Each year, millions suffer from the effects of food-borne illnesses due to cross-contamination. Even if the quality of food items is high, the way people handle, prepare, and store food items can lead to people’s exposure to sickness-inducing bacteria.
Businesses that sell, store, and prepare food often invest in commercial cleaning services from companies like JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Our impressive network of certified franchises regularly helps businesses in Phoenix, Arizona, and the surrounding communities comply with their industry’s cleanliness and sanitization requirements.
We highly recommend you to read our guide below to learn more about preventing cross-contamination, then contact JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix to request an estimate.
What You Should Know About Cross-Contamination?
Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria and other disease-causing microbes transfer from one material to another. It’s one of the top reasons people contract food-borne illnesses. The most common causes of cross-contamination regarding food are:
- Using unclean food preparation equipment
- Mixing contaminated food with non-contaminated food
- Not washing hands before or after handling food
You don’t have to eat in a restaurant to experience the unpleasant effects of food poisoning from cross-contamination. Though it can occur in eateries, you could also get sick due to how you transport, produce, harvest, store, or prepare food at home. Still, commercial kitchens have strict regulations and protocols to reduce the risk of infecting people with food-borne pathogens.
Side Effects of Cross-Contamination
How food-related cross-contamination affects people depends on the type of bacteria or virus they contract. The effects could range from mild to severe and include symptoms like:
- Decreased appetite
- Headache
- Upset stomach
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
Minor side effects often start within 24 hours of infection, though illness can manifest weeks after exposure to the microorganisms, making it harder to pinpoint the moment of exposure.
Who It Affects the Most?
Though anybody can experience sickness from cross-contamination, some people are more at risk for severe illness, including:
- Seniors over 65
- Children under five
- Pregnant women
- Anybody with a compromised immune system
Since those groups are a large part of the population, commercial cleaning services that focus on kitchen sanitization and disinfection are crucial for businesses that cook or prepare food. To request a quote, contact JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix.
How Does Cross-Contamination Happen?
People can get sick from cross-contamination from food in the following three ways.
People-Related Contamination
People can easily contaminate food, food preparation tools, and surfaces while working in kitchens. Consider if someone sneezes or coughs into their hands and immediately touches a knife or raw poultry. That poultry and cutlery will then have microbes from the person’s body.
Touching cell phones while preparing food or cooking can also cause people-to-food contamination. Cell phones are surprisingly dirty and often contain lots of bacteria. The same goes for dirty kitchen towels and aprons people use to wipe their hands.
Food-Related Contamination
Food-to-food transmission of bacteria refers to the contamination of one food group by another food group. For instance, meat may have E. coli, a harmful bacteria. Adding undercooked beef with E. coli to a salad will contaminate the salad’s other ingredients.
Besides meat, the top foods most at risk for some form of bacterial contamination include the following:
- Raw eggs
- Soft cheeses
- Leafy greens
- Deli meats
- Seafood
Mixing leftover food with new food can also lead to a contaminated meal. The longer you leave cooked food in the refrigerator, the more likely it will grow to become a potentially harmful bacteria. It’s best to consume leftovers within four days of cooking.
Equipment-Related Contamination
The equipment you use in a kitchen also contributes to cross-contamination. Unfortunately, bacteria can live for extended periods on different surfaces like food storage containers, cutting boards, countertops, and utensils. Unless professional kitchens follow the best practices for commercial cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting, germs and pathogens can quickly transfer to food.
A typical example is when people use the same knife or cutting board to cut raw meat and fresh produce. Any bacteria from the meat will be on the equipment and quickly get on the fruits or vegetables unless the cook washes them both between uses.
Tips for Preventing Cross-Contamination
In addition to understanding what maintenance services in Phoenix involve, consider the following tips to help your business avoid unintentional cross-contamination.
Prevent Cross-Contamination While Grocery Shopping
When shopping for food, be mindful of how you place items in your shopping cart. It’s best to put raw seafood, poultry, and red meat into plastic bags and segregate them from other goods in your cart.
This practice helps prevent drippings from the packages from getting onto other foods. You should also maintain this segregation when bagging your groceries at checkout.
Wash and Handle Produce Correctly
Produce from grocery stores and farmers’ markets may seem safe, but the skin can harbor dangerous bacteria, too. Always wash your hands before and after handling fruits and vegetables. To remove visible grime and dirt from produce, wash them carefully under running tap water.
If you wait to wash your vegetables and fruits immediately, separate them from prepared food in the refrigerator.
Avoid Washing Raw Poultry, Meat, and Fish
Sometimes, people attempt to wash their raw meats, fish, and poultry, yet that practice doesn’t rid them of harmful bacteria. Instead, the splashing water can cause contaminated droplets to land on people, food preparation areas, and ready-to-eat food, which can result in food poisoning.
The only way to remove bacteria and microbes from meat and seafood is to cook them to their appropriate temperatures properly. When handling raw meat or seafood, wash your hands, countertops, and food preparation tools carefully with soap.
Know How to Refrigerate Food Properly
How you refrigerate food can also help reduce cross-contamination. For instance, it’s best to keep seafood, meat, and poultry in sealed plastic bags or containers on the refrigerator’s bottom shelf. This tactic prevents juices and drippings from falling onto other things inside the fridge.
It’s also best to keep eggs in their original cartons instead of transferring them to reusable trays or bowls because the outside of eggshells could have contaminants. Still, you should refrigerate your eggs as quickly as possible.
Keep Your Food Preparation Areas Sanitary
Even if your business regularly gets professional commercial cleaning services, every employee should still wash their hands often if they work in the kitchen to prevent person-to-food cross-contamination. Use soap and hot water to wash your hands, and do so after handling food and going to the restrooms.
You’ll also need to clean your countertops, dishes, utensils, and cutting boards with hot, soapy water and clean cloths. If you use dishcloths, only use the same ones for a maximum of two days before washing them under a hot cycle in a washing machine.
Don’t Make Assumptions About Kitchen Cleanliness
Though your commercial kitchen might look clean, it might not be sanitary. Many bacteria can survive on surfaces for more than a day. Cleaning and sanitizing surfaces and equipment before and after preparing food is vital to prevent food-borne illnesses from cross-contamination.
Turn to JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix for the Best Phoenix Commercial Cleaning Services
JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix and our certified franchise owners regularly provide deep cleaning services to businesses in multiple industries.
Our certified service providers are well-versed in the cleanliness and sanitization needs of restaurants, schools, hotels, office buildings, and other local establishments where cross-contamination is possible.
Certified franchisees also specialize in janitorial services, commercial floor cleaning, and office cleaning services for your convenience.
Our certified franchisees are ready to help with your commercial cleaning needs. Call (602) 438-1000 for more information. You can also contact your nearest franchisee for JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting in Phoenix by filling out this online form, and we’ll set you up with a free estimate.