Study of cleaning standards and practices in food premises in the UK.

The UK Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) examined the bacterial status of surfaces used to prepare ready-to-eat foods in over 1500 UK food premises, and also assessed the cleaning standards and practices at the premises. Surfaces examined included chopping/cutting boards, worktops, food containers and cleaning cloths. Cleaning cloths were more heavily contaminated with bacteria compared to other surfaces sampled. Bacteria isolated from cloths included Staph. aureus, Listeria, Salmonella and Campylobacter. Chopping boards used to prepare both raw and ready-to-eat food were more heavily contaminated compared to those used for ready-to-eat food only. Some premises used the same implements to clean raw and ready-to-eat preparation areas. Commun Disease Publ Health 2003;6:6-17.