●Nontoxic and nonabsorbent materials
that impart no significant color, odor, or
taste to foodCutting boards are frequently identified as
a means of cross-contamination. Wooden
cutting boards absorb juices, and plastic
boards can harbor microbes in crevices.
Knife cuts on plastic surfaces do not heal
and offer crevices in which bacteria can
evade removal during manual cleaning and
contaminate surface sampling.Used foamed
polypropylene cutting boards retain high
numbers of bacteria, even after a thorough
wash (Park and Cliver, 1997).Continued use
of polyethylene boards results in numerous
knife marks, holes,cracks, and a furry and
shaggy appearance, which contribute to bac-
terial entrapment.
Equipment Arrangement and Installation
Equipment should be arranged to reduce
food contamination and to make all areas
accessible and cleanable.For example, the
soiled-dish table should not be located next
to the vegetable preparation sink.Waste pro-
cessing and the food preparation areas
should be located as far apart as possible,
and food preparation equipment should not
be placed under an open stairway.
When feasible, mobile equipment should be
considered to permit easy cleaning of walls
and floors. Equipment that is not mobile
should be sealed to the wall or to adjoining
equipment.If sealing is not practical, equip-
ment should be located approximately 0.5 m
from the wall or adjoining equipment to per-
mit easy cleaning. Equipment that is not
mobile should be mounted approximately
0 .25 m off the floor or sealed to a masonry
base.If the latter approach is used, a 3- to 12-
cm toe space should be allowed.
A nontoxic sealant must be used to seal
equipment to the floor or wall.Wide gaps
caused by faulty construction should not be
covered with a sealant because such buried
mistakes will be exposed ultimately, opening
new cracks to soil,insects, and rodents.Hand Washing Facilities
Hands are the most viable source of micro-
bial contamination.Therefore, management
should provide hand washing facilities in
locations where hands are likely to become
contaminated, such as food preparation areas,
locker or dressing rooms, and areas adjacent
to toilet rooms.Because employees may be
reluctant to walk very far to wash their
hands, these facilities should be conveniently
located.Hand washing facilities should con-
sist of mechanized hand washing equipment
or a bowl equipped with hot and cold water,
liquid or powdered soap, and individual tow-
els or other hand drying devices, such as air-
dryers. Foot-operated faucets should be
installed.More discussion about hand wash-
ing is included in Chapter 6.Welfare Facilities
Dressing rooms or locker rooms should be
provided for employees.Street clothes are a
viable source of microbial contamination,
therefore uniforms should be provided for
wear during the production shift.Dressing
rooms should be located outside of the area
where food is prepared, stored, and served,
and should be separated physically from the
other areas by a wall or other barrier.Hand
washing facilities should be provided next to
the dressing rooms and toilet rooms, with
mirrors hung away from the hand washing
equipment.The washing facilities and toilet
rooms should be scrubbed at least once a
day. Receptacles should be provided for
waste materials and should be emptied at
least once a day.Waste Disposal
Disposal of garbage and trash is impor-
tant in foodservice sanitation because wasteFoodservice Sanitation 373