By Maria Dalit, Contributor
Restaurant cleaning sanitation is a huge focus of operators right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in the US and beyond, restaurants need to put a heavier focus on their cleaning policies and procedures. No restaurant wants to be seen as a hotspot for passing around the virus.
Regular sanitation of surfaces in your restaurant – like tables, chairs, and booths – between guest usage is a great way of making sure what your guests touch is clean. Meanwhile, the use of masks – be it cloth or 3-ply paper – is a great way of limited the transmission possibilities in your restaurant between staff and guests.
Another way that needs to get some attention of restaurant leaders is hand cleaning. Cleaning surfaces and wearing masks are all well and good, but if your staff’s hands are constantly contaminated than a lot of that work is for naught.
The most common method of keeping hands clean from bacteria and viruses is by handwashing with soap and water, and using hand sanitizers. And while washing your hands is favored over sanitizers, both have their place in your restaurant. Today, we’ll look at both.
When Restaurant Staff Should Wash Their Hands
Handwashing with soap and water is the golden rule when it comes to simple personal hygiene. And the same goes for restaurant staff hygiene, as well. It is the best technique to get rid of more germs, grime, and dirt compared to other methods. Although handwashing and using sanitizer both work in reducing germs, the former can kill bacteria. Aside from that, it can physically remove debris, spores, and other dirt that cause sickness.
It should be obvious, but using soap is more effective than just using water alone. The soap loosens the germs, making them easier to wash away. However, it is not the washing that kills the viruses, but the way you wash your hands that is the most important thing to consider.
Here are the steps in proper handwashing to ensure that germs are killed and will not transfer to other surfaces or persons.
Run your hands under clean and running hot water. Federal regulations recommend restaurant employees wash their hands in at least 110° F water.
Use hands and fingers to lather up the soap. Any soap will work as long as it lathers appropriately, and you wash off the dirt and grime thoroughly.
Scrub for 20 seconds, scrubbing palm, in between fingers, and lower arms. You may want to try singing songs like Happy Birthday; Row, Row Your Boat; Wheels on the Bus; or Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star two times if you want a more creative way of knowing how long you should be scrubbing your hands.
Rinse your hands with clean water.
Use a clean towel, a dryer, paper towel to dry your hands thoroughly. If these are not available, you can let them air-dry. Drying your hands is an essential step in the whole process. Wet hands can transmit and pick up germs faster. So, if you don’t have a clean towel handy, let your hands air dry before touching anything.
Your restaurant’s staff must wash their hands every time they get dirty or oily. Other times that they should do the same are as follows:
When they first arrive at work for their shift
Anytime they come from outside during their shift
Immediately before touching or working with food or kitchen equipment.
After using the bathroom
After coughing, sneezing, using a nose tissue
After smoking
After eating or drinking
After touching dirty restaurant equipment or utensils
After wiping their hands on their uniform
Before and after using gloves
After handling money
When Restaurant Staff Should Use Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer bottles have become an essential thing in our bags or pockets. It is the most portable and accessible way of disinfecting our hands. It also reduces the possibility of acquiring or transmitting diseases since it effectively neutralizes germs and viruses.
It’s recommended to never use alcohol-free sanitizers. Hand sanitizers must contain 60% alcohol or more to be effective. Moreover, don’t prepare your hand sanitizer on your own. Use only quality-controlled products that have been tested to provide sanitation.
Alcohol-based sanitizers are found to be effective in fighting respiratory viruses, like flu and the COVID-19. The FDA even recommends products with up to 95% ethanol or isopropanol. Further, the WHO classified alcohol-based sanitizers as an essential medicine.
However, the following have found to be some of the disadvantages of using hand sanitizers:
It cannot protect you against bacteria that cause diarrhea.
Sanitizer is more expensive than soap.
It leaves a sticky feeling that makes some users uncomfortable.
There are some benefits to using hand sanitizer in your restaurant. Here are some places to consider sanitation stations for your employees and guests:
By the entrance/exit of your business for guests and staff to use as the enter/leave your establishment
In your restaurant’s bathrooms for staff and guest who want to use it to supplement their hand washing
At the table so guests can sanitize their hands after handling a menu or ordering via your tabletop tablets
Nonetheless, your team should only be using sanitizer when a sink, water, and soap are not available. And even when using hand sanitizer, it’s important to make sure to wash your hands as soon as possible after.
What Do Health Professionals Tell Us?
To avoid getting sick quickly, the CDC recommends staff washing hands with soap and water since it can reduce the number of germs and chemicals on your hands. But, if soap and clean water are not readily available, using hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol is the best alternative. An alcohol-free sanitizer may reduce the growth of germs, but it cannot kill them right away. You can obtain these through most stores but commercial kitchen suppliers can supply it in bulk.
Most health professionals prefer and recommend hand washing over any other method to keep hands clean. Further, hand sanitizers are found to be not as effective when hands have dirt and grime. Sanitizers can work well in clinical environments -- like when you are in a hospital -- but not if hands are soiled or greasy.
And, as cited by the CDC, there are the proper steps in using hand sanitizers enumerated below.
Liberally apply sanitizer on hands.
Rub palms together and ensure that the sanitizer covers all hand surfaces.
Rub hands until they are completely dry.
Conclusion
We cannot get rid of all viruses and bacteria roaming around us. But we can prevent them from infecting us, our staff, and our guests if we keep our hands clean. No matter which technique you prefer, how you do them is more critical. The ultimate goal is to keep your hands clean. Therefore, the most vital thing to remember is to follow the proper steps to clean your hands. It will ensure that you stay healthy and less likely to transfer germs and illnesses to other people.
