Did you know the chances of contracting food poisoning increases during the summer months? The answer is simple, the heat! Bacteria and germs love warm temperatures and will multiply at a quicker rate when in a warm environment. Do not let your employees be affected by the summer bug by adopting our techniques to avoid food poisoning in your office and canteen.
Wash hands - On average, 80% of diseases are transferred by touch, scary stuff. This fact alone means that most illnesses could be prevented if we adopted proper hand washing techniques. It is the germs on our palms which contaminate food, therefore cause food poisoning. By using anti-bacterial hand wash and warm water properly, we could kill 99.9% of germs, meaning our food will be safer to eat. If you would like more information about hand washing, take a look at our ‘How Often Should I Be Washing My Hands’ blog.
Clean counters - We have previously spoken about the difference between cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting. These cleaning rules apply to all of the counters that come in contact with food, make sure to regularly disinfect worktops, tables and preparation surfaces in order to keep contamination to a minimum.
Sanitise your microwave - Your microwave door handle is the most germ-ridden place in your office kitchen, did you know? As well as the outside being swarmed with germs, the inside can be the perfect hiding spot for diseases to lurk and contaminate your lunch. If left uncleaned, old bacteria-ridden food particles can fall onto the new food making it highly likely to make your body react unpleasantly.
Disinfect handles/places which are often touched e.g. kettle handle, microwave handle, tap handle, cupboard handles - Due to being the most touched parts of the office, the risk of harbouring harmful microbes is high. Especially due to roughly 62% of men and 40% of women not washing their hands after going to the toilet… make sure to regularly disinfect handles to stop the spread before it infects employees.
Wash tea-towels regularly - Not all bacteria will be killed when washed or cleaned, there is no guarantee. Therefore when drying our hands or objects with a tea-towel, bacteria will spread to the cloth. Because of this, you need to ensure you wash the material in a washing machine with the appropriate cleaning agents so that you limit spreading germs further than necessary.
TIP: Have a separate tea towel for drying hands and drying cutlery, this will further limit the amount of bacteria spread.
Use chopping/prepping boards where appropriate - If you need to cut or prepare food make sure to use the correct chopping/prepping board so that your food or countertops are not contaminated. There is a basic key for kitchen boards, they go as follows:
Red - Raw meat
Blue - Raw fish
Yellow - Cooked meat
Brown - Vegetables
Green - Salad/fruit
White - Bakery and dairy
Make sure to follow the general guidelines or specific guidelines outlined by your company.
Clean food storage regularly e.g. fridge, freezer, cupboards - Microbes love small nooks and crannies, therefore make sure every aspect of food storage is cleaned properly and thoroughly to not allow them to exploit and further multiply. The fridge, freezer and food cupboards are often forgotten in the cleaning schedule, therefore are now the most important part as they are quickly contaminating food.
It is the ability to combine all of these techniques which will mean your employees are less likely to be at risk this summer. Here at WINNS Services, we provide several different cleaning services for companies based on your time and budget. We have been established for over two decades and have gained a great deal of knowledge and experience from this. Our staff are all carefully hand-picked by us to suit your company's needs.
For more information about WINNS Cleaning Services or to book our cleaning services please contact us on 01702 719100 or or email us at info@winnsservices.co.uk.
