Handbook of Hygiene Control in the Food Industry

indicator of surfacecleanlinessand, therefore, any decision aboutfurthertesting
needsto be consideredin relation to productrisk as wellas the availabilityof
other testsand the typesof foodsoil (see Figs 36.7and 36.8).One or moretypes
of rapidtesting,e.g. ATP,can be combined with microbiologicalmethodsto
determinethe effectivenessof surfacecleaningand disinfection.Additionally,
bothmicrobiologicaland non-microbiological testshavevaluein validating the
originalcleaning programmeand investigatingthe reasonsfor any failureto
clean effectively(see Table36.7).Rapidtests can also be used aftercleaning,
prior to disinfection,to determinewhether the surfacesare sufficiently free of
soiling to enablesuccessful disinfection(see Table36.1). Theycan also helpto
identify areasdifficult to cleanor routinely poorly cleaned,thusindicating

Table36.7 Commonreasonsfor failureto cleanand disinfectadequately

Surfacenot part of
cleaningprogramme

Oftenoccurswithhandcontactsurfaces.Resultmaymean

surfaceis not cleanedregularly/efficiently

Non-validated
cleaningprotocol

Inappropriatelydesignedcleaningregime,i.e. cannotachieve

desiredresults

Workculture Cleaningnot perceivedas important,lackof supportor
motivatedworkforce

Training Cleaningstaffoftenpoorlytrained

Failureto monitor
cleaning

Poorcleaninggoesunnoticed

Failureto implement
cleaningappropriately
Implementation: Validatedcleaningregimenot implementedcorrectly,
resultingin lackof consistencyand inefficientcleaning
Equipment: Dirtywater,cloths,equipment,failureto colourcodecan
leadto surfacerecontaminationand/orspreadof
microorganismsbetweenareas
Cleaningequipment,e.g. mops,left wet,act as breeding
groundsfor microorganisms
Failureto changecleaningcloths/equipmentfrequently
enough.As cleaningcommencesthe cleaningequipmentcan
becomecontaminated
Method: Failureto adequatelyremovesoil ± grossor microscopic
Time:cleaningrushed.Disinfectantsparticularlydo not work
instantlyand requiretimeto destroymicroorganismspresent
Productconcentration:chemicalstoo dilute± insufficient
strengthto exertfull effect± can increasechancesof
microbial`resistance'.Too concentratedcan be hazardous
Productformulation:inappropriatecleaningchemical
selectedin relationto productcompositionand soil types,
e.g. doesproductworkwellif usedin hardwaterarea,does
productworkwellif usedin highgreaseareas,does
disinfectantdestroyvirusesif theyare a risk,use of high
alkalinecleanerson aluminiumsurfaces

610 Handbookof hygiene controlin the foodindustry