Today, I read more pages from the FOODSAFE Level 1 Participant Workbook! Last time, I barely touched on the earliest chapters. Of course, not all of the contents apply to Wicked Cafe & Bakery–but there are many that we, the team at the Cafe, need to remember!
What surprised me the most was the difference between cleaning and sanitizing. From time to time, when I entered the kitchen, I saw the bakers cleaning the work table with both soapy water and bleach sanitizer. What soapy water does to the table is called cleaning. Soap helps one to remove grease and specks of dirt from the table, making it shiny! It may tempt you when you see a sparkling work table that you don’t have to do anything else. But soapy water cannot remove bacteria from the surface. Since bacteria cause food poisoning and many other potential harms, applying soapy water should not be the only thing you do!
That is when we introduce sanitizing. At Wicked Cafe & Bakery, we keep several spray bottles with bleach sanitizer. We make this liquid by mixing a teaspoon of bleach with about a litre of tap water. This action creates a bleach sanitizer with 0.5% strength. This liquid kills bacteria on the surface, making our food safe for customers without causing food poisoning.
Another thing I noted was the nine basic requirements of a food services establishment. I remember some of these well–because those were the questions when we opened our Second Location and the inspectors came in to check for them. Things like adequate lighting, hot water supply, and waste disposal seemed like nothing new. However, it always made me wonder why we had a handwashing sink beside another sink because it seemed like a waste of space. It turns out that there is a requirement that a restaurant must have a sink designated for only handwashing!
While the time I spent reading this was useful for me to learn something, it also solved many questions I had in the kitchen. Of course, I could not hold on to this Workbook indefinitely because Baker J complained that he had to study for his test! Oh well.
After studying all these, I feel more confident about how to handle food safety at my workplace! As a latte artist, I think I may need to apply for this certificate as well–after all, I studied too, didn’t I? I may get back to you with my own licence next time!