Making Synapses · Bringing Knowledge to Mankind
CulinaryFull cleaning: wash, rinse, sanitize, air dry
A surface or a utensil touched an allergen and is about to be used for an allergen-free dish. A quick wipe or a sanitizer alone is not enough: in 2022 the FDA reported that full cleaning as recommended in the Food Code, wash, rinse, sanitize and air dry, was effective at removing allergens and minimizing their transfer. You do every step, in order.
Free to startScenarios
- A cutting board used for a dish with milk and egg will be used for an allergen-free plate.
- A peanut sauce spilled on the prep table.
- A cook wants to just wipe the counter with a dry cloth.
The steps
- Clean the food-contact surfaces and utensils at any time during the operation when contamination may have occurred. Critical point
- Scrape the food off first: pre-scraping before full cleaning helped remove the allergen.
- Wash to remove or completely loosen the soil, with detergent, hot water, brushes or whatever the equipment and the soil need.
- Rinse so cleaning chemicals and abrasives are removed or diluted; in a 3-compartment sink, with a separate water rinse before sanitizing.
- Sanitize before use after cleaning: hot water immersion for at least 30 seconds, or a chemical sanitizer for the contact time on its EPA-registered label (at least 10 seconds for chlorine, 30 seconds for other chemical solutions). Critical point
- Air-dry, or use after adequate draining; never dry with a cloth.
Safety rules that stop the station
- Sanitizing alone does not fully remove an allergen: the full wash, rinse, sanitize and air dry is what works.
- Equipment and utensils are never cloth dried; air-dried utensils may only be polished with clean, dry cloths.
To pass
- Manual washing uses a sink with at least 3 compartments to wash, rinse and sanitize.
- Wet cloths and wipes, and alcohol or quat sanitizing wipes, removed more allergen than dry wipes; storing cloths in sanitizer solution minimized allergen transfer between surfaces.
- Allergens were harder to remove from textured plastic than from stainless steel or wood.
Official source
Federal · FDA Food Code 2022, 4-602.11, 4-603, 4-703 and 4-901.11
FDA Food Code 2022 (full document)
The FDA publishes the 2022 Food Code free (Parts 4-6, 4-7 and 4-9) and its study on allergen removal by wiping and full cleaning in retail food establishments.
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