Cleaning Detergents and Sanitizers

Dear staffs, cleaning and sanitizing are two processes involved in the cleaning program. However, they are both two different things. Cleaning removes what you can see, and sanitizing removes what you cant. Cleaning dishes and equipment means washing off food particles, dirt, oil and other visible materials. Sanitizing requires the use of specialized agents that attack and kill bacteria and germs. Below is the list of the recommended detergents and sanitizers for different uses in the salad bar.

Handwashing Soap or Sanitizers

• We have provided dispensable liquid soap and gel in all the hand washing station.
• The soap is antibacterial but at the same time gentle to the skin.
• It helps to effectively kills the germs that may reside on your hands.
• For the chefs and kitchen workers, stick to hand soap and water. For the staff servers, wash your hands whenever possible and use the hand sanitizer for quick cleansing when serving the customers.
• Sanitizers contains alcohol which can effectively kills off the germs and bacteria.

Cleaning kitchen equipments

• Degreaser - It is a special detergent to remove grease from the stove. Please remember to wear gloves when using the degreaser as it is quite a strong chemical.
• Dishwashing soap - The dishwashing soap provided helps to removes grease as well as some of the germs on the dishes.
  

Sanitizers

• Contains alcohol which effectively kills the germs and bacteria which prevents unwanted illnesses.
• Use it to clean counter tops and tables.
  

The Bettus Lettuce Cleaning Program

Dear staffs, The Bettus Lettuce management has come up with an effective cleaning program for our salad bar. Since we are dealing with raw and cooked food here, it is very important for us to sanitize and clean our food preparation and storage area. Salads contain vegetables that are usually eaten raw, therefore, the chances of getting food borne illnesses are very high. It is our responsibilities as food handlers to make sure that the food that we deliver is safe and healthy to be consumed. Here are the list of the cleaning program that we have came up with:

Utensils and plates

• Scrape off the leftovers from the plates and utensils and rinse it.
• By using the dishwashing detergent that we have provided, soap the plates and rinse it under running warm water. Make sure the utensils and plates are clear from soap residues or food residues.
• Allow the plates to air dry and do not dry the plates with towels.
• Sanitize the plates and utensils by using our alcohol sanitizer. Remember to wear gloves when sanitizing.

Cleaning equipments and facility

• Cleaning equipments and supplies must be stored separately from the food. It must be stored in the cleaner storeroom.
• Wiping cloths should be kept clean and wash after service ended.
• When there is a spillage, clean up immediately to prevent any falls or slips. Also, stagnant water harbours harmful bacteria and germs that make us fall sick.
  
• Use the available cleaning detergent to mop the floor after service every single day. Sweep the floor before mopping.

Refrigeration storage

• The temperature for the chillers is 5ºC and it should be check for every single day.
• Separate the raw food from the prepared food. Store the raw food below the prepared food.
• Cover food with cling wrap to protect from drippings, odours and drying out.
• Clean the chiller once a week.
• Always label the name and the date of production of the food.

Food preparation, handling, holding and service

• Prepared food or raw food should not be kept at room temperature as it can cause the food to spoil.
• Food should be prepared on a clean and sanitized surfaces with clean and sanitized utensils.
• Fruits and vegetables should be wash before refrigeration to wash away the dirt and the grits.
• Always use the correct colour coded chopping board when preparing food.
• The slicer, grinder, knives and mixers and food contact surfaces must be thoroughly clean and sanitize.
• Once the food product is cleaned or cooked to be stored for later use, it must be refrigerate immediately.
• Do not touch raw food and then touch precooked food. This is to avoid contamination.
  
• When serving food to customers, always use the appropriate clean and sanitized utensils. Do not pick up the food by using your bare hands.
• Clean cloths should be available at the stations to clean up spills or dirt.
• Dining area should be kept clean at all times. Clean and sanitize the tables.

Chopping boards and Knives

Dearest staffs, I hope by now you are able to identify which knives and chopping boards are used to cut raw and cooked food. Just to clarify again, here is the list:

- Red chopping board - Raw meat

- Blue chopping board - Raw fish

- Yellow chopping board - Cooked food

- Green chopping board - Fruits and vegetables

- Black handled knives - Raw meat and fish

- Blue handled knives - Cooked meat and fish

- Green handled knives - Vegetables and fruits

The reason we color coded and separate the chopping boards and knives fro raw and cooked food is to avoid cross contamination. Cross contamination can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps and dehydration and sometimes death.

Guide to Proper Hand Washing

Dear staffs, here are the proper hand washing techniques:

1. First, wet your hands with warm water and apply the cleaning soap or gel provided at the hand washing area.
2. Briskly rub the surface of the fingers and fingertips, front and back of hands, wrist, and forearm for at least 20 seconds.
3. Use a brush provided at the hand washing area to scrub fingernails.
4. After scrubbing, rinse thoroughly with clean and warm water under and around the nails and fingers.
5. Dry hands by using disposable paper towels. Use the same paper towel to turn off the tap.

*Never dry your hands on your apron or towels.

Here is a picture guide to proper hand washing:


We, as food handlers must have moral and legal responsibilty to ensure that our food is free from any forms of contamination and are safe to be consume by our customers. This is also to ensure that our customers have the confidence and trust in us that the food they are consuming is safe and thus, this will increase our sales. Most food borne illnesses outbreak are the results of physical contamination which is due to poor personal hygiene. Simple steps such as washing hands with the proper techniques can help to avoid this. Imagine if one of our customers ate our Chicken Ceaser Salad and had food poisoning. We could face legal charges, hospital fees and the loss of our reputation. Good personal hygiene is not only applicable to our job, it is a way of life which we should pass it down to our younger generation.

The Do's and The Don'ts

Dear staffs, good personal hygiene is an important issue that we need to highlight. Therefore, here are some guidelines that we hope that you will follow in order to create a healthy and safe environment for us to work in.

The Do's

Here are some pointers:
- It is important for us to maintain a clean, neat and tidy appearance all the time
- Remember, good dental hygiene = good breath! (You wouldn't want customers to tell you that you have bad breath right?)
- Cut your nails and keep them clean!
- To our wonderful chefs, please remember to wear your safety boots (The Bettus Lettuce Management wouldn't want any of our employees to get hurt)
- Always keep hair neat and wear a hair net.
- Remember to wear gloves when making salads
- Always wash your hands after using the restroom. You wouldn't want to carry unwanted bacteria to the area where you are preparing food.

The Don'ts

- Ladies, please don't wear too much make up or get your nails done. (You might accidentally contaminate the food)
- Always cover your sores or wounds with a plaster (blue or green) and wear a glove
- If you are feeling unwell, take the day off instead of coming to work. (Bettus Lettuce cares for their employees!)
- Remember, no eating while preparing food. That means, no gums or sweets.
- No smoking or spiting in the food preparation area! (We wouldn't want any ashes to drop in the food we are preparing for our customers)
- No picking nose and touching any body parts when preparing food
- Always taste food with a clean spoon. (No double dipping!)
- Remember to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough. And wash your hands after that

The reason why we put so much effort to let all of you know the dos and don'ts of personal hygiene is to create a safe and clean environment for both the employees and customers. Few of the potential problems that could rise due to poor personal hygiene are,

- Food contamination can cause the loss of customers to our salad bar
- Bad breath
- Body odour
- Contracting diseases such as flu, common cold, thyphoid, Hepatitis A and B

Hygiene is more than just being clean. It is defined as the many practices that help people to stay healthy. Taking care of your own personal hygiene helps to fight yourself from catching or spreading unwanted illnesses. Besides that, by keeping oneself clean, we are able to project a positive body image that reflects our personalities. It helps to increase our self-esteem, confidence and our work productivity. Therefore, do take the time to read through this posts and we hope that you are able to understand the need of keeping oneself clean. Cheers!

*Our next post will be on steps to effectively wash your hands. Remember to check in often and do leave us comments to improve us.