Cleaning containers

Page last edited 3,443 days ago
From thoughtfulfoods
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When do we wash and sanitise?

Wash and sanitise food containers when empty, so that they are ready for refill the following day. Wash scoops and tongs at the end of the day and also during the day when food residue is present.

We sterilise barrels every time they're refilled. When refilling barrels, always use a new barrel, fill with the new stock first, then add the old stock from the old barrel, and afterwards clean and sanitise the old barrel (incl lid).

Each day, check the diary to see what products are coming in the next day. So that large bags can go straight into barrels, we clean and sanitise the barrels the day that they’re empty, and leave them to dry properly (at least overnight). Once dried the clean barrels are stored on the shelf above the sink with the bung in place and the lid incl seal screwed on. DO NOT close barrels before they are completely dry.

  • Remember to put o-ring back into the lid and screw the ‘bung’ into the hole near the base of the barrel.

How to wash and sterilise containers

Washing and Sterilising Containers - click me

For food containers, scoops and tongs

  1. Wash thoroughly with soap and water
  2. Spray all inside surfaces with utensil sanitiser whilst still wet
  3. Leave upside down in dish drainer to air dry

For barrels

  1. Same as above except, rinse all inner barrel surfaces with boiling water before spraying.
  2. Make sure the seal in the lid and the bung are taken out before washing barrels.


This last step is easiest if the barrel is rested in the sink, and rotated with one hand as the other pours boiling water in. Once sterilised, grab a milk crate, upturn it and cover it with a clean tea-towel (don't use the one on the top of the pile, get one a few underneath it), and then place the barrel upside-down on top. The drying barrel can be left outside during the day, and brought in that night.

Make sure you stick a note on the underside of the barrel saying the date that it was sterilised.(still doing this?)