Green Cleaning Products for Restaurants

In keeping with the national trend towards more eco-friendly business practices, many restaurants around the country are choosing green cleaning products for use in their kitchen and dining areas. Green products are better for the environment and pose fewer health risks for both employees and patrons. There are hundreds of great alternatives to traditional cleaning products on the market these days, many of which can be purchased cheaply in bulk for use in restaurants.

Benefits

• The problem with traditional restaurant cleaning supplies is that most of them use toxic chemicals that are potentially harmful to the health of both employees and customers. Many products use chemicals like chlorine or ammonia, corrosive materials that hurt both the environment and peoples' health, despite their powerful cleansing properties. These chemicals often wind up down the drain and later enter rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. Green cleaning products, on the other hand, contain harmless, biodegradable solvents like natural citric and fatty acids. These products still clean surfaces, dishes and other things around the kitchen for safe use, but pose no threat to the human, animal or plant life they encounter.

Choosing Products

• When choosing green cleaning products, always carefully read the ingredients listed on the packaging. Some products claim to be "green" when they are, in reality, far from it. The best, most eco-friendly ingredients are sourced directly from plants and are easily biodegradable. Green cleaning products often contain nano-sized molecules that break up dirt and grease but won't harm the health of humans or animals. Hydrogen peroxide, fatty acids, citric acid, perocyacetic acid and iodine solutions are all considered "green," so look for those active ingredients on the label. If you are unsure about the "greenness" of a certain product, consult Environmentally Preferable Purchasing or EPP, the Environmental Protection Agency's guide to eco-friendly products. (See Resources)

Implementation

• Purchasing green cleaning products is just the beginning when attempting to make a restaurant more eco-friendly. As a restaurant owner or manager, it is your job to make sure the products are being used properly and efficiently. One thing you can do is improve the efficiency and quality of existing dishwashers and other machines. Make sure water used in cleaning dishes and silverware is set to at least 171°F, the FDA food code's minimum, and that immersion lasts for at least 30 seconds. This will efficiently sanitize the dishes without the use of any sanitizing cleaning products. Also, make sure that stocks of green cleaning supplies remain full to avoid having to resort to more readily available, harmful cleaning supplies. Purchase in bulk from green product dealers to save costs.