Clip: Are “red bucket and rag” processes effective against pathogens like norovirus?
In 2-minutes, learn if the most common surface sanitizer solutions used in this method are effective at protecting your employees and customers.
The sights of a restaurant experience can often be as enjoyable as the food: unique dishes being shuffled to tables of smiling families amidst an appealing ambiance, all taken in from the vantage of a favorite spot. Another common sight that can be observed at a restaurant is an employee grabbing a soaking wet cloth towel from a red bucket filled with solution and then using that towel to wipe a table clean for the next set of guests. But did you know that this seemingly routine practice can carry risks if not conducted properly? In this blog post, we take a deeper dive into the practice of reusable wiping cloths within a restaurant and explore some of the hidden, unobserved risks associated with this practice.
What is the Purpose of Reusable Wiping Cloths?
Wiping cloths are used to clean tables from food debris and minor spills. But why are these cloths stored in sanitizer solutions (often in red buckets)? According to the FDA Food Code, reusable wiping cloths are acceptable for cleaning up food spills as long as they are held in soil-free solutions (at appropriate concentrations) of chemical sanitizer between their use.1 This is because research shows cloths can easily become breeding grounds for foodborne disease-causing bacteria if used for wiping food.2 Storing the cloths in a sanitizer solution suppresses the growth of these pathogenic bacteria. This practice is widely used as a quick and easy way to clean off tables. It is worth mentioning that the FDA Food Code strictly states that this practice is not intended to be a sanitizing step for food contact surfaces. However, as we’ll see, reusable wiping cloths are not without risks.
What are the Risks Associated with Reusable Wiping Cloths?
There are many factors an operator needs to get right for reusable wiping cloths: the sanitizer solution needs to be at an appropriate concentration and free from soil, the sanitizer shouldn’t bind to the cloth itself, and the cloths should be laundered daily and not used for multiple tasks. Research has shown that if any of these aren’t controlled for, an operator could risk spreading pathogens to multiple surfaces within a restaurant.
In 2006, University of Arizona researchers went into real-world settings and collected reusable wiping cloths from restaurants. They also conducted microbial sampling of tables before and after cleaning was performed by restaurant employees. These researchers found:
- Nearly 90% of cloths contained coliform bacteria, a class of bacteria commonly used as an indicator for unhygienic conditions.3
- Tables had more bacteria on their surfaces after cleaning with the cloths than before, suggesting that using the cloth and sanitizer bucket increased the bacterial counts.3
The researchers hypothesized that low concentrations of sanitizer solutions were likely to blame for these results.In a more recent study in 2020, researchers at North Carolina State University inoculated restaurant table surfaces with various bacteria (such as Listeria and E. coli), or a surrogate virus for norovirus called MS2 bacteriophage.4 They then used wiping cloths dipped into a bucket filled with a solution of quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) based sanitizer to “clean” four consecutive tables and measured the amount of each organism that was transferred to each surface as well as the bucket of QAC solution itself. Several important observations came from this study:
- When the QAC solution was held at the appropriate concentration of 400ppm, no bacterial transfer from surface to surface was observed, and some virus transfer occurred onto the first wiped surface.
- When the QAC solution was switched for a control containing no sanitizer, the amount and frequency of microorganism transfer from surface to surface increased, with detectable viruses and bacteria appearing on the third consecutively wiped table.
- The bucket solution itself readily became contaminated in the absence of sanitizer or in the presence of soil.
Thus, the researchers concluded that holding the sanitizer solution at proper concentrations is critical for minimizing transfer from table to table.4 And for some difficult to inactivate organisms (like viruses), transfer may occur if the sanitizer solution itself doesn’t inactivate the organism.
The reusable wiping cloth approach to cleaning tables is not only a risk from a public health standpoint, but it also puts a facility at risk for health inspection violations. Improper use and/or holding of these reusable wiping cloths in the sanitizer solution is frequently noted as one of the most common citations during health inspections. In a recent survey of regulatory professionals, over 39% of respondents were aware of recent compliance issues related to their use.5 Many of these compliance issues were from repeat violators.
Are There Better, Less Risky Alternatives?
Fortunately, there are alternatives to the risky practice of using the “rag and bucket” approach for cleaning tables, and each of these eliminates the use of the bucket itself. The use of a ready-to-use sanitizing solution, like PURELL® Foodservice Surface Sanitizer, along with paper towels, is a great way to quickly clean and sanitize tables. This product is formulated for food contact surfaces while having a remarkable set of kill claims against 48 organisms, including norovirus (which it kills in 30 seconds).
For even more convenience, ready-to-use sanitizing wipes, like PURELL® Foodservice Surface Sanitizing Wipes, are convenient and easy to use, which helps clean tables quickly. Also, they have an industry-leading set of microbial kill claims (including effective against SARS-CoV-2 and norovirus) and are approved for use on food contact surfaces, so you can remain confident that pathogens are stopped dead in their tracks and prevented from being transferred throughout your restaurant.
Conclusions
While the “rag and bucket” approach for cleaning tables may be an inexpensive and quick way to clean tables, research has shown that this process is not without risk. Fortunately, options exist for operators to choose a worry-free, more effective way to clean and sanitize their restaurants.
If you found this informative, don’t miss more videos from our on-demand educational session featuring Dr. Jaykus: “Red Alert? Cross-Contamination Risks Associated with the Red Bucket.” Click here to get information on how to access it.
To read the full text of the recently released peer-reviewed article Characterizing Microbial Cross-Contamination on Large Surfaces Using a Traditional “Cloth and Bucket” Disinfection Method, co-authored by Dr. Jaykus and featuring data from her latest innovative research on the topic, click here.