CH&LA Lodging News Jan/Feb 2018

www.calodging.com January/February 2018 5 Cleaning and Sanitation Requirements in Guest Rooms for Glasses and Utensils By Jim Abrams, CH&LA Member Legal Adivsor THE CALIFORNIA HOTEL & LODGING ASSOCIATION receives calls from members that have been cited by local health officials for failure to comply with the statewide requirements for cleaning, sanitizing, and protecting multi-use drinking glasses and ice buckets in their guestrooms. For example, a hotel in South San Francisco received a citation from San Mateo County Board of Health for failure to wrap the guestroom drinking glasses in a protective wrapping. Other hotels in South San Francisco received similar notifications. For “branded” hotels, compliance with these legal requirements will likely impact, and perhaps necessitate altering, their brand standards. CH&LA wants to remind all lodging operators of the obligations pertaining to this everyday aspect of their operations. Health and Safety Code Sections 114095, et seq., which are part of the California Retail Food Code, (CRFC), require that all multi-service utensils such as cups, glasses, ice buckets, and other equipment must be cleaned and sanitized in between use by different persons. With particular reference to hotels and bed & breakfast inns, the Title 17, California Code of Regulations, Section 30852 states: 1. Multi-use and single service drinking utensils and ice buckets shall be protected from dirt, vermin, droplet infection, overhead leakage, and other potential contamination during handling, storage, and distribution. 2. Multi-use drinking utensils or ice buckets may be used in [hotel and B&Bs] guest rooms under the following conditions: a. They are thoroughly washed and sanitized after each use. b. The drinking utensils, prior to distribution, are placed in protective bags with the open end of the utensil placed in the closed end of the bag to prevent handling of the lip contact surface. c. No utensil shall be labeled or otherwise indicate to have been cleaned and sanitized unless it has been cleaned and sanitized in accordance with Section 30853 and/or 30855. 3. Single service drinking utensils or ice buckets may be used in guest rooms under the conditions that the drinking utensils are dispensed by one of the following methods: a. From a dispenser which keeps the lip contact surface enclosed. b. Individually wrapped. The mandatory procedures required in the cleaning and sterilization of multi-use drinking utensils and ice buckets are discussed below. Multi-use drinking glasses, utensils, and ice buckets shall be cleaned and sanitized by one of the following two (2) methods: 1. In a three compartment metal sink equipped with hot and cold running water and two (2) integral metal drain boards (CRFC §114099). The cleaning and sanitizing shall be completed in the following sequence: a. Wash with hot water, not less than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and detergent in the first sink compartment until thoroughly cleaned. b. Rinse in clear, clean warm water in the second compartment. c. Immerse in a third compartment sink of hot water with one of the following bactericidal solutions: • 100 parts per million (ppm) of available chlorine from either hypochlorite or organic chlorine approved by this Department. (e.g., Bleach for 30 sec). • 200 ppm of a quaternary ammonium compound, approved by the Department, for one (1) minute. • 25 ppm of available iodine for one (1) minute. • Chemical sanitizer meeting requirements of CFR 178.1010 used in accordance with manufactures directions. d. Air drying is required. Cloth wiping is not allowed. Prior to the installation of a new three- compartment utensil sink, plans shall be submitted to, and approved by, the local health official. The sink shall be located in an area where it will not be subject to contamination. The walls and floor around and under the sink shall be constructed and finished so as to be easily cleanable. 2. In a mechanical dishwasher, located in a licensed food establishment, that is capable of providing heat of at least 160°F {CRFC § 114101(d)} to the surface of the utensils and is operated according to the requirements of the CRFC, Sections 114099.6-114101.2 Tests strips, appropriate for the sanitizer utilized shall be available for ensuring the concentration of sanitizer is maintained at the appropriate level. • Prior to placing clean drinking utensils in the guest rooms, they shall be placed in protective bags with the open end of the utensil placed in the closed end of the bag to prevent the handling of the lip continues on page 6  