Bug-laden cleaning cloths risk health
Wednesday September 15th, 2010
Cleaning cloths used in restaurants and take-away kitchens were found to contain unacceptable levels of bacteria, including listeria, researchers are set to warn today.
Investigators at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) examined 133 cloths from 120 establishments in the north east of England and found that 56 per cent showed signs of poor hygiene and cross contamination.
The findings are being presented at the HPA’s annual conference at the University of Warwick.
Dr John Piggott, the lead author from the HPA’s Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology laboratory in Leeds, said enterobacteriaceae was found on 86 cloths, e.coli on 21, etaphylococcus aureus on six, while five contained listeria.
Cloths used in kitchens should be changed or disinfected frequently to stop the growth of bacteria that could cause food poisoning.
The recommended advice for restaurants is to use disposable cloths that are changed regularly, but the study found that only 32 per cent of the catering premises reviewed did this. The remaining 68 per cent used re-usable cloths and 15 per cent were unsure as to how often these were replaced.
Researchers found that there was no consistent approach to how reusable cloths were disinfected. The majority did so every ten-24 hours but a number left it longer than 24 hours and some admitted they were unsure how often cloths were disinfected.
"It’s of concern that despite recommendations to use disposable cloths the majority of restaurants we surveyed were re-using cleaning cloths and some were unaware how often they changed them," says Dr Piggott.
"Although many disinfected their cloths using bleach or other disinfectants, soaking does not remove the food on which the bacteria grow. The disinfectant qualities of bleach do wear off after a period of time so soaking large amounts of cloths together can result in bacteria contaminating more cloths and creating more potential problems.
"All of the premises in our study were given advice on how to practice better hygiene and they will be revisited to make sure that procedures have improved."
Tags: MRSA & Hygiene | UK News
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