What is pre rinse and why is it important in commercial kitchens?

If you've spent time in a busy kitchen, you know service is a whirlwind of activity, and chefs alike are busy working on their parts. One pot wash area gets constant attendance as staff members are banging out food orders and running pots and pans in and out of the dishwasher and with one quick movement, are blasting food debris off the pans and pots. To people not in the industry, this is just a quick and simple step, but they do not know how that quick and simple blast is one of the most vital parts of maintaining an efficient, hygienic, and cost-effective kitchen operation.

A pre rinse water procedure utilizes a faucet, frequently a high pressure, volume safe pressure faucet, used to remove the large excess contaminants like leftover food, sauces, grease, and solids from dishes, cookware, and utensils before loading items into a commercial spline dishwasher, or before hand scrubbing items in a triple sink. This is the first act in a two act play. It is essential to what follows. If skipped, it has the potential to cause a multitude of operational problems. Any kitchen manager or owner should know the importance of a pre rinse station to the efficient operation of compliance of their back of house.

The First Line of Defense for Kitchen Hygiene

Public health is protected first and foremost by maintaining proper hygiene, and this is one of the most essential functions of a pre rinse. There is a constant risk of cross-contamination in a commercial kitchen, but particularly by moving bacteria from raw food to any ready-to-eat foods, surfaces, or untouchable food. There is no other pre rinse powerful enough to defend from this threat. Used cookware has to be pre rinsed to remove visible food particles and residues instantly in order to stop bacteria from populating, including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria, and remove the food sources to be breeding grounds.

Cleaning isn't just about taking one step to make something look better; cleaning involves making something safe on a microbiological level. When cleaning a pot that is crusted over with leftover sauce, or a cutting board that was just used for raw poultry, it is very important to pre rinse the surface before washing and sanitizing. Otherwise, the washing and sanitizing step will not work as well. High-temperature dish sanitizers and other sanitizers used in the process of dish washing are designed to eliminate microorganisms, not to pick off large food chunks on the surface of the dish. If a dish rack is loaded with over twenty plates that are all still covered in egg yolk or greasy sauces, the dishwasher's spray arms can get clogged, and the entire surface of the dish will end up not being reached by the sanitizing solution. Since pre rinsing is a step that must happen, it is very important that the last step of sanitizing get to do its job. In the end, this is none negotiable to help the establishment pass health inspections for the customers.

A Vital Element of Operational Efficiency and Efficiency

In the commercial food service industry, time equals money. During service, no kitchen can afford to have its washing area become a bottleneck. This is the area to which a dedicated pre rinse faucet enhances efficiency. The task of pre rinsing speeds the entire cleaning cycle exponentially. By blastingoff the bulk of debris in seconds, pre rinsing removes the need for prolonged soaking and extensive scraping. Staff can process items more quickly, allowing a more rapid flow of clean cookware to the chefs.

Consider the opposite: without a pre rinse station, a dishwasher may spend minutes scrubbing a single, burnt pan, or a commercial dishwasher may have to run longer, more intensive cycles to clean a single pot. This scenario can quickly become the most labor and time intensive task in the kitchen and would result in a growing pile of dirty dishes to be run during service. With a high pre rinse sprayer designed for ergonomic use and feature a more focused, powerful spray, staff are able to work more effectively and complete, what once was a time and labor intensive task of pre washing soiled cookware and other kitchen utensils, in order to maintain a constant and rapid flow of clean kitchen equipment, to the kitchen "engine" to keep the service running without interruption.

Protecting Your Equipment Investment

In commercial kitchens, there are lots of big investments like combi ovens and dishwashers. Effective pre rinse procedures is an incredibly easy way to protect your expensive assets. The commercial dishwasher is the most direct benefactor of pre rinse procedures. If large food particles are removed before the rinse, they won't go into the dishwasher's filtration system, helping to prevent clogs in the spray arms and pumps. This also makes sure the machine is working properly and at full efficiency for the less breakdowns and repairs. These things mean lower maintenance costs and less disruptive downtime for your business. 

In addition to the maintenance of the dishwasher, the pre rinse system also protects the items being washed. Stubborn, burnt-on food creates the need for aggressive scrubbing, which is the main reason fine china, glassware, and expensive pots and pans get ruined. They get scrubbed to the point of being ruined. A pre rinse stream can remove the food residues with a lot less pressure to mechanically scrub the food off. This preserves the quality of your tableware and cookware over time. It saves money in the long run by preventing scrubbing and damage which leads to the need for replacements.

Helping the Environment and Saving Money  

Even though a pre rinse system seems to waste more water than needed, a state-of-the-art and well controlled pre rinse system adds to water saving and cost saving goals. The reasoning behind this is very efficient and profound. By taking the bulk food soil load off, less hot water and less detergent are needed in the main wash cycle. The dishwashers can run on more efficient cycles because they are fighting heavy soil load. They are not battling a heavy soil load.  

Perhaps the greatest benefit is avoiding the costly scenario of a dish machine washing a rack of dishes and coming out dirty. Doing this results in more than doubling the consumption of water, energy, and detergent because the stack of plates has to be rewashed. The proper pre rinse significantly cuts these rewashing rates. The constant utility and cleaning supply saving in days, weeks, and months is significant. This is how one small targeted step, in this case a pre rinse, can generate a more positive bottom line while also reducing the kitchen's eco footprint.Conclusion

The pre rinse is an integral part of the process. It is certainly not just a 'splash of water'. The pre rinse is an example of a multi-purpose process used in professional kitchen operations. It correlates to food safety, operational throughput, equipment servicing, and cost control of the prep. Choosing a high quality, durable, and more expensive pre rinse faucet made of solid stainless steel is the hallmark of a kitchen that has professionalized the operations. It allows staff to work within their capacities and allows the heart of the kitchen to keep working through the busiest services. A solid pre rinse practice does not only remove food from the dishes. The rinse cycle supports the operations of the kitchen by removing risks and inefficiencies.