Sanitation has never been seen as so important before. With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, people have become increasingly aware of the need for effective sanitation. Of course, this has always been important, it’s just appearing more in news stories now.
The good news is effective sanitation doesn’t need to be difficult. There are five important techniques that should be employed at all times, helping to keep you and your family safe while protecting your business.
1. Washing Hands
The most important step everyone should take is to make sure they wash their hands regularly. Your hands are constantly covered in bacteria, some are beneficial and some are dangerous. Simply touching the wrong thing can allow bacteria onto your hands which is then transmitted to other surfaces, people, and even their food.
The best approach is to wash your hands after you use the bathroom and both before and after touching food. Soap and water are effective. But, if you don’t have any available, hand sanitiser is a great and effective alternative.
2. Cleaning Equipment
Of course, it’s not just your hands that need to be clean. The equipment you use every day to prepare food needs to be properly washed and dried. Washing in hot soapy water kills bacteria. Drying is just as important as damp surfaces attract pests and mold. That’s detrimental to your health.
Where possible all removable pieces of equipment should be washed in the sink or the dishwasher. The rest of the equipment should be thoroughly wiped, a disinfectant spray is a good idea.
3. Food Storage
Another important part of effective sanitation is to ensure you have the right approach to food storage. All food items should be stored in their own containers. This prevents cross-contamination and stops pests from getting to them.
Alongside this, it’s important to observe temperature regulations and make sure that all cooked foods are placed higher in the refrigerator than uncooked foods. It helps to prevent accidental contamination.
4. Pest Control
Sanitation isn’t just about making sure you’re clean enough to handle food or have contact with other people. You also need to consider how poor sanitation attracts pests. That’s not something you want.
Cleaning up properly and disinfecting surfaces removes the food debris that appeals to these pests. Providing you also eliminate water sources there will be no reason for the pests to bother you and ruin your sanitation efforts.
5. Training
One thing that is often overlooked in business is the need for training and refreshing that training. All employees will have been taken through the procedures when they first start with the company. But, in order to get effective sanitation employees need to be reminded regularly of the importance of sanitation.
The refreshers should be regular and relevant, using real-world examples to back up the training you’re offering. Once people realize the effect it can have on others, them, and the business, they will take sanitation more seriously, as everyone should.
