SUMMARYLet’s face it… E. coli Happens! As a food safety specialist, I can fully attest to the importance of proper sanitization. Sanitizing dishes at home helps to ensure harmful pathogens are reduced to a safe level so you and your family can eat without worry.

So, whether it is traces of E. coli left behind by raw ground beef, salmonella from raw chicken, or just a plain old cold germs during flu season, sanitizing stops PATHogens in their PATH!

PROPERLY SANITIZING DISHES IN YOUR KITCHEN

Things you’ll need• Scour pad• 1 X Steramine Quaternary Sanitizing

Tablets• Dish soap• Dish soaking pan• Thermometer• Measuring cup or an empty gallon of

water• Dish drying rack

1Visually inspect the dirty dishes, if there is any physical food debris scrape it off and into the trash can, then place the dishes in the sink.

2Run the water and use your thermometer to ensure the temperature is between 110-120oF.

110-120oF

3Pour in enough dish soap so the water becomes sudsy.

Dish Soap

4Soak the dishes in the hot, soapy water for a minute or two and use the scour pad to scrub and clean the dishes, using the soapy hot water.

Scour Pad

5Drain the sink.

6Rinse the dishes with hot water (utilizing the thermometer again to ensure it’s between 110-120oF).

7Open the Steramine Sanitizing Tablets and drop one in the dish soaking pan (use 2 for a stronger ppm if your dishes had raw products on them such as chicken).

1 X Steramine Quaternary Sanitizing

Tablets

Dish Soaking Pan

8Using the measuring cup or one empty gallon of water, pour a gallon of hot water (utilize the thermometer to ensure the water is 75-100oF) into the dish soaking pan.

9Wait until the tablet or tablets completely dissolve and place the clean dishes into the sanitizer water, ensuring they are completely submerged and let them soak for at least one minute.

10Take the dishes out and place them onto the dish drying rack to air dry.

Dish Drying Rack

11Let the cleanliness and sanitization MESMORIZE you!

Tips• The sanitizer tablets can also be utilized for sanitizing

your sink. After cleaning the sink of debris and soil with dish soap and a scour pad, let the sanitizer soak in the sink for at least a minute.

• Sanitizing in and around your sink becomes especially important after washing raw food products like chicken. The splash from the running water and/or spray can easily contaminate what surrounds the sink.

• All of the items needed can be purchased on Amazon.com.

Warnings• Do not place more than 1-2 sanitizer tablets per gallon

of water as the parts per million (ppm) is designed to be between 200-400 (anything higher could be unsafe).

• To avoid re-contaminating the dishes you’ve sanitized, ensure your hands have been vigorously washed for at least 20 seconds in hot water (100oF) before placing them in your kitchen cabinets.

• Sponges harbor bacteria therefore should be cleaned and sanitized after each use or avoided altogether (a scour pad serves as a good replacement).

Important Sources• http://www.eatright.org/resources/homefoodsafety

• http://www.foodsafety.gov/

• http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ByAudience/ForWomen/ucm118524.htm

• FDA Food Code