser, which means staff will struggle to access one when needed. They will all too often end up pulling out a clump of towels, causing frustration and wasting valuable seconds while also contributing to higher costs.
Tork Reflex systems can also be used effectively for hand drying, offering controlled single-sheet dispensing that helps to reduce waste and improve hygiene. The Tork Matic Hand Towel Roll dispenser is a good alternative at a dedicated hand wash station because this gives out towels
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