In-depth cleaning crisis

HD, Oct 2003

Service provider Indepth Hygiene is tackling an often overlooked area of kitchen cleaning, and says that deep cleaning should be left to the experts.

While catering managers at healthcare facilities have to comply with a raft of hygiene rules and regulations, the kitchen extract ventilation system hidden behind the cooker hood is often neglected.

The Food Safety Act 1990 covers all premises where food is prepared and while the Act does not specifically require cleaning of ventilation ductwork, a proper hygiene regime should include regular 'deep cleaning' of the kitchen - including the grease extract system.

Indepth Hygiene specialises in deep cleaning of kitchens and extract ventilation systems. The company's procedures are based on Specification 038 and an earlier, similar government specification, M&E 142, and are designed specifically to meet the requirements of the Food Safety (General Food Hygiene) Regulations 1995.

"Deep cleaning should be entrusted to expert contractors and not left to general cleaning contractors," says Richard Norman of managing director of Indepth Hygiene Services. "On completion we provide a certificate that can be shown to environmental health officers to help demonstrate compliance with the regulations."