CHEMICAL USE CONCERNS IN A HOSPITALITY ENVIRONMENT

During my travels as a hospitality consultant, I continually encountered concerns with chemical use that is unfortunately commonplace in the food service environment.?These conditions, while seemingly innocent, place customers and employees at risk. ?While I always serve to fix the conditions I see, I feel that it is time to open up the dialog and place more emphasis on this concern. ?I know several chemical professionals that will acknowledge my concerns, and I hope they respond to this posting.

I am referring to the incorrect?use of chemicals in food service.? Often, the entity has no idea that the chemicals they have been provided or recommended to be used can be the wrong chemicals for the condition at hand. ?Some chemical providers are not training their in-service or on-premises individuals properly, and a belief by proprietors that the proper chemicals are in place is occurring.

Take for instance the following example.

While on a recent client project, I noticed that the “Red Buckets” were being filled at a prep sink from a dispenser that provides a predetermined mixture of water, and the sanitizing chemical.? Red Buckets are used in the hospitality industry to have on hand at each prep station a chemical mixture of sanitizing wash for cutting boards, stainless, and surfaces being used to prepare foods. ?These Red Buckets are a requirement, in most states, by Health Department Regulation.

My concern was the chemical I noticed being dispensed for Red Buckets at this location is a Quaternary Ammonium, or “Quat” for short. ?My immediate thought was the inherent positive charge properties of Quats, and what this condition meant to the usage of cloth towels with this chemical. ?The use of Quats with textiles, like cloth towels, causes binding. ?Binding is the absorption of the quaternary ammonium being absorbed by the fabric, and part of the disinfection is embedded into the material. ?

(Learn about the dangers of binding, https://www.geneontechnologies.com/articles/learn-about-the-dangers-of-quat-binding/)

My second thought was the unusual use of a Quat for this purpose when there is a direct food contact condition at this location with the chemical.

To support my concerns, I decided that I would research the chemical on the EPA-N List website.

The EPA number for this particular Multi-Quat is 1677-198, and this is what I learned.

1) Its use is for hard non-porous surfaces.

2) Its use has a ten-minute?contact time (for SARS Covid) to be effective (this means it must remain wet for ten minutes)

3) It is not recommended for food surfaces and is not recommended unless it is washed before food contacts a surface.

Essentially, the chemical they are using is doing very little to establish a sanitary condition on the surfaces they are wiping this on.? Additionally, the use of this chemical on a non-porous surface, like a cutting board, is not what the chemical was designed for, and direct contact with food is not recommended.

The other condition that I encountered is another concern that is very common in the food service industry. ?The improper use of chlorine bleach.?At this location above, and often in the industry, bleach is being used directly at full strength from the bottle to the surfaces to sanitize.

There are a few reasons not to use bleach full strength.?

1) Full strength provides sterilization, which is overkill and unnecessary?in food service.

2) Full strength is relatively?dangerous and requires PPE (personal protection equipment) gloves, an apron, and eye gear. This is often ignored.

3) Using full strength is a waste of money.

Bleach should be used diluted for sanitizing.? Depending on the strength of the bleach, generally, 5.25-6.25% in a commercial setting, 3 Tablespoons to one gallon of water is sufficient to sanitize and does not require PPE. ?For bleach at 8.25%, 2 Tablespoons is sufficient.

If you have questions about chemical usage at your property, reach out for assistance.