Food Borne Disease Costs the Hospitality, Healthcare and Food Industry Billions of Dollars a Year

Food borne disease costs the hospitality, healthcare and food manufacturing industries in the US an estimated US$15 billion a year and in Australia the cost is an estimated $1.2 billion. In Australia in 2010 food borne disease which occurred during food preparation resulted in 15 death and affected over 2000 people.

Disease causing bacteria including Salmonella and E. Coli are among the most common forms of food borne disease which can have devastating consequences for the people infected and destroy the business which prepared and sold infected food.

The risk of food borne disease is always present in the hospitality, healthcare and food manufacturing industry.

In order to address this danger the adoption of best practice principles in cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting is required when storing, preparing and distributing fresh and processed food.

Cleaning in the food industry is the removal of visible contamination such as food waste, dirt and grease from a surface.

Sanitizing and disinfecting is the process that destroys micro organisms thereby reducing the numbers of micro organisms present on a surface. The micro organisms may contain harmful bacteria including Salmonella and E.Coli.

A sanitizer will kill up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria including Salmonella and E.Coli. A disinfectant will kill 99.9% of harmful bacteria including Salmonella and E.Coli.

To manage the risk of food borne diseases the following food preparation areas require sanitizing hands, cutlery, crockery, utensils, bench tops and hard surfaces including cool rooms and refrigerated areas.

Processing fresh food using equipment that has not be sanitized will transfer contamination and possibly harmful bacteria. Food utensils and equipment must be cleaned and sanitized before each use and between being used for raw food and ready to eat food.

Even the freshest raw food contains bacteria. There are a number of ways harmful bacteria can be transferred when preparing food for cooking, packaging, heating, serving or selling. This includes transferring bacteria from dirty hands, equipment and utensils, cross contamination between different foods, dust and the use of unclean cleaning equipment.

The distinction between cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting is often not fully understood.

A clean surface can be define as being free from food residues, bad odors and needs to be non greasy to touch and have no oxidation such as rust. Cleaning is recommended before sanitizing and disinfecting as it increases the effectiveness of the sanitizing and disinfecting step.

A sanitized clean surface is a clean surface this is substantially free from pathogenic micro organisms and undesirable numbers of spoilage micro organisms. Which means free from up to 99.9% of bacteria.

A disinfectant is stronger than a sanitizer and will kill 99.9% of bacteria.

Effective cleaning and sanitizing are required to achieve the correct level of hygiene in food handling and production facilities. Without best practice sanitizing programs the risk of food contamination increases tenfold.

Bacteria cannot be seen and can remain in bio films on factory and food preparation surfaces. Bio films are complex microorganisms which assist and enhance the survival and growth of harmful bacteria.

To manage the risk of food borne diseases the following food preparation areas require sanitizing hands, cutlery, crockery, utensils, bench tops and hard surfaces including cool rooms and refrigerated areas.

Many sanitizers and disinfectants on the market today contain harmful chemicals such as chlorine and ammonia.

Recent innovations in the cleaning industry are addressing this by replacing harmful chemicals with essential oils which are safe to handle, biodegradable and residue free.