Meet Food Safety Requirements with a Cleaning Checklist

Effective cleaning and sanitation schedules in professional kitchens are essential for producing quality meals, avoiding food borne diseases and minimising the risk to public health. So below is a suggested checklist for your staff to follow to ensure you safeguard your establishment’s reputation with your customers.

Items to Clean During Each Cooking Shift

The following actions should be carried out almost subconsciously by cooks and kitchen staff multiple times when meals are being prepared.

·      Brush grill between cooking red meat, poultry and fish to avoid cross- contamination.

·      Constantly wipe preparation areas and heated zones where plated meals are temporarily stored before being served to customers.

·      Regularly change sanitising water and cleaning cloths.

·      Alternate cutting boards for various uses.

·      Empty garbage bins.

Between Shifts

Each shift needs to be responsible for leaving the kitchen in a fit state for the next shift to begin. This builds teamwork and morale and keeps each shift accountable for their own cleaning and sanitation.

·      Empty and clean sanitising buckets.

·      Launder cloths, aprons and uniforms.

·      Empty all rubbish bins and insert clean bin liners.

·      Sweep and mop floor areas including walk-in refrigerators.

·      Clean and sanitise meat and cheese slicer.

·      Wash any floor matting.

·      Wipe down and sanitise all food preparation areas.

·      Clean fryers and grills.

Daily Cleaning Tasks

If your professional cleaning service does not perform the following jobs, as chefs and restaurant/kitchen managers you should ensure your staff do.

·      Clean grease traps.

·      Remove exhaust filters and wash in dishwasher.

·      Replace foil linings used in cooking apparatus.

Weekly Cleaning Tasks

The following tasks should be evenly distributed amongst your various shifts to spread the load.

·      Scrub and de-lime sinks and taps.

·      Clean coffee machine inside and out.

·      Empty fridges to enable thorough cleaning and sanitation. (This is a good opportunity to rotate stock.)

·      Oil cast iron equipment to prevent superficial rust.

·      Clean drains and ovens.

Monthly Cleaning/Maintenance Tasks

Once again, share these tasks around your team.

·      Clean and sanitise dry ingredient storage areas.

·      Empty and sanitise ice machine.

·      Clean freezers. (Rotate stock.)

·      Calibrate all ovens and thermometers.

·      Replace any rodent/pest traps.

·      Restock first-aid kit.

·      Wash walls and ceilings.

·      Clean behind ovens, stoves and fryers concentrating on removing grease.

Annual Cleaning/Maintenance Tasks

Schedule these tasks for the quiet times in your business to minimise impact on customers, staff and cash flow. Some may require external professionals.

·      Check fire containment system and hand-held extinguishers. (Check local by-laws to ensure compliance.)

·      Thoroughly clean and de-grease exhaust systems.

·      Clean pilot light housings on all gas cooking equipment.

Summary

Cleaning and sanitation schedules should be displayed prominently in kitchen areas and staff rooms. This encourages peer to peer monitoring of adherence to them and establishing an acceptable standard of completed tasks. The following link provides easy access to some of the products required to carry out many of the tasks mentioned.

https://www.foodsafetysolutions.com.au/shop/category/cleaning-and-sanitation

One of the bonus side benefits of maintaining cleaning schedules in your kitchen is the effect on staff. Cleanliness becomes the baseline that establishes a productive culture thereby creating a working environment staff can take pride in. Once created, staff issues gradually reduce as their focus becomes the tasks and the output, not the personalities.