Step by step
- Stop food service nearby. Cover and throw out any open food within about 25 feet.
- Keep people away. Put on disposable gloves, a mask and an apron.
- Cover the mess with paper towels or absorbent powder. Scoop it into a plastic bag.
- Clean the area with detergent and water.
- Disinfect with an EPA-registered norovirus product, or bleach at 1,000–5,000 ppm, for the label's contact time (usually 5 minutes).
- Bag everything, including gloves and apron. Tie and throw away.
- Wash your hands well. Wash any cloth items in hot water.
- Log it: time, place, and what was thrown out.
Sources: Food Code 2-501.11 · Source protocols: vomit or diarrhea cleanup
Mixing the bleach
- 1,000–5,000 ppm is about ⅓ cup to 1⅓ cups of plain 6% bleach per gallon of water.
- Quat-only products that aren't labeled for norovirus won't do the job.
- Never mix bleach with ammonia or acid cleaners. It makes toxic gas.
- Keep the area well ventilated.
Sources: Source protocols: vomit or diarrhea cleanup (bleach at 1,000–5,000 ppm) · Source protocols: shopping list (quat-only products not labeled for norovirus); safe chemical use; legal criteria for sanitizers (ventilate)
After cleanup
- A worker who vomited or had diarrhea is excluded until 24 hours after symptoms end.
- Hand sanitizer works poorly against norovirus. Wash with soap and water.
- Every food business needs this procedure in writing. Food trucks too.
Sources: Food Code 2-201.12 · Food Code 2-201.13 · Food Code 2-501.11 · R392-102-15(5)
The rules behind it
- Employee health: report, exclude, restrict. Food workers report vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, pus-filled sores, Big 6 diagnoses and exposures; the person in charge excludes or restricts. Food Code 2-201.11, 2-201.12, 2-201.13; R392-102-15(4)
- Vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedure. Written procedure: stop service nearby, protective gear, absorb, clean, disinfect 1,000–5,000 ppm bleach or norovirus product, discard, log. Food Code 2-501.11; R392-102-15(5)