Restaurants and cafes are enjoyed by a wide range of people every day. They offer a variety of food and drink services in a welcoming, casual environment. Hygiene maintenance and cleaning are crucial in maintaining these spaces, no matter their size. But what is the impact of hygiene, especially on small businesses and cafes?
We’ll detail what you need to know to maintain the hygiene of your business. We’ll outline what areas you should focus on and how you should schedule cleaning as well as why it matters.
For personalised advice, contact our team at Cleantastic today.
The Impact of Hygiene
Good hygiene is crucial to maintaining businesses in the food service industry. Without the right hygiene maintenance, cafes and restaurants risk harmful germs contaminating food. This can lead to the spreading of illnesses that affect customers. Likewise, an unhygienic work environment can also put workers at risk of illness or injury. A clean, hygienic space is safer for everyone.
Furthermore, a consistently clean and hygienic environment can increase customer trust. This in turn can improve your reputation. A clean space is ultimately a welcoming space, which can help you stay ahead of the competition.
Similarly, it’s important to note that food service businesses are heavily regulated to ensure they meet safety standards. Maintaining the proper hygiene standards across your cafe or small business can ensure you avoid costly fines.
Food Safety Requirements
Restaurants and cafes are a category one business as outlined by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. This means that they must implement all three of the Food Safety Management Tools, food safety supervisor, mandatory food handling training and substantiation of critical food safety controls.
Each of these tools is designed to help cafes and restaurants reduce the risk of spreading harmful bacteria and workplace hazards. Free resources and guides to help businesses meet these requirements can be found with the NSCA Foundation.
What Needs to be Cleaned?
Any area that workers or customers use should be cleaned to ensure a safe and welcoming environment. Here’s an outline of three major areas every business should focus on to ensure they are meeting cleanliness standards.
Kitchen
It’s important to utilise safe cooking and preparation techniques to limit food-borne illnesses. Likewise, the kitchen space should be thoroughly cleaned to ensure all your food is safe to eat and handle. Your kitchen should be disinfected and deep cleaned to remove harmful bacteria. This means using the right products to wipe down benches, clean out appliances and thoroughly wash utensils after use.
Dining
Your dining or seating area is where you host your customers. Depending on the style of your cafe, this may be an open or enclosed space. Regardless of the style, this area still needs to be maintained properly so that your customers feel comfortable. Ensure your seating and tables are wiped down thoroughly. Likewise, keep your floor clear of clutter and mopped clean.
Bathrooms
It’s crucial that your bathrooms are not overlooked. A poor bathroom experience will likely affect the image of your cafe. Toilets, sinks, mirrors and flooring should all be cleaned regularly to ensure a safe, hygienic and inviting space.
How Often Should These Areas Be Cleaned?
Cafes and restaurants are serving food throughout the day. This means that mess and grime are constantly being created, causing risk and impeding workflow. To maintain the best working environment, kitchens should be cleaned multiple times a day. This is best done as employees are moving from one task to the next.
To ensure this, employees need to be trained to clean correctly with the right products. A workbench that has been swept and cleaned with a tea towel is still at risk of spreading germs. A bench that has been cleaned with a wet cloth and cleaning products is safer to use.
Likewise, dining areas should be swept and cleaned several times a day. For example, cleaning could be conducted:
- Before opening
- After the morning rush
- After lunch
- Mid-afternoon
- And finally after closing
Depending on the amount of traffic your cafe receives you may only need to clean your bathrooms once a day. This is best done after hours or before opening to ensure bathrooms are accessible for customers throughout the day.
Need Cleaning Support? Choose Cleantastic!
At Cleantastic, our team of cleaners have years of experience cleaning cafes of every size to meet hygiene standards. We use the best techniques and products to ensure a safe working environment so that you can serve food and beverages with confidence and care.
If you’re not sure where to start reach out to our team today. We can work closely with you to ensure all your cleaning needs are met according to your schedule.
