Quat Binding – Why this Can Have a Disastrous Impact on Your Sanitation Program.
In June, I had the opportunity to represent FoodHandler and speak on food safety behavior for customers of Martin Bros. Distributing in Waterloo, Iowa. One of the questions that was asked caught me a little off guard. The question was about quat binding. It caught me off guard not because it was a bad question, but only because it was not something I had previously been asked nor had not yet been exposed to the phenomenon. However, I soon learned that in certain jurisdictions, it is resulting in changes to how sanitizing cloths are to be stored in sanitizing buckets (or not) in the foodservice industry. When I returned home from the trip, I had to dig into it to learn about what quat binding is and how it might impact foodservice operations.
I am sure no one reading this will dispute the importance of maintaining proper sanitation and how it is critical to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests and our employees. A common sanitizer used in many foodservice operations are quaternary ammonium compounds (quats). Quat binding occurs when the active ingredient, quaternary ammonium chloride, binds to and is ultimately absorbed into the cloth used to clean a surface. This occurs because quats are positively charged ions and cotton and other natural textiles that we commonly use in foodservice operations are negatively charged. If you think back to your high school science class, you might remember that positive attracts negative – think of a magnet, turned the right way, two magnets are attracted to each other, turn one around and they seemly repel each other.
Quat binding occurs when the active ingredient, quaternary ammonium chloride, binds to and is ultimately absorbed into the cloth used to clean a surface.
When quats bind to surfaces, their availability as antimicrobial agents decreases, making them less effective in killing pathogens. This can result in inadequate sanitation and increases the risk of foodborne illnesses. One study that explored quat binding in the healthcare setting found that allowing a cotton cloth to remain in a quat solution can reduce the concentration by almost half. Other data has noted that this binding starts almost immediately and can reduce the efficacy of the sanitizing solution by half within as little as 5 minutes.
The risks associated with quat binding cannot be overlooked. Understanding these risks and implementing proper mitigation measures are essential to safeguard food safety and protect consumers from potential health hazards. Regular monitoring of quat concentrations is crucial to ensure that the disinfectant levels remain within the recommended range. Supervisors and managers should also revisit standard operating procedures and determine what would be the best way to store the sanitizer cloths in between uses. The practice of storing the cloth in the solution, which has been standard practice for many operations, may warrant review with your team and your health inspector.
Late in June, we released the second quarter SafeBites webinar, entitled 2022 Year in Review: What We Can Learn From Foodborne Outbreaks. Check it out to learn about the major outbreaks from 2022 and what you can learn from them to protect your business! Risk Nothing.
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining, Part II – Back-of-house
In our first blog this month, we discussed the importance of front-of-house practices as we emerge from the pandemic this summer and into fall. Making your guests feel safe will be an important point as we welcome them back to our establishment. The safer they feel, the more likely they are to revisit and this could, in turn, be a competitive advantage for your business.
Food Safety Considerations for the “New Way” of Dining
Spring is my favorite time of year, as we head out of the winter months, welcome warmer weather, and increase the daylight hours. As such, we turnover a new leaf and welcome new life as our grass, trees, and perennials come out of dormancy. This year as the Coronavirus vaccine continues its roll out and we welcome a third vaccine onto the market this morning, perhaps this spring we are turning over a ‘new leaf’ in a much more profound way, as we see light at the end of the Coronavirus tunnel.
Developing Good Food Safety Habits
Good habits and habit development are something that has fascinated me for several years. If you’ve attended any the training programs or presentations that my colleagues and I have conducted through our Center for Food Safety in Child Nutrition Programs, you’ve likely heard me opine about the importance of habits and how habits are created. Many times, in foodservice operations we wonder why our staff don’t follow the food safety practices we have established in our operation. Perhaps they don’t wash their hands when they are required, perhaps they just don’t use the proper method of handwashing, or perhaps we find that they don’t complete our HACCP logs as often as our program dictates should occur. And while we can stomp our feet and say “it is their job, they should just do it”, it really isn’t that simple. We can’t order people to change, although if we could, business and human resources would be so much simpler.
Getting Your Playbook for Food Safety Organized
As anyone who has ever worked in a foodservice operation knows, from the time food is received in your establishment to the time it is served to your customers, following proper food safety practices is crucial. What many don’t often think about is this time really should extend from the time the manager places their orders with their suppliers (including which purveyors you utilize), through the time the food is consumed – even if that consumption occurs off your premises and days after the original order was picked up by the guest. This is something that has certainly been highlighted by the pandemic as customers across the nation are utilizing take-out, curbside to go, and third-party delivery options more so now than ever before.
