Health inspectors or like our partners to the South, registered sanitarians need to keep abreast of evidence based food safety publications to provide the most accurate and up to date information to the public. It is apparent that regulatory bodies tend to push certain food safety practices without them ever be questioned. For instance, are chemical sanitizers really the best way to go in terms of bacterial log reductions on food contact surfaces? Restaurant inspectors constantly push for the use of chlorine or quaternary ammonia as the chemicals of choice for sanitation. Yes, they do work, but what about vinegar. I read an interesting article from Pete Snyder comparing quaternary ammonia, vinegar, and water on cutting boards¹. The paper states wiping a surface with a clean cloth soaked in vinegar is a very effective sanitizer. Furthermore, that vinegar should be approved as a sanitizer for food contact surfaces.

One critical item that restaurant inspectors take note of is whether or not an establishment is using an approved sanitizer. Half of the time there is no sanitizer, but when there is, the concentration tends to be too strong i.e. >500 ppm available chlorine. Other times, the sanitizer solution is often mixed with a detergent rendering it ineffective. Restaurant inspectors need to take the time to check these critical control measures to ensure the restaurant operator is aware of these issues. A simple 5-7 minute inspection certainly will not suffice and in my opinion is a grand waste of time. That’s like making a fantastic, time worthy meal, and wolfing it down in minutes instead of enjoying it. I’m Italian, I enjoy food.

 

 

 

1.Snyder, Peter. The Microbiology of Cleaning and Sanitizing a Cutting Board. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management, 1997.