Tips for safe takeaway sales of food

How to ensure safe takeaway sales and home deliveries

Food collection from restaurants and home deliveries have become increasingly popular recently, above all as a result of the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. To safely sell food to take away, special attention must be paid to those points in the chain of delivery where the spread of viruses is possible.

Takeaway sales and home deliveries are subject to the same precautions as all other interpersonal encounters regarding the coronavirus – that is, staff should be instructed to stay at home if they have even mild symptoms. It is also a good idea to remind customers to come to collect meals only if they do not have any symptoms.

Good personal hygiene is always important to remember when handling food and food orders. The hands must be washed frequently enough with soap and disinfected as necessary (e.g. Erisan Soap, Erisan Etasept, Erisan Käsihuuhde). It is also recommended to provide customers with hand disinfectant at the entrance. Healthy skin is the best protection against viruses, and moisturising the hands (e.g. Erisan Hydra Cream) helps keep skin intact and fight pathogens. Protective gloves can also be worn, but they must be replaced often enough and always when switching between work phases. Dirty protective gloves spread impurities, and endanger the safety of employees and customers alike.

Cleaning for safety

Card payments and other payment methods that reduce the need to touch cash and card devices are recommended. Premises are to be cleaned as normal, paying special attention to hygiene. More detailed cleaning instructions for professional kitchens can be found in the right-hand column behind the link.

For basic cleaning, use mildly alkaline detergents (e.g. Kiilto Forte, Kiilto Plusclean), or other detergents or disinfectants normally used in cleaning (e.g. Kiilto Antibact). Always clean from the cleanest to the dirtiest areas. During cleaning, special attention should be paid to surfaces in the food pick-up area (service counter, card devices, etc.) and to all surfaces that are often touched, such as door handles, table surfaces and light switches. Use a disinfectant when necessary. Separate sets of equipment should be used for customer premises and staff areas, and the equipment itself must be carefully cleaned after use.

If a person who has either been confirmed or is suspected to have the COVID-19 virus has been on the collection premises, the premises must be cleaned thoroughly before they can be used again. Normally, cleaning is mainly carried out using a mildly alkaline detergent or other detergent or disinfectant. After cleaning, contact surfaces and sanitary facilities in particular must also be disinfected. The most effective disinfectants against the coronavirus, which has a protein shell, are hypochlorite-based products such as Kiilto Hypo Dip and hydrogen peroxide-based products such as Tevan Panox 200. Other effective disinfectants are Kiilto Antibact, Kiilto Pluschlor, Kiilto Desichlor, and Kiilto Easydes Spray.

Things to remember with home deliveries

The same rule applies to home delivery staff as to others – that is, they must stay at home if they have mild symptoms of the coronavirus. If the restaurant’s own staff deliver food, they must be instructed on good hygiene, and it must be made possible.

Transportation boxes, payment terminals and so on must be kept clean and disinfected as necessary. Ready-to-use products are easy to carry; detergents such as Kiilto Superquick Spurt and disinfectants such as Tevan Panox 200 and Kiilto Easydes Spray are good choices. Ready-to-use solutions also allow cleaning outside the premises.

For home deliveries, payment methods that minimise interaction on delivery should also be preferred. If the food has been paid for in advance, physical interaction can be minimised by leaving the order outside the door, without any contact with the customer.