Many pandemic-inspired sanitation practices are worth keeping, says Scott Craig, Director of Culinary Operations and Executive Chef of Myers Park Country Club.
Back in May, in a microblog, I naively made the statement “…now that we’re on the other side of COVID.” I certainly never would have guessed that we would see triple the number of COVID cases in our state this week than we did one year ago. Thankfully, we are better educated and are starting this round with a better toolbox than we had last time.
In our first round with COVID, we were fortunate to hold our transmission rate to zero in our workplace utilizing a multi-pronged approach to combat the spread of the virus. While we are as fatigued by this pandemic as everyone else, our resolve to ensure that our teammates and members are safe is unwavering.
As with many teams, masking and social distancing are vital to our ability to continue working safely. Additionally, while the risk of transmission of the virus from a contact surface is lower than airborne transmission, we recognized an urgent need to deeply sanitize surfaces since the virus can live on stainless steel for up to three days.
Philosophically, our team does not believe in half-measured efforts. We needed the most effective chemical and dispersal tool for the job. We went about researching products and providers with the same energy which is usually expended on farmers and ranchers.
After consulting with experts and performing due diligence, we arrived at an ammonia-based quat sanitizer which was initially developed by Taco Bell for use on their produce deliveries in the early 2000s. Called “ISO-10”, the exact same chemical is currently utilized in many outpatient surgical rooms in order to terminally sterilize the environment to ensure the safety of patients. The chemical also has residual efficacy for five days, destroying the microbial flora of a surface and ensuring that even if someone with COVID touches that surface after being treated, the virus cannot propagate and will die off. This quat sanitizer kills everything, all the way down to MRSA, and keeps surfaces terminally sanitized for five days after each application.
In order to confirm the efficacy of the chemical, we utilized an ATP luminometer to measure the microbial flora which existed on a random door handle in our formal dining room. Our first reading registered 130 RLU (real light units), which was impressively low.
Our second reading, taken five minutes later, registered 37 RLU. A third sampling, not pictured, measured an unbelievable 16 RLU. The CDC recommends measurements of 15-20 for outpatient operating rooms.
Once we had our chemical, we needed the easiest way possible to cover large areas quickly.
In researching delivery methods, we examined the use of towels, misters, and foggers. We arrived at a 40-micron mister which negatively charges the dispersed chemical, allowing it to not just fall onto a surface, but wrap around surfaces and reach difficult places, such as the ornate door handles and intricately carved chairs in our dining rooms.
IsoKlean Carolinas ended up as our partner in the fight against COVID-19, supplying our team with ISO-10, 40-micron misters, as well as n95 masks for use with the nightly cleaning.
Our team mixes one ISO-10 tablet with a gallon of water nightly, strains the chemical to remove undissolved pieces of the tablet, then transfers the chemical to our mister. One team member, wearing an n95 mask, applies the mist to all kitchen surfaces. All other team members are out of the kitchen, cutting boards are put away, and no food is exposed, just to exercise an abundance of caution. All contact surfaces, including door handles and tables, are terminally sterilized. The mister has also been used for golf carts, fitness equipment, dining rooms, and contact surfaces prior to member events.
You may already have your COVID-19 sanitation program figured out, but if you don’t, or if you’re looking to take it to the next level, we’ve found the folks at IsoKlean Carolinas to be the gold standard.
