Why Clean and Sanitize?

Food processing environments that are not adequately cleaned and sanitized can be a source of microorganisms that cause food spoilage and foodborne illness. These microorganisms may be bacteria, moulds, yeast, viruses or parasites.

When nutrients and moisture are available and when the environment is favourable (suitable pH, temperature and oxygen level), bacteria, moulds and yeast multiply in food. Viruses and parasites survive in food but depend upon a living host (including the human body) to grow and reproduce.

Food spoilage microorganisms reduce shelf life by causing changes in food colour, texture, flavour and/or smell. These changes make the food undesirable or unsuitable for human consumption. Pathogenic microorganisms, which may produce illnesses or illness-causing toxins, do not create any visible changes in food.

Unclean food processing surfaces provide an ideal environment for the growth of microorganisms. When food comes in contact with unclean surfaces, food-spoilage or pathogenic microorganisms can be transferred to the food being processed. This transfer of microorganisms from a contaminated source to a non-contaminated source is called cross-contamination.

Proper cleaning and sanitation of equipment, work surfaces and utensils will:

• Remove dirt and/or food material that harbour microorganisms
• Eliminate most bacteria, including pathogens
• Prevent cross-contamination
• Extend shelf life
• Improve food safety
• Increase protection against financial losses.

What’s the Difference?

While the terms are often used interchangeably, cleaning and sanitation have two entirely different purposes.

Cleaning is the removal of unwanted material (commonly called soils) from production equipment and production areas. Removing leftover particles eliminates many microbes, their food source and other physical debris that can contaminate future batches of food. Appropriate cleaning chemicals may be applied manually or mechanically to equipment that remains assembled (clean-in-place) or that is partially or fully disassembled (clean-out-of-place). Most often, a combination of methods is used.

Sanitizing is the treatment of a clean surface with a chemical or physical agent (e.g., heat) to reduce microorganisms that cause disease and/or spoilage to levels considered safe for public health. By definition, sanitizing a food contact surface must reduce the population of specific bacteria by 99.999 per cent (a 5 log kill) in 30 seconds. Non-food contact surfaces require a reduction of 99.9 per cent (a 3 log kill), also within 30 seconds. When microbial populations are reduced to these levels, the surfaces are considered to be microbiologically clean.