Cleaning and Disinfection Controls within a Restaurant Business Introduction Cleaning is necessary to control chemical, physical and microbiological

contamination of food by keeping food premises, equipment and food-contact and hand-contact surfaces free from soiling, whether visible or not (Engel et al. 2001). Cleaning is the process of removing dirt, which can take the form of debris, dust etc. Cleaning may involve kinetic, thermal or chemical energy. Disinfection is defined by British Standard 5283 as, the destruction of microorganisms, but not usually bacterial spores; it may not kill all microorganisms but reduces them to a level which is neither harmful to health nor the quality of perishable foods. The aim of disinfection is to eliminate microorganisms present on food-contact surfaces thereby avoiding contamination of raw materials and products with pathogens and spoilage organisms (Langsrud et al, 2003). Disinfection may be achieved by using heat, chemicals, irradiation or UV radiation. UV is usually effective for atmospheres and clear water but not for surfaces. It should be noted that cleaning and disinfection should be carried out as two separate processes. Cleaning and disinfectant controls are an essential part of food safety management and a legal requirement of the food safety management plan (FSMP) of a business. The aim of this report is to detail the implementation of cleaning and disinfectant controls within a busy restaurant business. The report will look at the areas of EU legislation, the compliance with such legislation, and how cleaning and disinfectant controls are established, monitored and verified with relevant codes of practice. The object of this report is Restaurant X, located in a busy commuter town. It is known to me personally as I dine in the restaurant on a regular basis. This enables me to be familiar with the staff, layout and general operation of the business. It would be considered medium sized with a seating capacity of 45 people. It is known locally as an upmarket establishment, with an emphasis on high quality dishes and fine dining. Restaurant X employs three full time staff; two are directly involved in food preparation, the other being the

manager. Additionally, two part time staff exists, one involved in table service, the other in cleaning. While each member off staff may have a priority area of responsibility under their control, all share a collective responsibility for the implementation of cleaning and disinfection controls. The restaurant serves hot and cold meals, along with a takeaway sandwich service. It uses many high-risk foods, including raw beef, pork, poultry and seafood products. How Cleaning and Disinfection controls contribute to food safety Food safety is described as the protection of human health by preventing food and drink from becoming hazardous to health or having the potential to cause harm to human health. (Engel et al, 2001). The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is the national body with powers to enforce food safety law. The FSAI aims to protect consumers by ensuring that food produced, distributed or marketed in the State meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene reasonably available. The FSAI provides documented guidance for food businesses on all areas of food safety. There are numerous EU regulations that pertain to cleaning and disinfectant controls within the realm of food safety. Regulation EU 852/2004 relates to hygiene of Foodstuffs. It requires all food businesses to put in place, implement and maintain a food safety management plan (FSMP) based on the Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. It also states that all parts of a food premises must be kept clean, and where necessary, disinfected. Law under Regulation EU 852/2004 requires a number of Prerequisites. These prerequisites must be implemented before a HACCP plan is put in place. One of these are good cleaning practices, of high importance due to Restaurant X using some ready to eat (RTE) foods. Such foods are deemed high risk due to the lack of further preparation, which can eliminate or reduce potential pathogens. With all food businesses, appropriate records should be kept relating to cleaning, hygiene and disinfection. Good cleaning practices are important for both food contact surfaces (e.g. equipment, worktops, chopping boards, utensils, containers etc) and non-food contact surfaces (e.g. floors, ceiling, drains etc) to prevent the

build up of food debris and microorganisms, that could directly or indirectly contaminate food. Under EU 852/2004, the layout, design, construction, location and size of food premises are to permit adequate maintenance, cleaning and disinfection, and to avoid or minimise air-borne contamination. Premises must provide adequate working space to allow for the hygienic performance of all operations. An adequate number of washbasins must be available. This facilitates both easy hand washing and reduction of cross contamination. Restaurant X is a purpose built premises. It aims to be efficient in food service, while minimising cross contamination. Food can be passed out of the kitchen easily without entry by table staff. Separate washbasins exist for food washing, hand washing and cleaning. The building has fully tiled toilets and kitchen floor areas. To facilitate cleaning and prevent corrosion, it uses stainless steel surfaces on all the kitchen equipment and food preparation areas. Moisture resistance plywood on the roof areas reduces the potential of mould from steam and vapours. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 provides the essential requirements and a sensible approach for the control of substances hazardous to health. It aims to protect all individuals against exposure to substances in the workplace that pose a risk to health, both long and short term. COSSH applies to any substances that are: Toxic, Harmful, Corrosive or Irritant Sensitising, carcinogenic or mutagenic

It also applies to individuals that handle microorganisms, viral or fungal agents. It is applicable to Restaurant X in terms of cleaning materials. A COSSH risk assessment determines the potential, likelihood and possibility of an individual to be exposed. Foods may be exposed to different hazards during preparation. These include chemical hazards due to the use of sanitation or cleaning products, or from storage in an incorrect area. Food contact surfaces uses to prepare food may hold hazardous chemical or biological hazards. Raw meats are high risk and carry a biological hazard. Cross contamination from surface contact is one of the most common ways of transmission of pathogens into humans.

Restaurant X uses ready to eat (RTE) foods in the form of chilled meats for their takeaway service. These are in direct contact with both the food operator and the preparation surface. This introduces a three-way hazard: product, operators hands and contact surface. The use of Chemical cleaning products is the typical route taken by food businesses to maintain a clean and disinfected work area. To clean greasy or oily areas, degreasers or detergents are required. These do not kill bacteria. Surfaces that are in contact with food require disinfectants. These kill bacteria and should be approved for use and food safe. However they do not have cleaning properties. Therefore, it is important to use a detergent to clean before using disinfectants. This is due to organic matter inhibiting the disinfectant action. Sanitisers are chemicals that have combined detergent and disinfectant properties. They must also be approved and food safe. There are a few issues to consider when implementing cost effective cleaning. These are using the correct chemicals at the optimum temperature and concentration. Chemicals must be given time to function and the correct equipment must be used to wipe the surface. (Sprenger, 2002) Restaurant X has a dedicated member of staff for cleaning. A part time staff member also assists in operating the dishwasher, stocking of refrigerators and general kitchen chores. The cleaner is responsible for the main areas of the restaurant, toilets, hallways and stores. The kitchen staff hold responsibility for the cleaning of the food preparation areas, utensils and cutlery. The kitchen staff are also trained in HACCP, which assists them in implementing the cleaning schedule. The cleaner is responsible for the maintenance of cleaning supplies and filing purchase orders with the manager for new chemicals, cloths, mops etc. Regulation (EU) No 2073/2005 is related to the Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs. It provides Process Hygiene Criteria that indicate the acceptable functioning of a production process. It lays down the microbiological criteria and indicative contamination values for certain microorganisms. A sampling plan must be defined for each criterion. EU 2073/2005 also states the rules to be complied with by food business operators when implementing the general and specific hygiene measures referred to in Article 4 of Regulation EU 852/2004. This regulation also specifies compliance with microbiological

sampling, and the right of the authorities to undertake sampling, which can be performed by an inspector. Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to, food production and food safety (FSAI, 2010). According to the codex there are steps involved in the implementation of good cleaning and disinfectant practice. These are

Cleaning of building, of tools and equipment and the transportation system. Important is the complete removal of food rests and garbage from the rooms where production takes place.

Disinfection using an appropriate disinfectant. Sometimes the cleaning step is combined with the disinfection. Management should authorise the cleaning and disinfection method before it is included in the work schedule. There should be a clear methodology for cleaning. It should be available for inspection by both staff involved in the cleaning process and management. Instructions should include handling of chemicals and equipment.

Management should monitor cleaning and disinfection in order to make sure the work is being done according to the instructions. All staff who are involved in cleaning and disinfection should be trained in the handling of chemicals. Proper labelling should be used on chemical containers so the content is known. Chemicals must be kept separate from food and packing. The use of personal protective equipment must be both encouraged and enforced

Microbiological testing that shows low counts verifies good cleaning and hygiene practices.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) provides guidelines to assist in the development of the FSMP and in order to comply with the EU regulations. The Irish Standards 340:2007 and 341:2007 apply to hygiene in

catering and retail businesses respectively. Standard 340:2007 recommends guidelines for cleaning schedules, which will be mentioned later. The standard also requires that an individual trained in HACCP or food hygiene should be in charge of such a cleaning schedule. Annex 1 of the standard provides sample cleaning schedules and cleaning records. It must be stated however, that Guidelines are not legally enforceable. They are provided to complement legally enforceable EU standards or help in the development of a FSMP.

Establishment, monitoring and verification of Cleaning and Disinfection controls Establishment The Health Service Executive (HSE) is the local enforcement authority for food hygiene and safety. Through their inspectors, they provide advice and guidance on all matters relating to food safety. Additionally, the FSAI provides leaflets and communications to the restaurant to assist in compliance with food safety regulations. The manager has a responsibility to communicate effectively with staff to ensure proper adherence to procedure, providing enough staff for the work, providing staff with access to correct equipment and monitoring of work. Effective management of cleaning and disinfection also involves selection of suitable suppliers, effective stock control and financial control. For the manager in Restaurant X, selection of purpose made materials, inspection of stock levels and good budgeting for materials ensures good management of cleaning. . There are numerous types of contaminants and residues (soils) that require removal in a restaurant business such as Restaurant X. These include water soluble, fat soluble and insoluble soils. All are found on food contact surfaces, cutlery and preparation utensils. All require a combination of water and detergent to remove. Detergents demonstrate properties of surfactancy, dispersion and suspension, which facilitate removal of soils. Temperature aids removal of stubborn soils and mechanical abrasion by hand is required for insoluble soils, which are harder to remove. For cutlery, the dishwasher unit

provides a combination of chemical additive and high temperature to ensure sanitation to a high level. Cleaning schedules are the link between management and staff. They ensure cost effective cleaning and disinfection of premises and equipment. Cleaning schedules are developed for daily, weekly and monthly tasks. To develop cleaning schedules the manager completed a hazard analysis during the development of the FSMP. Completed in conjunction with COSSH regulations, this determined the criteria of each cleaning task. According to Irish Standard 340:2007, effective cleaning schedules determine:

What area or item requires cleaning How the cleaning is performed Which chemicals to use, their concentration and contact time If heat is required When and how often cleaning is required Duration of each task Who performs each task The signature of the person carrying out the task The signature of a supervisor to verify satisfactory completion

Standard operating procedures (SOP) have been designed by the manager to enable the smooth implementation of the FSMP. With regard to cleaning and disinfectant controls, SOPs are followed for each area of the restaurant. The cleaner utilises the SOPs to enable compliance with the regulations and to ensure risk is kept to a minimum. Any deviation from the SOPs must be reported to the manager, with an incident report filed for serious mistakes or failures. Any updates or changes to SOPs must be communicated to staff and not assumed known. A sample SOP for a food contact surface is shown in Figure 1 Daily cleaning schedules include toilets and restrooms, floors, kitchen utensils, cutlery, surface contact areas and hands (personal hygiene). Clean as you go is a policy to keep work areas clean and tidy at all times. Daily tasks implemented by food preparation staff use Clean as you go. It applies particularly to hand cleaning, cooking utensils and cutlery, contact surfaces

and containers. Weekly cleaning schedules include frames of the kitchen equipment, table legs, light covers and doorframes. Monthly cleaning schedules include Extractor fans, water filters and behind equipment such as refrigerators and ovens. A sample daily cleaning schedule for the Restaurant X is shown in Figure 2. A specialist supplier is used for the acquisition of hygiene and cleaning products. The products used are both biodegradable and non polluting. The main products used are mild bleaches for toilet areas, and detergents for dining and food prep areas including sanitisers containing surfactants and sequestrants. They are colour-coded in 5 litre containers, which are diluted to 500ml spray bottles. Each product has a specific area of use. Different products are used for the floors, glass, dining tables, utensils and food preparation areas. The easy to read colour coding ensure the correct products are used and prevents cross contamination. Cleaning materials including chemicals and clothing are stored together in a separate room at the rear of the building. This is both to prevent contamination and misuse. Disposal of waste cleaning products is the responsibility of the cleaner. Waste water from cleaning must be disposed of at the rear of the building in a suitable drain. Mop heads have a maximum of three days life cycle for each. Mop buckets and cleaning bottles must be cleaned after use to prevent contamination Mop heads must be disinfected by placing in strong bleach after each use. Cloths are either of the reusable type, which can be boil-washed, or disposed of daily. Synthetic brushes are kept separately for the kitchen, main restaurant and toilet areas. This minimises cross contamination. Personal hygiene also comes under the realm of cleaning, with hand repeated hand washing required between changing tasks or moving areas. Hand wash signs are in clear view at all critical control points (CCPs) and are highlighted in SOPs. There is a strict no-jewellery policy as these harbour dirt and bacteria. Staff must use protective clothing when involved in any cleaning procedure. The kitchen staff use disposable gloves, aprons and hairnets, while the cleaner must use disposable gloves and overshoes. Kitchen utensils and cutlery are cleaned using the dishwasher. This loaded by kitchen staff as required. Clean items are removed and stored when dry. The

use of the dishwasher frees up staff time and ensures a more thorough clean. The high temperature enables built in disinfection. Utensils that are used frequently are cleaned by hand using the clean as you go policy. Monitoring of Cleaning and Disinfection controls All members of staff carry a duty to monitor the cleaning and disinfectant controls. Monitoring is necessary to ensure compliance with EU regulations and that poor cleaning doesnt compromise food safety. Frequent visual inspection of surfaces and utensils monitors the frequency of cleaning. The supervision of staff at work monitors the compliance of staff to cleaning and disinfectants controls. Cleaning checklists are visible in the main restaurant and toilet areas. These provide both customer confidence and easy inspection by the manager. The cleaner must sign at each task and the manager checks the checklists daily. Cleaning logs are checked against actual work completed with any deviations being communicated to the cleaner or kitchen staff. By keeping all cleaning materials together it ensures easy monitoring of stock. Inspections for clean aprons, hairnets and gloves occur twice weekly with supplies inspected to ensure correct rate of usage. The cleaner is responsible for monitoring the general cleanliness of the restaurant and using initiative to prioritise areas. The cleaner must also monitor use of toilet paper, hand wash gel and paper towel in the toilets. Replacements must be prompt and stock monitored. The cleaning log includes the aforementioned disposal of waste products and cleaning of mop heads and cloths. Random inspection of the cleaning equipment by the manager ensures vigilance by all staff. The correct mixture ratio of cleaning chemicals must be used, with the manager observing their use to ensure they are not being used either too quickly or not enough. The kitchen staff have a number of responsibilities with respect to monitoring. Visual inspection monitors the effectiveness of the dishwasher. Floor surfaces are monitored to ensure there is no debris or foreign material that could cause contamination. Freezers, refrigerators and ovens are also the responsibility of the kitchen staff. They are cleaned twice weekly with monitoring by the

manager via spot checks. Sink drains are checked daily for debris and blockage. The restaurant recently started an internal staff refresher program. This is held once a month to monitor and discuss staff knowledge of the FSMP and communicate any changes to legal requirements. Any shortfalls in training can be addressed and further training organised externally if required. Verification of Cleaning and Disinfection controls Verification is the process of checking or reviewing a HACCP system to ensure it is operating according to plan and reaching its objectives. It is a requirement under regulation EU 852/2004 that verification procedures are included in a HACCP plan. The manager implements internal verification and the local Health Service Executive (HSE), the local body in charge of enforcement, implements external verification via an area inspector. The manager checks cleaning logs for verification of work completed. Cleaning records are kept and filed securely. Crosschecking of cleaned areas against records is performed at random to verify work is carried out satisfactorily. The manager also has the responsibility to verify staff are current with food safety law and good hygiene practice by inspecting training records. As previously mentioned, the monthly staff meetings enable the manager to verify staff knowledge on any area of the FSMP, including cleaning and disinfection and to take action with training if required. HSE Inspectors visit the premises annually to complete a full inspection. The inspectors can access and review records to verify compliance. A further surveillance visit occurs during the year at random. COSHH assessments and records are available for inspection and verification by inspectors. Microbial swabs may be taken by the inspector to verify the cleaning and disinfection status. Swabs are usually taken at points of food contact including worktop surfaces, refrigerators and sometimes from staff themselves. Lab verified total bacterial count must be below acceptable levels for a restaurant to be allowed operate by law. Critical analysis of corrective actions taken in the event of a Cleaning and Disinfection control failure

A failure in the area of Cleaning and Disinfection control could compromise food safety and put public health at risk. During November 2009, severe flooding hit the area where Restaurant X is located. This resulted in river and sewer water flooding the immediate area up to a depth of 2 meters. Water entered the restaurant through the front entrance and proceeded to flood the main dining area, reception and halls. It also entered the kitchen to a smaller extent. Such water is a hazard and may harbor many different types of pathogens. These organisms water may cause gastrointestinal infections, dysentery and hepatitis to name but a few. There is also the risk of chemical contamination from industrial waste. The restaurant remained closed for a number of days to perform a clean up operation. This included replacing timber floor areas, painting walls and cleaning tiled floor areas. Luckily, a lot of tables, chairs and light equipment had been removed in anticipation of the flooding. Ovens and worktops were high enough to avoid submersion. Sandbag use reduced the damage to some extent, but due to the sheer height of the water could not prevent major damage. To begin the cleanup process, the FSMP plan and cleaning schedules were referred to. The SOPs in place for cleaning were extended to include all areas not normally covered by regular cleaning. Due to the circumstances, monthly tasks were performed as immediate tasks. Supplies that were damaged were reordered and replaced. One refrigerator had to be replaced due to water damage and all food stock was removed and replenished. A part time member of staff, Person A, usually works on low risk kitchen chores such as filling dishwashers, delivering orders and obtaining stock from stores. Due to the large task at hand and the other staff being busy, person A, untrained in cleaning, was called into work to help with the cleanup operation. On the evening before reopening, Person A was assigned to clean the kitchen floors, worktops and refrigerators along with moving furniture, cutlery and utensils back into place. During the evening, the manager noticed that the wrong cleaning solution was being used for the area that holds cutlery during the serving process. Hand wash gel, for toilet use, was being used instead of the correct sanitising chemical. This resulted in cleaning but a lack of disinfection. The cabinet had been in contact with some of the floodwater.

Under Section 4 Article 14(1) of Regulation EU 178/2002, Food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Food shall be deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be: (a) injurious to health, (b) unfit for human consumption. Food preparation would have been performed in this area the following morning. Plates and bowls would have been in direct contact with the contaminated area. Due to the lack of disinfection, contaminants may have been transferred by surface contact during the day. For corrective action, the entire kitchen working area was redone with the correct sanitiser. This avoided a serious breach in food safety. The incident was deemed to be minor by the manager. There was no need to report the incident to the HSE, although an incident report was filed to state the error and the corrective action taken. Person A was surprised and admitted it was a genuine error. They reported to be overwhelmed by the task and not familiar with the work normally undertaken by the cleaner. The restaurant was deemed suitable to reopen by the manager and the first customers returned on the following afternoon. Recommendations and Communications A restaurant can be a high pressure, high paced environment. This only increases the risk of mistakes being made. In this case the vigilance of the manager in observing the staff avoided a much worse situation. Errors in good practice can occur during unforeseen events. Individual stress, multitasking and increased workloads can affect work performance. The overwhelming nature of the task demonstrated the limits of the cleaning and disinfection controls. With staff outside their comfort zone, minor errors started to show. Work that was normally taken for granted, even when performed many times before, can no longer be assumed correct. In this case the movement of a member of staff from a low risk area to a high-risk area proved erroneous. With the manager being under stress, staff members were expected to perform in some cases beyond their abilities or knowledge. The manager assumed communication between the cleaner and person A would occur. It was also assumed that Person A would be familiar with the products due to working in the restaurant. The food preparation staff are trained in cleaning for

their area. The cleaner is trained to clean the full facility, yet an untrained member of staff was utilised instead. However, person A was rarely involved in any type of cleaning and in those rare cases they were supervised with cleaning tools supplied and ready to work with. After reviewing the incident, five recommendations can be made to improve the cleaning and disinfection controls within the restaurant. These are: An emergency action plan should be put into place for future events, as there has been an increased risk of flooding over the past number of years, a reoccurrence is likely. The plan should involve assistance from the local health inspector and fire officer if required. This plan should be formed as a matter of priority. It should state who is in charge, what cleaning is to be performed and by whom. It also needs to be updated as required. Training should be provided to the Person A as a preventative measure. Therefore, should they be required to cover cleaning again they will not need direct supervision. The manager could undertake this over the course of a day. Demonstration of the cleaning products, effective use of cleaning utensils and observing the cleaner should be part of the training process. The manager should take control in every situation and delegate tasks only to those fully competent. This also falls under the area of fitness to work forms and staff training records. While the staff member was only following orders, the manager could have prevented the incident in the first place by leading the team. Leadership in this instance involved recognising who was trained i.e. the cleaner and who was not trained, Person A. Untrained personnel should not be assigned cleaning tasks. This should be a ground rule with respect of any incident, no matter how serious or spontaneous. Staff records should be reviewed if uncertainty arises. Management should brief staff before a major task is undertaken. They should be asked if they are confident in each task they are to

undertake. This line of communication should always be before, not during a task. Staff should be encouraged to ask for assistance if required. Staying silent because of a fear of causing further problems only exacerbates the situation. Summary Establishing, monitoring and verifying cleaning and disinfection controls are an integral part of a businesses food safety management plan. This report covered the wide range of physical areas, individual responsibilities and legal obligations on the part of a restaurant business. These all ensure a high standard of cleaning is adhered to, to further support overall hygiene. Prerequisites are an essential part of the development of cleaning procedures when forming a HACCP system. Enforcement by the HSE enables good practice to be adhered to due to continuous monitoring. This report has shown that even with a well planned FSMP and implementation of good cleaning and disinfectant controls, individual limitations can result in a failure. Lack of preparation by a manager to deal with an unforeseen event contributes to this. The chain of events from managements error in delegating tasks to untrained personnel led in turn to individual error resulting in a possible serious incident. Having some staff trained in multiple areas can function as a backup when all else fails. Proper judgement by management can avoid such incidents from occurring in the first place.

Figures. Fig.1 Sample Cleaning SOP for Restaurant X Item to be cleaned Cleaning Method Chemical to be used When to be cleaned Food Contact Surface Area Manual Cleaning with disposable paper cloth Blue Spray Bottle Sanitiser Before and After each use

Frequency of Cleaning Duration of Cleaning Operator Monitoring Verification

Each use, Daily Seconds Chef or Kitchen Staff Signature of staff member on checklist Inspection by Manager

Fig.2 Sample Daily Cleaning Schedule for Restaurant X Date 01/03/2010 Time AM
Clean as you go->

PM
Clean as you go->

Item Completed by Signature Refrigerator Freezer WorkTops Sinks Floors Bain Marie Utensils Toilets Waste Area

References Engel D, MacDonald D, Nash, C. 2001. Managing Food Safety. Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, Chadwick Court, London. Sprenger, RA. 2002. Hygiene for Management, Highfield Publications, Chapter 13 Langsrud S, Sidhu MS, Heir E, Holck AL. 2003. Bacterial disinfectant resistance a change for the food industry. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 51, 283-290. FSAI. 2010. Codex. Available: http://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/topics_of_interest/codex.html. Last accessed 2 Mar 2010