Have SOPs and internal policies in place.
The first thing to keep in mind is the importance of having written Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in place. These must be followed for your commercial kitchen to produce safe food, free from food-borne bacteria. Although these procedures are not necessarily universal in that every establishment may have their own list of cleaning policies, it is imperative that they are made available to employees.
To help you, here are some things that should be included in any commercial kitchen’s cleaning policies.
- Determine the frequency of cleaning each area (ex. Hotel Lobby area, Reception, Kitchen, Restrooms etc) and develop a cleaning checklist that includes specific tasks and cleaning products for each area.
- Assign responsibilities to specific employees for each task.
- Train staff on the use of commercial kitchen cleaning equipment and the proper cleaning procedures
- Ensure that all commercial kitchen cleaning products are properly labelled and stored and that MSDS are available for each product to ensure safety.
Furthermore, management needs to monitor the policies and ensure that everyone is familiar with the correct cleaning procedures and schedules and is implementing them in the right manner using the appropriate commercial kitchen cleaning products for the job. The whole process needs to be ongoing as you need to regularly review and update SOPs to reflect any changes in regulations or best practices.
Management needs to monitor the policies and ensure that everyone is familiar with the correct cleaning procedures and schedules and is implementing them in the right manner using the appropriate cleaning materials for the job
Communicate the importance of cleaning and the ‘How to’
Good management never underestimates the importance of training. New employees need to be given training and walked through the SOPs and policies to ensure they are acquainted with them. However, to run an efficient and clean kitchen, it shouldn’t stop there: communication and education needs to be ongoing. This can be done both passively and actively. Visuals like posters and notices affixed in their right spots in the kitchen remind the employees of good regular cleaning, including the correct handwashing procedure. These visual reminders help instil good practice within the working environment. Apart from this, regular active training is essential as it serves to remind employees of the policies and rectify any bad practices. Do not forget to show the correct commercial kitchen cleaning products and equipment which need to be used for specific jobs and how they should be used.
N.Cordina provides extensive hands-on training to clients, totally free of charge, which will train employees how to properly use products in an efficient and safe manner. Get in touch to learn more!
Invest in equipment and tools.
It goes without saying that a catering or industrial kitchen sees a lot of heavy activity – equipment is used and washed many times daily, and the foods and fats used necessitate strong commercial kitchen cleaning products and the right cleaning equipment. This is the reason why stainless steel is the obvious material to go for in any commercial kitchen: it doesn’t harbour bacteria since it can take the brunt of vigorous cleaning without getting damaged and it can also be safely sanitised. Apart from this, products like baking paper and aluminium foil can help make cleaning easier, by containing spills and splatters onto the cookware and equipment.
Make sure you use top quality commercial kitchen cleaning products.
Although a well-equipped commercial kitchen seems to be all about the right utensils and cooking equipment, no food can be produced for safe consumption without proper cleaning. And that’s when commercial kitchen cleaning products come into the picture. A good quality product suited to the job can cut cleaning time and costs drastically, making the task less tedious. A great example of such products is Rivet FORTE, our strong industrial degreaser cleaner which cuts through grease without the need for heavy scrubbing, especially when used with our scratch-free stainless steel scourer. Another great product is Sprint ‘Pasta Mani’, an industrial hand cleaner in the form of a paste which is to be used when liquid soap will not do the job.
Commercial kitchen cleaning products should be chosen carefully and only used on the right surfaces. Therefore, a cleaning product should not cause unnecessary damage and incur further costs, like clogging drains or tarnishing the materials making them unsafe for food preparation and production. Another thing to think about is commercial kitchen cleaning equipment including application bottles, like spray bottles. When buying these, make sure to confirm that the mist that sprays out of it contains enough solution to kill the bacteria on the surface being treated.
Deep clean high-traffic and high-touch areas.
The kitchen is not just hobs and counters; the floor is part of it too since grease gets everywhere. Therefore, in your arsenal of commercial kitchen cleaning products, in addition to an industrial degreaser cleaner, ensure to include a good floor detergent and have the floors cleaned regularly and then thoroughly dried to avoid any slipping hazards. For this you will need to ensure you have the right commercial kitchen cleaning equipment. Do not forget to clean areas that are touched often, like knobs and the handles of fridges and freezers.
A clean commercial kitchen is essential for a successful catering enterprise. There are plenty of products and options available – NCordina is here to guide you through our range and together we can find the products that work for you.
