Cleaning and Sanitation in Food Environment Areas

In the food industry, when talking about health and hygiene, it is important to understand the meaning of the following terms:

1. Wash: dislodge all food particles, dirt and a number of micro-organisms through physical contact with water;

2. Sanitize: destroy the micro-organisms under a safe threshold, on a cleaned surface, and thus clean, using a bactericidal or germicidal sanitizer which greatly reduces the risk of finding pathogenic micro-organisms;

3. Disinfect: destroy pathogenic micro-organisms with a chemical;

4. Sterilize: eliminate all micro-organisms;

5. Rinse: eliminate detergent residue that reduces the effectiveness of the chemical sanitizers.

Here are the different types of cleaning:

a. Manual cleaning of equipment and materials;

b. Automatic cleaning of the equipment (self-cleaning);

c. Mechanical cleaning (dishwashers);

d. Pressure or steam cleaning; e. Cleaning surfaces in contact with food;

f. Cleaning food environment areas;

g. Cleaning the facilities. Here are the procedures to follow for the use of cleaning and sanitizing products:

A. The products used can be dangerous if used inappropriately.

B. These products may contaminate food, equipment and food handlers; C. Consumers can be poisoned when ingesting chemically contaminated food;

D. The manufacturer’s recommendations for the dilution and application of their cleaning products must be strictly followed;

E. Note that in food service areas the following are banned: the use of steel wool, due to its toxicity when it breaks down and abrasive cleaners such as: Comet, Ajax, Old Dutch, etc … Videos Below are some videos from our suppliers and partners: a) Ceiling Pro International http://www.ceilingprointernational.com/services.php b) InnuScience http://innuscience.com/en/category/videos/