If you have a kitchen in your breakroom, it is likely that at least sometimes there are foods and containers that get left in the refrigerator with old food.
This seems like a harmless event but, old food in the refrigerator can cause serious bacteria growth, which can be harmful and can infect other foods stored in there.
In fact, the crisper drawers are the most contaminated places in the refrigerator, carrying up to 800% more bacteria than any other place inside of the refrigerator.
When leftover food that is stored in the breakroom refrigerator leaks or drips, there is the chance that it is dripping bacteria onto the other surfaces of your refrigerator.
This is true even if the leftover item is a drink rather than a food. In both cases, there is a chance for bacteria to grow and contaminate the other surfaces and foods in the refrigerator.
These bacteria infestations can cause food poisoning to anyone who ingests the contaminated foods.
Here are some tips to follow so that you can avoid a contaminated refrigerator and (possibly) sick employees:
Post a daily cleaning schedule for the refrigerator and assign one employee to each day or week (depending on how many employees you have)
Stock your breakroom with disinfecting wipes that make cleanup easy, and encourage your employees to clean any spills immediately
Have your refrigerator cleaned up weekly by your building maintenance cleaning crew and make sure your employees know that any food kept in the refrigerator will be thrown out (along with the container they are in)
Assign someone to check the items in the fridge (creamer, salad dressing, etc) for expiration dates. These items are those that are for everyone’s use and provided by you.
Have your refrigerator cleaned and disinfected once per month by your building maintenance cleaning crew to ensure safety and cleanliness
The summer months are just around the corner and that means more leftovers in the fridge for lunch from barbecues and cookouts. Make sure that all of those leftovers either get eaten or they get cleaned up so that no one misses out on their summer vacation because of food poisoning!