The key to successfully cleaning and sanitizing grocery meat and poultry departments is establishing a maintenance program and performing the services on a regularly scheduled frequency, said Jerry DiGiovanni, president of Kept Companies.
Kept provides a complete cleaning and sanitizing program for the supermarket industry, with services that include cleaning display cases, honeycombs, plenums and fans, coil cleaning and equipment cleaning, DiGiovanni said.
For Kept, the process of cleaning and sanitizing meat cases starts with the company’s trained technicians de-merchandising cases and associated areas.
Shelves and honeycombs are removed and brought to the washroom to be cleaned using hot water and an alkaline cleaner, which is then allowed to dry before being reinstalled upon completion of the case cleaning process.
The bottom pan on each case is removed to access and raise the plenum and power down the fans, all drains are checked to ensure they are flowing, and screens are installed to prevent any large debris from entering or clogs occurring.
The cases’ fan blades and motors are then dry-brushed to remove surface dust and debris, and all areas of the interior base of the case are scraped with a rubber scraper and then vacuumed to remove any loose debris.
Fan blades are hand washed, and motors are covered with plastic to protect them. Refrigeration coils and interior surfaces of the case are then cleaned using an alkaline cleaner and 180 degrees of hot water under 500PSI of pressure to safely remove all built up contaminants.
For the final step, rubber squeegees are used to dry any residual moisture from shelves and interior surfaces. The plenum is then lowered, and all fans are repowered up and tested to insure they’re functioning properly. The work area is then wiped down and floors mopped leaving your cases looking like new. Choosing the right company to clean and sanitize your cases helps avoid the potential for health department violations, lost product, inefficient equipment performance and costly service calls when equipment goes down, DiGiovanni said.
“It also makes for a better working environment for your employees. Utilizing an experienced cleaning vendor like Kept Companies takes the guess work out of ensuring your cases meet industry standards and provide your customers with a top-notch first impression when shopping in your store.”
Cutting-edge capability
Technology is a key differentiator at Kept Companies.
The company offers its grocery clients custom in-house-created platforms, DiGiovanni said. And all of its customers have a dedicated project manager assigned from start to finish.
“We reply on a seamless series of communication methods including automated service reminders, notifications via text/email, real time updates while our crews are on site, pictures of the services accessible in our customer picture portal and BI reporting for tracking of cleaning frequencies and budgets.”
In addition, customer-specific designed dashboards provide complete visibility from start to finish of the entire cleaning process and program.
Kept’s retail customers include many of the largest regional and national supermarket chains.
And their services extend far beyond case cleaning. Other services include interior trash compactor cleaning and sanitizing, rooftop HVAC coil and refrigeration rack cleaning, solar panel cleaning, shopping cart maintenance, sales, and cleaning programs, rolling stock maintenance and repairs, sidewalk washing and gum removal, window cleaning, fuel station cleaning of canopies, pumps and flatwork.