Kitchen cleaning is a crucial integral part of any food preparation business. Equipment, food contact surfaces and all surrounding areas of a kitchen must be cleaned regularly and efficiently.
Clear and Clean as you Go
Keeping your kitchen clear and clean makes it safer. Take off outer packaging and throw it away before you bring food into the kitchen or storeroom. Outer packaging could have touched dirty floors etc when it has been stored or transported before. Take extra care with how you throw away packaging and food waste from raw meat/poultry and eggs. Packaging and food waste from these foods are more likely to spread harmful bacteria to food and surfaces.
Clear away small kitchen equipment as soon as possible and put it in the cleaning area. Work surfaces are easier to keep clean when they are not cluttered. It is also important to clear away used equipment to prevent bacteria spreading from it to surfaces or food.
Wash or wipe away spills as soon as they happen. Disinfect work surfaces after wiping up spills from raw meat/poultry or eggs. This stops dirt building up and helps prevent bacteria from spreading. Wash work surfaces thoroughly between tasks. Use a new cloth (or one that has been washed and disinfected) to clean work surfaces before preparing ready-to-eat food.
This will help prevent dirt and bacteria spreading onto other.
High-priority cleaning
Regularly wash/wipe and disinfect all the items people touch frequently such as work surfaces, sinks, taps, door handles, switches and can openers. Where possible, allow these to dry naturally at the end of each day/shift. It is important to keep these clean to prevent dirt and bacteria being spread to people’s hands. Drying naturally helps prevent bacteria being spread back to these items on a towel/cloth used for drying.
Wash and disinfect fridges regularly at a time when they do not contain much food. Transfer food to another fridge or a safe cold area and keep it covered. To clean a fridge thoroughly, you should take out all the food and keep it cold somewhere else. If food is left out at room temperature, bacteria could grow.
Pay special attention to how often you clean pieces of equipment that have moving parts.
These can be more difficult to clean, but it is important to clean equipment properly to stop bacteria and dirt building up.
Wash dishwasher-proof utensils, equipment and removable parts in a dishwasher, if possible. If you do not have a dishwasher, clean, disinfect and dry all equipment thoroughly. Dishwashers wash items thoroughly at a high temperature so this is a good way to clean equipment and kill bacteria (disinfect).
Other cleaning
Items that do not touch food are not as high priority but they should still be cleaned effectively. Examples include dry storage areas, floors and microwaves. This prevents dirt and bacteria building up in the kitchen.
For equipment or areas that are hard to clean, you may wish to employ a contract cleaner.
Contract cleaners have special equipment and experience of more difficult cleaning.