Sanitary Surroundings:
Setting Up for Safe Food

How you set up and maintain your food bank determines how many routes bacteria have to invade and thrive. Information on how to safely maintain a food bank is given in Booklet 2 of the SafeAid series.

Causes of Food Contamination.
There are three ways that food may become contaminated in food banks.

1. Contaminated Products: Some bacteria are already present in the food that is taken into the food bank. Contamination may originate naturally in the raw materials or it may be introduced during processing.

2. Cross-Contamination: The transfer of harmful organisims to food by other food, utensils, dishes, equipment, work surfaces, etc. One of the most common sources of bacterial contamination in any food establishment is poor worker hygiene.

3. Other Transport Mechanisms: Bacteria can also be transmitted to food by insects, rodents, airborne dust and water.

Work Space Organization

Visitors to the kitchen area should be discouraged (clients, kids, dogs, and other beings not essential to your food operation).
Smoking should only be allowed in a clearly marked smoking area that is away from all food or dish handling areas.
A seperate area should also be designated for worker breaks and for storing personal items (coats, purses, employee food, etc.)
Garbage cans should be stores tightly covered and away from food handling and storage areas. (Empty cans often to minimize insects and rodents.)

Cutting Boards
Cutting Boards are an especially dangerous source of bacterial contamination. The tiny grooves made by knives hide food and water sources which are perfect for bacterial growth.

To make cutting board use safe:

Use separate cutting boards for different types of food
(ex. 1 for beef, 1 for poultry, 1 for fresh vegetables, etc.)

Clean cutting boards after each use by:

scrubbing in hot, soapy water
rinsing
dipping in a sanitizer solution of 1 or 2 tsp. of bleach per gallon of water (100 ppm chlorine)
allowing the board to air dry

Dishwashing Process

Scrape and Pre-rinse dishes. Soak only if absolutely necessary.
Prepare all dishwashing sinks by washing, rinsing, and disinfecting them.
Wash dishes in hot, soapy water (120 F). Change the wash water when cold or dirty.
Rinse in clean hot water (120 F). Change rinse water when cold or dirty.
Sanitize dishes by immersion for at least 30 seconds in very hot water (170 F) or for 1 minute in lukewarm water (75 F) with 1 tsp. new bleach per gallon of water.
Air Dry dishes, then store them in a clean area.

Note: Dishwashers may be used in place of steps 2 through 6 above. Dishwashers must reach 180 F in the final rinse or must leave a residual of 50 ppm chlorine on the dishes.

Cleaning Methods

Wash, rinse and sanitize counters often.

Sanitize sinks used for washing food or dishes between each use.

Store in-use cleaning rags in a bucket of sanitizer (1 Tbs of bleach per gallon of water). Never add soap to sanitizer since it forms a film and blocks the disinfecting action of chlorine.

Disinfect floors with 3/4 cup of bleach per gallon of warm water. Empty water between each use and hang mop to dry.

Machine wash linens in hot water and disinfect with bleach. Change dishcloths whenever dirty (at least once each day).

Sanitizers
"Sanitizing" means reducing the number of bacteria on a surface by cleaning with a disinfectant such as bleach. In correct concentrations, bleach evaporates leaving little residue. Too much chlorine residue on a dish or utensil can cause chemical poisoning.
In general:

To sanitize counters and appliances use:
100 ppm chlorine (1 Tbs bleach per gallon of water)

To sanitize dishes, use:
50 ppm (1 tsp bleach per gallon of water)

Bleach in a bottle gradually loses strength as it ages. To correctly determine sanitizer concentration, use chlorine test strips. The strips turn different shades of gray at different concentrations.

Note: Surfaces cleaned with bleach must be air dried to give the chlorine time to work and to prevent recontamination.

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