What should be done after cleaning surfaces?

Sanitizing surfaces after cleaning is a crucial step in ensuring food safety. Cleaning removes dirt, debris, and some microorganisms from surfaces, but sanitizing is necessary to further reduce the number of pathogens to safe levels. This process typically involves using a chemical sanitizer or heat to kill harmful bacteria and viruses that may still be present.

By sanitizing surfaces, you create a safer environment for food preparation, reducing the risk of cross-contamination and foodborne illnesses. It’s important to allow the sanitizer to remain in contact with the surface for the recommended dwell time to be effective.

While air drying is a process that can happen after cleaning or sanitizing, it does not provide the additional step of pathogen reduction that sanitization does. Using surfaces immediately after cleaning, without sanitizing, can pose a risk of contaminating food, and leaving surfaces dirty would obviously not be acceptable in maintaining food safety standards. Therefore, sanitizing is the best practice to ensure thorough cleanliness and safety.