Home / Cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting, what’s the difference?
We’ve heard these words a lot these past few months. But what’s the difference, and why is it important your staff knows the distinction between them?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency have released comprehensive guidelines outlining how to keep restaurants and other foodservices running safely.
There’s a wealth information on how to properly clean, sanitize and disinfect different parts of your establishment. Here’s a quick roundup of what these steps mean that you can share with your staff.
Cleaning physically removes dust, dirt, spills, stains, and other unwanted matter from surfaces. Cleaning should always come before sanitizing and/or disinfecting.
Examples of cleaning include:
Cleaning does not kill pathogens.
Sanitizing follows cleaning and helps to reduce the number of microorganisms such as bacteria and germs to below levels deemed safe by the CDC.
Sanitizing is an effective preventative practice since it inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria and reduces the number of germs on a surface.
Note however, that sanitizing does not kill all viruses (you need to check the label of the sanitizer and work with your sanitizer provider to ensure its effectiveness).
Food-safe sanitizers can be used on any surfaces that come into contact with food. Most sanitizing products tell you to allow the sanitizer to air dry for 30 seconds on the surface. Food-prep surfaces should be sanitized multiple times per day, including:
Disinfectants kill bacteria and viruses on hard, non-porous surfaces. The EPA currently recognizes disinfecting as most effective way to kill viruses like the coronavirus, so it’s important that you not only clean high-touch points but also regularly disinfect them.
Key areas and points to disinfect multiple times a day (or ideally, between uses) include:
When it comes to disinfectants on food contact surfaces, you might want to err on the side of caution and not use them for this purpose as some are approved for food contact surfaces and some are not. Disinfectants must never come in direct contact with foods.
You must make sure users read the product label and you can ask your supplier to provide proper training in the use of the disinfectant you purchase during shift meetings.
The EPA has released a list of approved disinfectants for use against the coronavirus. Again, read the label of a product to ensure you are using it on the proper type of surface in the right way and are aware of any special directions when applying the product.
The EPA’s List N goes into detail on the types of surfaces on which you can safely use a disinfectant product. Click the green plus sign next to a product’s registration number and look at the Surface Type.
The CDC has provided guidance for cleaning and disinfecting effectively.
And always keep disinfectants locked up.
Find the most up-to-date guidance, information, and resources for restaurant operators.
Learn about Association advocacy, and take action for your business.
Explore related content.