A majority of restaurants and takeaways are ignoring official advice to use disposable cleaning cloths in their kitchens, according to research by the Health Protection Agency.
Although the HPA recommends that restaurants use disposable cloths that are changed regularly, a survey of 120 establishments in the north east of England found that only 32% heeded this guidance. The remaining 68% used re-usable cloths, many of which were found to harbour dangerous bacteria that could cause food poisoning.
Researchers sampled 133 re-usable cleaning cloths and discovered that 56% contained “unacceptable levels of bacteria”. The most common were Enterobacteriaceae (found on 86 cloths), E Coli (21 cloths), Staphylococcus aureus (six cloths) and Listeria (five cloths).
Dr John Piggott from the HPA’s food, water & environmental microbiology laboratory, which conducted the research, said: “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.”
Rushin Patel, Category Manager at hygiene products supplier Kimberly-Clark Professional, said the survey raised important questions about why so many restaurants and takeaways used re-usable cloths despite the HPA’s advice not to.
“There are two key reasons why restaurants might choose re-usable cloths over disposable,” he said. “Firstly, it could be that they think re-usable cloths perform better in cleaning tasks than disposables. Actually, this is no longer true. The unique Hydroknit material we use in our WypAll X50 cleaning cloths produces a disposable cloth that is as strong as any textile cloth and will clean better too.
“Secondly, restaurants and takeaways might believe re-usable cloths work out cheaper than disposables. Again, this is a misconception. WypAll X50 cloths not only offer fantastic performance but also work out highly cost efficient, especially when taking into consideration the time staff will spend washing re-usable cloths.”
He added: “Ultimately, however, the most compelling reason to use disposable cleaning cloths instead of re-usable ones is that it’s much safer for diners. No restaurant or takeaway operator wants to give his customers food poisoning, and using disposable cloths is an important and effective measure to help prevent that from happening.”
