How to implement proper sanitiser use and method. 

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

Sanitiser chemicals are used in the catering industry, along with hard surface cleaners/degreasers to clean and disinfect surfaces and equipment.

Sanitisers can, if used correctly, reduce bacteria to a safe level on surfaces but can present hazards if not used correctly.

Training of staff in how to carry out cleaning procedures is very important and well as staff understanding how cleaners and sanitisers work.

Sanitisers are mainly disinfectants, with limited cleaning ability on lightly soiled surfaces. When surfaces that are highly contaminated, have allergen residues present on them or have tenacious or heavy soiling, then a hard surface cleaner/degreaser should be used every time before the sanitiser is used to ensure thorough cleaning has removed residues before the sanitizer can be applied.

Sanitisers cannot disinfect properly if food residues and chemical residues remain on a surface.

Safety points

British standards for disinfection

Sanitiser used in the food industry must meet one of two standards, namely

BSEN 1276:1997 or BSEN 13697:2001

These standards ensure that when used correctly the sanitiser will kill 99.999% of micro-organisms on the surface. These sanitisers are mainly available from commercial suppliers of chemicals.

Dilution of sanitiser

Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the dilution rate.

Over-dilution will inhibit the chemicals ability to kill enough micro-organisms to make a surface clean.

Overconcentration of the sanitiser will not kill extra bacteria but can result in chemical contamination of surfaces.

Contact time

Contact time required is critical to the levels of bacteria that will be killed on the surface, full contact time must always be observed as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Use of sanitiser

In catering not all surfaces need sanitising e.g. Floors and table legs.

Although sanitizing/disinfecting once a week is good practice as it lowers residual levels of microbiological contaminants in the immediate environment.

The most critical surfaces for cleaning are ones where food or food packaging comes into contact with, therefore all food preparation surfaces as well as fridges, food prep sinks etc.

Surfaces and equipment that can present a hazard from microbiological cross contamination by the fact that they are often touched surfaces by lots of staff, often referred to as touch points e.g. Taps, fridge handles, drawer handles, light switches, sanitiser bottles themselves etc.