Kitchen Deep Cleaning – Advice for Caterers

Kitchen Deep Cleaning – How Can Caterers Guard Against Food Poisoning Risks?

Food poisoning is one of the major worries for all caterers, so it's vital to put measures in place to guard against the risk, including kitchen deep cleaning. It's estimated there may be as many as a million cases every year in the UK. Although most of those affected might just suffer a stomach bug, some end up in hospital and research studies have found that bouts of food poisoning can have damaging long-term effects.

The risk to health is of course the most serious concern, but there is also a danger to your business. If a case is traced back to your restaurant, you could face fines and a temporary shutdown, as well as suffering bad publicity. 

All food businesses need to meet various hygiene regulations, undergoing regular inspections. By showing that your premises are spotless, you will gain a top hygiene grading, helping to attract customers. If you need advice on how to improve your kitchen cleaning practices, expert commercial cleaning contractors can help.

Handling Poultry

Bacteria in raw poultry is one of the most common reasons for food poisoning outbreaks in Britain.

The Food Standards Agency estimates around 280,000 cases a year are due to the bacteria campylobacter, with the vast majority being down to unsafe handling of contaminated poultry. 

The FSA has recently been raising awareness of the dangers and how to avoid them, by launching its 'Chicken Challenge', aimed at both businesses and individuals. It is urging anybody handling chicken to store it covered and separate from other foods and keep it chilled, at the bottom of the refrigerator. It must then be cooked thoroughly.

Other key advice is not to wash raw chicken, which only ends up spreading bacteria, but to ensure thorough cleaning of everything which has come in contact with the poultry, including kitchen equipment and surfaces. 

Safe Kitchen Practice

As well as safe handling of poultry, constant vigilance against the risks of cross-contamination in general is needed. This means keeping raw foods separately from cooked ones and cleaning and disinfecting all cooking and preparation equipment and surfaces before use. Washing hands both before food preparation and after touching any raw foods is another must. 

Cooking and chilling are two other key areas for safe practice. All food must be cooked properly so that it is piping hot right through. Cooked food needs to be cooled as quickly as possible before it is put in the fridge. If you have chilled products delivered to your restaurant, their temperature needs to be checked on delivery. Food which needs chilling must be put straight into the fridge and kept out for as little time as possible during preparation. Your fridge must also be kept at a safe temperature. 

Thorough Cleaning

A daily cleaning regime is essential in all areas where food is prepared, including cleaning as you go, with attention to both surfaces and equipment. However, daily cleaning alone is not enough. There will be some hidden areas you can't get to and some cooking equipment, such as an industrial oven, may need to be partly dismantled to enable thorough cleaning.

Regularly scheduled kitchen deep cleaning is therefore essential to ensure you are cooking and preparing food in a safe environment. You also need to arrange regular ductwork cleaning, since kitchen ventilation will contain a build-up of grease you can't see but which, if neglected, could grow bacteria and contaminate food.

Ingot Services can provide customers in Suffolk, Essex, Liverpool, London and across the UK with one-off deep kitchen cleaning or regularly scheduled deep cleans, as required. Our services will give you confidence that your kitchen complies with all official standards on hygiene and food safety.

Kitchen Deep Cleaning  – Follow the link or call us now on 0800 731 7892 for details of our services.

Commercial Kitchen Cleaners – Restaurants Fined for Poor Hygiene

Restaurants Fined Thousands for Poor Hygiene – Commercial Kitchen Cleaners Would Have Been Cheaper

Arranging regular, scheduled cleaning by commercial kitchen cleaners can be a sound investment in your food business, in more ways than one – as some restaurants have recently discovered to their cost.

Courts are taking hygiene in restaurants seriously and are not afraid to impose significant fines on offenders. Here are just a few examples from the first half of 2014:

• A French "fine-dining" restaurant in Hove was fined a whopping £10,000 in May this year after inspectors found a number of serious hygiene problems, including a fruit fly infestation, a dangerous build up of grease in duct work, and food waste left on floors.

• In April, an Indian restaurant in Gillingham was fined £800, plus £2000 in costs, after cockroaches were discovered in a kitchen described as "filthy".

• Meanwhile, a Brighton restaurant was fined nearly £9000 in January, after inspectors found extensive evidence of mouse droppings within the kitchen. In addition the restaurant was forced to close down while the premises were cleaned and treated.

In the case of the Hove restaurant, inspectors gave the restaurant notice of the problems which needed to be addressed and only proceeded to prosecute when it was clear on a further inspection, a few weeks later, that many of the hygiene issues had still not been dealt with. A single call to commercial cleaning contractor could have resolved the entire issue for them in a weekend – and saved them several thousand pounds.

The Real Cost of Prosecution

The fines that are possible following a successful prosecution for poor hygiene can be high enough to make a severe impact on the cashflow of a business. Not many small businesses can easily find £10,000, for instance, and in some cases this type of fine could even threaten the viability of your business.

But financial cost aside, a more serious – and long-lasting – problem is probably the negative publicity surrounding a hygiene prosecution. All such cases are a matter of public record and a court case inevitably means press attention.

Local papers are always on the lookout for items relating to the local area and won't hesitate to publish the details of the case and a picture of the premises in question. And it's not hard to predict the likely effect on customers of this type of publicity.

Even if the hygiene problem itself is sorted out quickly and thoroughly, a bad reputation can take years to recover from. In many cases the only solution may be to sell up or to completely rename and relaunch the business – with obvious costs involved.

Commercial Kitchen Cleaners – Business Insurance for Restaurants

Using professional kitchen cleaners on a regular basis effectively acts as a form of business insurance for restaurants, takeaways and other food outlets:

Regular, scheduled, professional cleans can help to prevent prosecutions, fines and negative publicity by preventing hygiene problems building up to serious levels. Kitchen deep cleaning also makes it far easier for kitchen staff to maintain good daily hygiene practices afterwards.

Even when staff are vigilant about cleaning in the areas they can reasonably access (worktops, floors etc), they can't get everywhere. It is often the invisible places (under and behind appliances) where dirt can build up to a point that it can attract pests, leading to infestations.

In addition, being able to demonstrate that your premises are cleaned regularly by professionals (in addition to a good daily cleaning regime, of course) is invaluable in the event of a hygiene inspection.

Protect your business and make a professional kitchen cleaning service part of your hygiene solution by calling Ingot Services today or visiting our site at www.ingotservices.co.uk.

Commercial Kitchen Cleaners: Keeping Restaurant Equipment Clean with Ingot

Commercial Kitchen Cleaners: Ingot's guide to choosing top items of equipment for a restaurant and arranging deep kitchen cleaning

5 Top Items of Equipment for a Restaurant Kitchen

Whether you are opening up a new catering establishment or updating an existing kitchen, it is important to make sure you have equipment which will do the job. Commercial kitchen cleaners Ingot have drawn up a list of some of the items which will help to keep you ahead of the field.

1. Industrial Ovens. The type of oven you choose will depend on the types of food you want to prepare – and also on the space you have available. Convection ovens not only cook more quickly than conventional ones, but also spread the heat more evenly, so you save time and get better results too. Induction hobs are similarly effective. Combination ovens are highly versatile pieces of equipment for a restaurant kitchen, while specialist pizza ovens can be used not just for pizzas, but also for other large dishes.
2. Deep Fat Fryers. While fried food admittedly isn't the healthiest option on the menu, it is still popular, and most restaurant kitchens will need commercial fryers. These items can be difficult to keep clean, so you need to choose a quality model which can easily be dismantled when necessary for kitchen deep cleaning.
3.  Commercial Dishwashers. Some smaller restaurants have a designated team of staff who wash up all the dishes by hand, but this is very time-consuming. Specialist commercial machines can wash at much higher temperatures and get through large volumes of crockery. It's possible to buy smaller commercial dishwashers if space is at a premium. Choose an energy-efficient machine which is also high on performance as dirty dishes and cutlery can damage the reputation of your restaurant.
4. Fridges, Freezers and Ice-Making Machines. In a commercial kitchen, refrigerators and freezers are needed which can maintain a steady temperature. This will guard against any danger of food becoming too warm when the machines have to be opened and closed regularly. A supply of ice is another kitchen essential, especially in summer, with many uses ranging from food storage and preparation to popping cubes in a drink. Various different types are available to choose from, including cube and flake ice machines.
5. Stainless Steel Sinks. These will be in constant use, with sinks needed not just for washing dishes but also for hand-washing and food preparation. It is essential that you plan your kitchen with enough sinks, conveniently placed, at the right distance from food prep areas, and that they can easily be kept clean. 

Installing all these essential items, and others in your kitchen, is just the start. To perform properly and to give a lasting service, they need to be kept in good condition. This means drawing up a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule, as well as calling in a kitchen deep cleaning company at regular intervals.

As commercial kitchen cleaners with many years of experience, Ingot can advise you on the best kitchen deep cleaning schedule for your premises. We offer a full range of kitchen equipment cleaning services including industrial oven cleaning, arranged at a time to suit you, and we provide full certification. Our service covers all of the UK, including Bristol, Newcastle, Cambridgeshire, Essex and London.

Commercial Kitchen Cleaners – Contact Ingot Services now to find out about our specialist equipment cleaning service