A Booster Juice location in Calgary has been ordered to stop using a disinfectant product meant for sanitizing counters on its fruits and vegetables.
Public health inspectors from Alberta Health Services were responding to a tip from the public on Dec. 30 when they found that the Booster Juice location at Crowfoot Crescent was using the cleaner Sani Stuff, which contains the chemical benzalkonium chloride, to “wash” produce.
The location was ordered to stop the practice. It was also ordered to stop storing Windex and a stain remover in the same spray bottles as the Sani Stuff, and to provide staff with a probe thermometer to ensure food is kept at safe temperatures.
An AHS spokesperson told CTVNews.ca in an email that “the amount of sanitizer that could have come into contact with food was at a very low concentration and did not present a significant health concern.”
Still, the agency contacted Booster Juice head office. They say the company “took immediate steps to ensure the proper use of the disinfectant at all of its locations.”
Booster Juice President Dale Wishewan said in a written statement to CTVNews.ca that “when an incident that does not uphold our brand standards is identified, we act quickly to ensure that the issue is resolved,” and that the company “will address all violations identified in this report.”
Wishewan acknowledged that the sanitizer should not have been used for cleaning fruits and vegetables but said the concentration in this particular situation “did not pose a harmful threat.”
Wishewan said “this is not a companywide issue” and that the location in question “is going through re-training to ensure our proper cleaning and food preparation procedures are followed.”
“When a location does not adhere to our strict food handling procedures by following our checklists or using the tools readily available in our stores, it is dealt with right away, as we take food handling very seriously,” he added.
