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Gold Coast Public Health Unit
Food Safety: Fact Sheet 7
Cleaning and sanitising
To ensure food is handled safely food businesses need to maintain their premises at a high
standard of cleanliness and hygiene. This includes the fixtures, fittings and equipment, as well as
those parts of vehicles that are used to transport food. The standard of cleanliness must ensure
that there is no accumulation of garbage, recycled matter, food waste, dirt, grease or other visible
matter. Processing fresh food on or with dirty equipment will transfer bacteria onto the food. Food
utensils and equipment must be cleaned and sanitised before each use and between being used
for raw food and ready- to-eat food.
The surfaces that food may come in contact with must also be cleaned and sanitised. It is
important to understand that cleaning and sanitising are different procedures.
Clean means ‘clean to the touch’, that is, free from any dirt, dust or food particles that you can see
and does not necessarily smell. Cleaning is the removal of these particles and/or smells.
Sanitise means to apply heat and/or chemicals (or other processes) to a surface so the number of
micro-organisms on the surface is reduced to a level that is safe for food contact and does not
permit the transmission of infectious disease.
Cleaning and sanitising should usually be done as separate processes. A surface needs to be
thoroughly cleaned before it is sanitised, as sanitisers are unlikely to be effective in the presence of
food residues and detergents.
Six steps to proper cleaning
Pre-clean: scrape/ wipe/ sweep away food scraps and any other physical matter and rinse
with water.
Wash: use hot water and detergent to take off any grease and dirt. Soak if needed.
Rinse: rinse off any loose dirt or detergent foam.
Sanitise: use a sanitiser as per the manufacturer’s directions to kill any remaining bacteria.
Final Rinse: wash off sanitiser (if necessary - as per the manufacturer’s directions).
Dry: allow to drip-dry or dry using a disposable towel.
How to sanitise
Most food poisoning bacteria are killed if they are exposed to chemical sanitisers, high heat or a
combination of both.
To sanitise, either:
soak items in water at 77˚C for 30 seconds; or
use food-grade sanitiser in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Planning for cleaning and sanitising
When planning your cleaning and sanitising program, consider the following advice:
single-use paper towels are better than cloths. If you use cloths, they must be washed in hot
(not warm) water and allowed to dry after every use.
use the right size brush for each task, so it can reach all areas.
use food-grade detergents and sanitisers. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
keep cleaning chemicals away from food areas to avoid chemical contamination of food.
disassemble equipment such as a meat slicer before starting to clean it.
a dishwasher will sanitise most small equipment, cutlery, plates and glasses.
drip-dry equipment or use clean tea towels where this is not possible.
educate staff on correct cleaning and sanitising procedures.
provide regular checks on cleaning carried out and instruct staff where required.
make sure the containers for garbage and recycled matter are large enough for the amount of
waste you produce, are emptied regularly and are capable of being easily cleaned.
ensure that all equipment used for cleaning (eg mops, buckets, cloths, brooms etc) are also
kept clean.
Cleaning procedures and schedules
A cleaning procedure is a set of written instructions that describes everything that needs to be
done to keep your business clean. It sets out the tasks of cleaning and sanitising, how often each
job needs to be done, how it should be done, and who should do it. A cleaning schedule is a record
that the cleaning tasks have been undertaken.
For further information
For information and examples creating cleaning and sanitising procedures and schedules visit:
https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/food-act-compliance-information-forbusinesses/resource/a4c729e6-ca18-49b3-aba7-ef974744c4d0
Queensland Health has detailed information on food safety which can be accessed at:
https://www.health.qld.gov.au/public-health/industry-environment/food-safety/default.asp
If you have any further questions relating to safe food handling, contact local government at:
[email protected]
Further information about the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code is available at:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Pages/default.aspx
Contact
Gold Coast Public Health Unit
Environmental Health Officer
Phone: (07) 56879000
Email: [email protected]