What’s the Difference Between Cleaning and Sanitizing?

There’s a famous proverb in food service: if you have time to lean, you have time to clean.

This phrase is the bane of every restaurant employee’s existence, but it’s also not exactly accurate – in food service, cleaning is not enough to satisfy the health department or most patrons.

Below, we’ll explain the difference between cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfection, why all three are important in food service, and more.

Why Is Germ Prevention Important in Food Service?

Cleanliness in food service kitchens can have a huge impact on public health. Roughly 40% of foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S. are associated with restaurants, according to the CDC.

Since restaurants of all kinds see food going directly from the kitchen into patrons’ stomachs, there are many sources of potential contamination in a food service kitchen that will have a direct effect on customers’ health.

The list includes:

• Sick food service workers
• Undercooked food
• Cross-contamination
• Contaminated food contact surfaces

As a result, food safety has to be tackled from a variety of angles, including time and temperature controls, time off for sick workers, proper handwashing hygiene, and the sanitization of all food-contact surfaces.

This brings us to why food service workers need to understand the definitions of cleaning and sanitizing.

Cleaning vs. Sanitizing (vs. Disinfecting vs. Sterilizing)

There are different levels of cleanliness – anyone who’s had a domestic argument over housekeeping knows that.

But food service takes this to a whole other level. Due to the threat of foodborne illness, cleaning in the restaurant industry actually has several levels.

The first level is cleaning, the most basic and necessary level of food hygiene. Cleaning simply means removing visible contaminants like dirt, dust, food particles, and spilled liquids. Diners expect their entire restaurant to be cleaned.

The second level is sanitizing, where you reduce the number of microorganisms on a surface. CDC requirements define sanitizing chemicals as those that kill 99.999% of test bacteria in under 30 seconds. This means pathogens like norovirus may be left behind, but enough dangerous microbes are killed to reduce the likelihood of a threat to public health.

The next level up is disinfecting, which kills a wider range of pathogenic organisms. CDC guidelines require disinfecting chemicals to kill 99.999% of infectious bacteria, viruses, and fungi within five to ten minutes. Disinfection is often recommended for food service establishments that serve a vulnerable population like the elderly, but in the average restaurant, disinfection is generally reserved for bathrooms, due to the dangerous nature of fecal microbes.

There is one more level of “clean,” but it’s almost unheard of in the restaurant industry. Sterilizing means completely eradicating all microbes from a surface. It’s largely overkill outside of healthcare applications.

Cleanliness in Food Service

Cleanliness is important throughout a restaurant for a number of reasons, some of which are scientific and some of which are psychological.

Either way, restaurants should strive to keep the entire environment from being visibly and tangibly “dirty.” Cleaning isn’t just reserved for food contact surfaces.

Why Is Cleaning Necessary for Germ Prevention?

As we discussed above, cleaning doesn’t remove germs – that’s what sanitizing is for. If that’s the case, why do we bother to clean at all? Why not skip right to sanitization?

First of all, cleaning does wash away dangerous microbes – not as thoroughly as sanitizing, but it greatly reduces the total load. Secondly, before you can effectively sanitize anything, you need to remove all food particles, grease, dirt, chemical residue, and other matter from the object you’re sanitizing.

Sanitizers can’t dissolve gunk – they can only reduce microbes on the surfaces they can “see.” Foreign matter is great at giving microbes a place to hide so that sanitizers can’t kill them. The cleaning step is necessary for removing all foreign matter and allowing thorough sanitization.

How to Clean Food Contact Surfaces

Cleaning typically involves a combination of hot water, a scrubbing tool, and the use of one or more cleaning agents, including:

• Detergents, which have surfactants that reduce surface tension between soil and the surface so that the detergent can penetrate and lift soil from the surface.
• Solvents cleaners, which contain a grease-dissolving agent that you can use in areas with burned-on grease.
• Acid cleaners, which are used on mineral deposits that alkaline detergents cannot remove.
• Abrasives, which contain small mineral or metal particles to remove heavy accumulations of soil, typically in small areas.

Once cleaning agents have done their work, items need a thorough rinse using clean water to wash away any remaining foreign matter.

Sanitization in Food Service

Sanitizing is the step that is critical for public health.

All food contact surfaces in a restaurant need both cleaning and sanitizing. This includes flatware, cookware, utensils, countertops, cutting boards, tables, and equipment used for cooking and food preparation.

Why Is Sanitizing Necessary for Germ Prevention?

While sanitizers aren’t as thorough as disinfectants in killing all kinds of microbes, they reduce the number of harmful germs down to an acceptably safe level. In other words, it gets items “clean enough to eat off of.”

Disinfection often requires higher concentrations of harsh chemicals that aren’t safe for people to consume, so sanitization offers a happy medium that reduces the risk of foodborne pathogens without increasing the risk of chemical contamination.

How to Sanitize Food Contact Surfaces

Restaurants typically use two techniques for sanitizing food contact surfaces:

• Heat. Hot water is used in both dishwashing machines and three-compartment sinks. But for it to be effective, you must keep items at 171ºF for at least 30 seconds.
• Chemicals. Certain chemicals are approved as sanitizers for food-contact surfaces in food service establishments, including chlorine, iodine, and quaternary ammonium.

Steps for Cleaning and Sanitizing Food Contact Surfaces

While many kitchens use commercial dishwashers to achieve sterilization through high heat, a three-compartment sink is also common in many facilities.

To clean and sanitize items in a three-compartment sink for food service, you must:

1. Scrape food off the items for trash or composting.
2. Submerge items in the first sink, which should be full of hot soapy water. Clean washcloths should be used for thorough scrubbing and get changed out regularly since sponges and scrub brushes can harbor and spread germs.
3. Rinse items thoroughly in clean hot water. It’s important to check for any remaining food residue and thoroughly wash away detergent to avoid contaminating your sanitizing solution
4. Submerge items in sanitizing solution in the third sink for at least the minimum required time.
5. Set dishes aside to air dry without additional rinsing or wiping.

Cleaning and Sanitizing Mistakes to Avoid

While cleaning and sanitizing in a restaurant isn’t rocket science, the process does need to be done precisely and consistently to fulfill its intended purpose.

Getting the order of cleaning vs. sanitizing is a big one – food matter must be removed for the sanitizer to work as intended.

Here are some other common cleaning and sanitization mistakes to avoid in food service:

• Rinsing or drying sanitized objects. There’s a reason restaurant dishes are left to drip dry – sanitizing chemicals cling to the surface and finish their job after dishes have left the water. Rinsing or drying items not only prevents this, but it may introduce new microbes that won’t be killed.
• Using the wrong cleaning or sanitizing products. The CDC and EPA both post guidelines for products that are safe and effective.
• Not following the manufacturer’s instructions. Every cleaning and sanitizing product is a little different, and the manufacturer’s instructions are designed to give you the best results. Pay particular attention to concentration requirements, time to effectiveness, storage instructions, and safety precautions.
• Not cleaning and sanitizing often enough. More on this below, but it’s a good idea to establish a restaurant-wide procedure that is consistently followed.
• Not training staff in cleaning and sanitizing. Your average person doesn’t necessarily know how important sanitization and disinfection can be in food service, and they may not understand why each step of the procedure is valuable. Don’t assume employees know how to clean properly.
• Avoid cross-contamination after sanitizing. Once dishes, cups, and utensils are sanitized, everyone should be trained to handle these items in a way that avoids contaminating areas likely to touch the food or the customer’s mouth. For example, the rims and insides of drinking glasses should never be touched with bare hands.

When to Clean and Sanitize Food Contact Surfaces

When is it necessary for a food contact surface to be cleaned and sanitized?

• After usage
• Before switching to contact with another type of food (especially after high-risk items like raw meat or eggs)
• Any time you know it’s been contaminated by contact with unsanitized items
• Any time you’re unsure an item isn’t contaminated
• Every four hours for items in constant use (like counters)

Learn More with Online Food Safety Training

Now you know the difference between cleaning and sanitizing, but that’s just a small part of what anyone in food service needs to know to keep their customers safe from foodborne illness.

As an online compliance training provider with over 20 years of experience, we have food handler and food safety manager courses that meet the mandatory training requirements in many states. Even where training isn’t a regulatory requirement, our courses promote high food safety standards and take your understanding to the next level.

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