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APR. MAY. 2021 XV emergency that has hit the restaurant sector hard for almost a year now, has given absolute centrality to the operations of cleaning and sanitation of the premises of commercial activities. In the midst of sporadic openings and closures, operators have been forced to adapt to new and stringent rules to protect the safety of everyone, from customers to their employees. So, in order to give practical help to all restaurateurs facing a new start in the name of safety, we decided to involve Stefania Verrienti - National Secretary of Afidamp (Association of Italian Manufacturers and Distributors of Machinery, Products and Equipment for Professional Cleaning and Environmental Hygiene), a company representing the various parts of the professional cleaning sector in Italy. Afidamp is the institutional reference point for the Public Administration on cleaning issues, seen as an essential requirement for healthy living. And it is Afidamp that, together with Fipe (Italian Federation of Public Establishments), has issued a practical guide for cleaning in the catering sector, accompanied by video clips, to offer further evidence in helping companies to carry out their activities in total safety. Today, more than ever, hygiene practices for public premises must be carried out impeccably to ensure the safety of customers and staff. What are the regulations for bars and restaurants? As AFIDAMP we have drawn up guidelines, in close cooperation with FIPE, to help these types of establishments. Bars and restaurants are very particular activities, where attention to hygiene should already normally play a primary role in the management of the establishment. With the Covid-19 emergency, the bar is raised even higher. By their very nature, catering establishments are also places of gathering, and therefore places that can potentially lead to the spread of the Coronavirus and, as such, sanitation activities must be kept under greater control. Leaving aside all the procedures that catering establishments must put in place to restrict entry and avoid proximity between customers/staff, it is good for restaurateurs to know the professional products and effective techniques to neutralise the virus from floors and surfaces, especially high touch surfaces, i.e. those that come into greater contact with people’s hands. What does it mean to sanitise environments and how best to do it? According to the classical definition, we identify sanitisation as the set of operations whose function is to minimise the number of pathogenic elements present in an environment to a level defined as safe by hygiene standards and/or particular requirements of the environment in question. The sanitisation process is based on the use of machinery, equipment, chemicals and other technologies, which are specifically designed to achieve these standards by following certain procedures. What indications should be given for cleaning operations? Besides the knowledge of the correct equipment to carry out the cleaning, the procedures with which to use this equipment are also fundamental. When sanitising a room, it is always best to work from the cleanest to the most contaminated areas, also proceeding from the top downwards, to prevent dust and/or pathogens from falling into previously sanitised areas. Vertical surfaces should always be cleaned before the floor, which should be cleaned last, starting from the furthest corner and ending at the entrance to the room. When dusting and washing the floor by hand, proceed using the correct tools, making “S” movements, in regular narrow bands, so as to overlap the passages, moving backwards towards the door. The same “S” movements should also be used, where possible, with the cloths when dusting and/or washing flat surfaces, taking care to wet the cloth (and not the surface to be cleaned) with ready-to- use products. Unfold and fold the cloth so that you always work with a clean surface. Recent research has shown that the virus also contaminates surfaces such as copper, cardboard, steel and plastic. How do you proceed to sanitise surfaces and the materials just mentioned, which are widely used in professional kitchens? Before any disinfection activity, the surfaces must be thoroughly cleaned, as the active ingredients of the disinfectants are neutralised by the dirt. Alternatively, it is possible to use detergent-disinfectants that perform both functions at the same time, which halves the application time. Generally speaking, we recommend cleaning the restaurant premises twice a day (at the change of shift and at the end of the day), paying particular attention and greater frequency to the cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces at risk and/or most in contact with hands (bathroom area, handles, switches, buttons, tables, menus, etc.). Generally speaking, we can say that for the disinfection of both floors and surfaces, it is recommended to use disinfectant solutions based on chlorine at a concentration of 1000 ppm (0.1% of “Active Chlorine”) for a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 5 minutes, after having first cleaned with a neutral detergent. However, it is possible to use disinfectants equivalent to chlorine-based ones, provided that the product has a documented virucidal activity in accordance with the UNI EN 14476 standard. Other effective products are 70% alcohol and those that release oxygen, such as hydrogen peroxide. Before using cleaning and/ or disinfecting products, we always recommend that you carry out material tests to ensure that the product used does not damage the surface to be treated. OUR UTILITY LINE This year more than ever, we want professional operators to be able to count on the quality of our branded products, which have always guaranteed safety and high-profile professional standards,” explains Gloria Cavicchioli, CIC buyer for the No Food sector. “We have selected for you the best suppliers of professional detergents (and relative accessories) on the market in order to be able to distribute highly qualified products in line with the current needs of restaurateurs with regard to the safety