"Human memory is short, and people rarely learn their lessons."

[CurtisEdmonds]

The Washington Post on DC restaurant inspectors:

His job calls for near-pathological mistrust. For that, it has made some news lately.

At peak lunch hour one day last month, a team of sanitarians descended on the Union Station food court, identifying health-code violations in five popular restaurants. Despite pleas from its owner, one place was closed for three days because of a food temperature problem.

Then came the delightful if terrifying news that the cafeteria in the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- the restaurant run by the people who are supposed to make sure our food is safe -- was ordered to immediately cease and desist all operations because an inspector found mouse droppings scattered around the salad bar.

[Penguinlady[$]]

I used to go to a nice little Italian restaurant. I asked the owner-chef once why he was open for lunch and dinner every day, but not for Saturday lunch.

He told me that every Saturday at 7:00 am, he meets with a crew of four college boys and they completely dismantle the kitchen and scrub every square inch of it. Behind the stoves, under the fridges, in the drainpipes, behind the shelves... They work until 2:00 pm - that's 35 work-hours of heavy-duty cleaning EVERY WEEK. And even so, they sometimes find evidence of other unwelcome guests.

It's impossible to have a kitchen without visitors. My kitchen is pretty clean but I know there are life forms that I don't want to know about.

I figure that if, with all that effort, he still found undesirables, there's no way there's a kitchen on the continent that doesn't have 'em. We can just count ourselves lucky that some of them get caught.

[drmomentum[$]]

Penguinlady said

I figure that if, with all that effort, he still found undesirables, there's no way there's a kitchen on the continent that doesn't have 'em. We can just count ourselves lucky that some of them get caught.

You may find an ant in my kitchen once in a while. There was a centepede once. But as long as I have owned the house (I can't verify before that) there has never been a mouse, rat or cockroach.

It's not only about keeping your kitchen clean. If you left garbage outside, animals would be in the area and might wander through the kitchen now and then. The solution is to eliminate that garbage outside. If your neighbor leaves dog food outside, that could attract rats. And then they might move into your house in search of shelter, regardless of how clean your kitchen is (they could get to food any time they wanted).

Animals don't think in terms of propery boundaries, rooms, or any of that. They arrive and breed according to the availability of food and shelter in the area, and then spread out to adjacent areas which may be clean, as long as they have access to the fulfillment of their needs.

-JP

[magenta321]

I only worked in one food service facility -- Subway.

Things were bleached every night to kill bacteria and to keep the white accessories (like those cutting boards) white.

The floors were swept as needed, the walls were washed as needed, the floors were mopped nightly, and, the tables were cleaned as used. The trash bags were removed as needed throughout the day, and piled in the back to be taken out each night.

I never once saw a mouse, or any other rodent. There was no evidence of rodents, either.

I never once saw an ant, although, ants are a common problem in the area.

We did get flies. They'd come in as people came through the door. Not much one can do about them. We got good at killing them, however

We once had a cockroach. It was very weird. We had left the back door open because the a/c wasn't working. Then there was a cockroach. The owner found it and killed it. About two hours later, an exterminater came around, handed the owner his card, and said he was new to the area and was giving out special rates. Then he asked if there had been any "insect problems".

Yeah, we had the schmuck fumigate, but, I think the owners realized afterwards that he had placed the roach in the back of our store. Afterall, in the five years they had been there, they had never seen a cockroach. And they never saw one again afterwards, either.

Does shit happen? Yes, but, then you call in exterminators who get rid of whatever pest there is, and you do it right away.

The store will only be as clean as its management. Our management would drive us crazy if we received anything less than 100 on our health inspections. If things broke (like tiles -- that'll lose ya points quickly) they were repaired. Basically, that's what you lose points for -- pests, disrepair, unsafe handling proceedures (temperature is wrong, food left out, chemicals near food, etc). or not having sinks/soap/paper towels available.

It's not difficult to keep a restaurant clean. It's just like your home, but, with more business. You have to use the same practices, if not more stringent ones.

The attitude of "when in doubt, throw it out" helps too.