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.
Handling Leafy Green Salad
We have had several produce outbreaks of foodborne disease from our lettuce, spinach, and other greens in the last several years that have been devastating to the produce growers and distributors, retail grocery stores, restaurants, and consumers.
Food Packaging Safety in a Vacuum
Extending the shelf life of fresh foods has come a long way in the food industry since curing meats with salt and sugar or canning vegetables with heat processing. The food service and consumer markets needed some better visual packages to draw the eye to the freshness factor and the technology of food packaging has filled our dinner plate. Vacuum packaging and modified atmosphere packaging, shortened to “MAP”, are the terms used for the method of food packaging used every time we choose convenience over more complex scratch meal preparation. According to industry statistics, billions of packages of vacuum and MAP-packaged foods flood the marketplace today. In both modified-atmosphere and vacuum packaging, food is packaged in a pouch made of barrier film.
The Eleven Commandments of Food Safety at Your Restaurant
Lists help us remember all kinds of information. Given the list of recent national foodborne outbreaks in the news, keep repeating this list to your food service team. They are kind of like “commandments”. As a professional in a food service facility we should think of the very basic food safety concepts that every crew member should aspire to learn, even though this list may have different priorities based on your menu. The first 3 apply to anyone who serves food, from a bag of popcorn to a full course meal. As chefs or managers, if we can “set the example” by repeating good food safety practices visibly to the crew, it will help them understand how important it is to the success of your facility. Thou shalt:
The Worst Customer Complaint: Foodborne Illness
Food service managers and crew try to follow the rules of food protection. Yet, occasionally a complaint may arise and these calls take priority over all other daily crises. If you have been in the food service industry long enough, you may have gotten one of these. A customer may claim, "I think your food made me ill." These words inflict instant anxiety. If it happens, here are some next steps to think about in advance of such a claim:
