Work-surface sanitation
Applies to: sanitizing bar counters, prep surfaces, and food-contact points through service and at close.
Target: ongoing through service; full pass at close.
- Prepare food-safe sanitizer at the correct dilution.
- Verify the concentration with a test strip, not by eye.
- Use colour-coded cloths so food-contact and general-clean cloths never mix.
- Clear the surface of debris and wipe visible soil off first — cleaning comes before sanitizing.
- Apply the sanitizer solution across the full surface.
- Mix to the label's dilution — a typical concentrate is a small dose per litre of water.
- Leave it wet for the full label contact time before wiping or letting it air-dry.
- Contact time is what actually kills pathogens — wiping it off immediately skips the step.
- Refresh the sanitizer bucket and cloths on a set schedule through service.
- At close, do a full sanitize pass of all surfaces, sinks, and drains, and record it.
- Sanitizer concentration is verified with a test strip at each fresh mix.
- Full contact time is respected — surfaces are left wet, not wiped instantly dry.
- Chemicals are stored labeled and never decanted into unlabeled bottles or mixed together.
Cleaning and sanitizing are two separate steps: cleaning removes visible soil, sanitizing reduces pathogens — you cannot sanitize a dirty surface. Chemical safety (labeling, never mixing) is as important as the sanitizing itself.