Do You Know Your Temperature Danger Zones?

Employee wash stations should be present in the food preparation and service areas as well as in the restrooms.

Restrooms

Separate restrooms for employees and customers are ideal, but if that is not possible, it is important that customers not pass through food preparation areas on their way to the restroom. They could contaminate food or food contact surfaces.

The restroom should be well-stocked with toilet paper, soap and disposable towels. Trash cans must be present if disposable towels are used and covered trash cans must be provided in women’s restrooms for sanitary supplies.

The restroom also should also be thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom at least once a day, if not more frequently. The faucet also must have hot and cold water available.

Dining Area

The dining area should be kept as clean as possible. The tables should be wiped and sanitized after each customer leaves the table. Crumbs, spills and soiled areas should be wiped off the floor as well. Keeping the floor clean will help prevent pests, such as insects and rodents.

If the dining area is large, it may be necessary to assign someone to the dining room as a designated cleaning employee. The cleaning sponges, rags, brooms and mops should not be the same ones used in the restrooms or cooking areas. This is important because bacteria can be spread from one zone to another. Having designated cleaning supplies for designated restaurant zones represents an added precaution against cross contamination while cleaning.

Cross-contamination can become a big problem when it occurs, yet can be prevented by consistently following several easy steps. Simply divide the establishment into zones and make sure the proper precautions are being taken. All cleaning supplies such as sponges, rags and mops should all have a designated “zone” in which they remain. For example, the sponge that is used to clean the restroom should not be used to clean the kitchen countertops where food is being prepared or the dining room tables where customers are eating. Microorganisms can stay on the sponge and then be left behind on a different surface. To help avoid cross contamination, color-coded products, such as mops, buckets and more, allow food service establishments to design zone isolation systems. For example, a restaurant can use blue for the dining area, red for the kitchen and yellow for the restrooms.

Danger zones exist in every foodservice establishment where foodborne illnesses can originate at any time of any day. By raising awareness of the restaurant danger zones, including the temperature danger zones, the right procedures and products can be used to decrease the possibility of a costly problem and ensure happy, healthy, well-protected customers and employees. –FQ

Mike Milliorn, president of Daydots (Fort Worth, Texas), can be reached at 800-458-3687.