Health and safety is paramount for your business in the food industry to keep running and be a great success. In order to thrive in this industry, you need to ensure you are following the best practices for cleaning and sanitation. Here at Clear Choice UK, we offer industrial cleaning for businesses in a variety of industries, including food service and production businesses. Keep reading to discover ten of our top tips for cleaning and sanitation to make your workplace a safe and secure place to work.
1. Create Separate Areas for Food Preparation and Storage
Before you can even start to think about tidying your workplace, the way in which you store and prepare food needs to be assessed. Every kitchen should have a separate area for food preparation and one for storage. Make sure that raw and cooked foods never touch each other, as this can lead to major issues for your customers.
2. Wipe Fridges Down on a Daily Basis
While you might not clean your fridge at home all that often, you need to make sure you wipe down fridges every day in your workplace. It’s one of the top food industry cleaning practices and will stop bacteria from spreading. Make sure your food is sealed in airtight containers in the fridge as well, which can stop contamination between different foods and liquids.
3. Control Your Rubbish Bins
Your rubbish bins need to be one of the top things you keep an eye on when it comes to cleaning in the food industry. At the end of each night, they need to be emptied, which will stop potential pests finding their way into your kitchen. If there are any spills near your bins, make sure they are cleaned immediately. Sadly, vermin are always going to be a challenge for food industry cleaning, but this is one thing you can’t afford to let slip through the cracks.
4. Train All of Your Staff
Food industry cleaning practices need to be shared with everyone in your organisation. Even if you engage the services of industrial cleaning companies, you need to ensure everyone is understanding of your cleaning and sanitation processes. Train new staff on this as soon as they join your company and keep refreshing your staff’s knowledge throughout their time working with you.
5. Clean Your Floors Every Night
At the end of the day, we know it’s so tempting to run away from work and head home. No matter how late it is, make sure you follow this industrial cleaning tip and clean and mop your floors. Don’t leave this until the morning, as you may have food scraps which could attract vermin overnight.
6. Focus on Equipment Cleaning
We often tend to focus on cleaning larger areas in our workplaces, such as the floors and surfaces. Your equipment also needs to be kept clean, including towels and uniforms. Make sure this is drummed into your staff as well, to avoid germs from building up and spreading.
7. Create a Cleaning Schedule
In order to get your staff into a good routine for cleaning, make a schedule for them to follow. They’ll soon know what they need to do each morning and night and keep on top of your cleaning without you having to micromanage them too much.
8. Review Your Water Quality
Water should be analysed every year to see how you can improve sanitation based on its quality. Hard water has a lot of challenges, which is why we recommend learning about the type of water in your local area and how it’s best to clean with this water.
9. Clean Your Drains
As your drains aren’t visible, many people forget to clean these on a regular basis. However, bacteria soon builds up in this area, which can lead to a lot of cleaning and sanitation challenges. Add this to a team member’s schedule on a weekly basis or discuss this with our industrial cleaning team.
10. Play Your Part as a Leader
Leaders also need to get involved in cleaning their workplace, helping to set a good example for all of your employees in the food industry. We recommend cleaning with your team when you can, so that you show them what you expect in order to keep your workplace in top condition.
By following these ten best practices for cleaning and sanitation in the food industry, you can help to avoid bacteria from building up and pests from making their way into your workplace. One of the easiest ways to improve hygiene in your workplace is to outsource this task to a team of experienced industrial cleaners. We’ll be here to support you with this work and answer any questions you have about the service we offer.
