Comparison of materials used for cleaning equipment in retail food premises, and of two methods for the enumeration of bacteria on cleaned equipment and work surfaces

摘要

There is no official scheme for testing disinfectants and detergent/disinfectants for use in the retail food trade and few recommended procedures have been given for the cleaning of equipment with these agents. Therefore, field trials were carried out in a large self-service store. Comparisons were made of the various cleaning efficiencies, as determined by bacterial plate counts, of detergent and disinfectant solutions and machine cleaning oils applied with either clean cloths or disposable paper towels to items of equipment. The most satisfactory results were always obtained when anionic detergent (0·75% w/v) and hypochlorite (200 p.p.m. available chlorine) solutions were applied in a `two-step' procedure.