Food safety vigilance is necessary to make sure that patrons of your restaurant leave just as healthy as they entered. That means that making sure that all of the restaurant’s equipment is clean, as well as all of the restaurant shelving and that the food that is being served is of the utmost quality.
You’ve most likely read some of the many stories about restaurants who have not come through.
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There was a story from Perry County, Pennsylvania, that had mildew-like growth on the shelving areas in their walk-in cooler.
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A story from the Statesman Journal in Oregon talks about shelving which has unnecessary litter and dust scattered throughout.
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“Observed work-table surfaces, under-counter shelving and can opener not cleaned to sight/touch.” This is from the Houston Chronicle, when talking about inspections from just this week.
Since health inspections are generally unannounced, the first order of business is to make sure that the shelves are wiped down on a regular schedule to avoid dust buildup.
Going further still, it’s necessary to disinfect your restaurant shelving to eliminate any potential mold or mildew-like growth in the coolers. While the growth of mold and mildew is slowed in the fridge, it’s not eliminated (as witnessed by the many college ‘experiments’ out there).
What does your cleaning schedule look like? Remember, if your staff has time to lean, they’ve got time to clean.
