How to Keep Your Restaurant Clean and Safe: The 7 Steps You Need to Take

Keeping your restaurant clean and safe is essential. It not only makes customers feel comfortable but also reduces the risk of foodborne illness among staff and customers. But keeping your business clean can be time-consuming and challenging. You need to have a personal hygiene standard that exceeds the minimum standard set by local authorities. You also need to implement policies, procedures, and processes that ensure your restaurant is always clean and safe. Read on to know how you can keep your restaurant clean and safe at all times.

Establish a Cleaning and Sanitization Standard

Before you implement any restaurant cleaning or sanitation process or procedure, you must first have a standard in place. Your cleaning and sanitization standard will set the benchmark for the level of cleanliness in your restaurant. It will define the cleaning products and tools to be used, when and how each cleaning activity should be done, and who will do it. You should create different cleaning standards for different areas. You can base these standards on the potential risk each area poses. For example, cleaning standards for the kitchen should be stricter than for dining areas.

Identify Danger Zones in the Kitchen and Dining Areas

A danger zone is an area in your restaurant that can easily contaminate food. It has a high risk of cross-contamination and bacterial growth. You must be extra careful when cleaning and sanitizing these areas. Some danger zones include, but are not limited to, the following:

Create a Cleaning Routine for Your Staff

You must assign cleaning activities to particular staff members. Their cleaning activities should be included in their cleaning routine. You should create a cleaning schedule for every area in your restaurant. Make sure that every cleaning task is included in these cleaning schedules. You can use daily cleaning schedules for cleaning activities that need to be done daily. You can also use weekly, monthly, or quarterly cleaning schedules for activities that need to be done less frequently.

Hire Professional Contractors to Deep-Clean Your Restaurant

You can hire a professional contractor to deep-clean your restaurant. These contractors use special tools and chemicals to clean every nook and cranny of your premises. They will scrub, clean, and sanitize every area in your restaurant. They can also spray your walls, floors, appliances, and furniture with antimicrobial sprays to kill germs and bacteria. For example, you can hire a professional contractor to deep-clean your restaurant after every holiday season or after an outbreak of foodborne illness. Hiring contractors to clean your restaurant will help you avoid the risk of transferring germs from one customer to the next. It will also keep your staff focused on the important task of serving customers.

Install Combination Exhaust Vents and Ventilation Systems

Combination exhaust vents and ventilation systems control the spread of contaminants in your restaurant. They draw warm, humid air from the kitchen and dining areas and expel it through the roof. This keeps the temperature in your restaurant consistent. It also provides better air circulation, which reduces the risk of foodborne illness. You can either install combination exhaust vents or ventilation systems or retrofit your existing system.

For retrofitting, you should hire a contractor and follow the guidelines of your local municipality. You should also consult with your contractor to discuss the best system for your restaurant. For example, you can install exhaust vents with a grease trap to control grease vapors. You can also install a special hood with an air-duct system to control smoke and cooking fumes. You can also install a mist eliminator to control mist and condensation.

Add Lockable Storage Facilities and Utensils With Led Light

You should keep food and other items that you need to store away from the kitchen in separate lockable storage facilities. This is to prevent germs from spreading to these items. You should also clean these facilities regularly to prevent food spoilage and contamination. Dining tables and stools can get very dirty with each passing customer. They can harbour germs and bacteria. To prevent this, you should have special plastic covered dining tables and chairs in your restaurant. You can also have led light in your restaurant to indicate when cleaning is in progress. This will remind your staff to clean the entire restaurant and keep it free of germs and bacteria.

Conclusion

Keeping your restaurant clean is essential. It not only makes customers feel comfortable but also reduces the risk of foodborne illness among staff and customers. You can achieve this by establishing a cleaning and sanitization standard, identifying danger zones, creating a cleaning routine for your staff, hiring professional contractors to deep-clean your restaurant, installing combination exhaust vents and ventilation systems, adding lockable storage facilities and utensils with led light, and installing a ventilation fan.