If tableware is not thoroughly cleaned and sterilized, or if it becomes re-contaminated after cleaning and sterilization, there is a possibility that some pathogenic bacteria may be present. To kill bacteria by heating, it generally requires a temperature of at least 70-80 degrees Celsius, maintained for several minutes. Typically, the hot tea or hot water provided by restaurants is around 70-80 degrees Celsius. When poured onto cool tableware, the temperature drops immediately, usually to 50-60 degrees, which has little to no lethal effect on bacteria. Of course, rinsing tableware with water will wash away some bacteria into the water and then be discarded. This has little to do with the temperature of the water; it is simply a form of cleaning. In short, when dining in a restaurant, rinsing your tableware with tea or hot water can remove residual detergent, but do not expect a significant disinfecting effect.
Are pre-packaged plastic tableware safer?
Many people have noticed that many restaurants now use pre-packaged plastic tableware. This is actually a method of centralized cleaning and disinfecting tableware: restaurants send used tableware to specialized cleaning companies, who clean and disinfect it, then package it in plastic film before returning it to the restaurant for use.
Theoretically, this can make tableware more hygienic. This is because cleaning companies can establish comprehensive and professional cleaning and disinfection processes. For example, after cleaning, they are typically sterilized using steam or boiling, or disinfected with appropriate disinfectants in a standardized manner. Due to the centralized and large-scale nature of the operation, it is also easier for government supervision.
Generally, open tableware is cleaned by the restaurant itself, while plastic-packaged tableware is centrally cleaned. Theoretically, centrally cleaned tableware is more hygienic than self-cleaned tableware.
However, whether reality matches theory depends on whether the tableware cleaning and disinfection companies operate in a standardized manner—and this is precisely something consumers cannot know.
At this point, everyone probably understands that for consumers, a reliable way to ensure tableware hygiene is to choose a reputable restaurant.
A reputable restaurant can ensure tableware hygiene even with its own cleaning process. An unreliable restaurant might choose an unreliable company even with centralized cleaning. The hygiene of tableware needs to be guaranteed by the restaurant.
A basic requirement for restaurant operations is hygiene, and the cleanliness of tableware is a part of that.
In reality, the hygiene of tableware is ensured through good operating practices: there are standardized industry guidelines for how to clean, disinfect, and dry tableware. In well-managed, large restaurants, there are detailed operational procedures for what kind of detergent to use, what temperature of water to use, what disinfectant to use, and for how long. As long as operations follow these standards, tableware hygiene can be guaranteed. However, small restaurants, roadside stalls, and other dining establishments are often blind spots for regulation.
For tableware cleaning, one can only refer to the practices of a home kitchen. Whether the cleaning is done conscientiously depends solely on the ethics of the vendor.
The safety of the food is more important
It should be noted that compared to the safety and hygiene of the food itself, the risk from tableware is much smaller.
The proliferation of bacteria requires water and nutrients. In a restaurant, if tableware is not washed and used immediately, it is generally left to air dry. This means that on the tableware, there is a lack of water and nutrients, making it unsuitable for bacterial growth. If a restaurant's tableware has a large amount of bacteria, then the hygiene of the food produced from it would be terrifying.
If you are not confident about the tableware, rinsing it with tea or hot water is more of a psychological comfort that is better than nothing.
The author's suggestion is: when dining out, instead of worrying about how to fuss with the tableware, it's better to focus on choosing the right restaurant.
If a restaurant's environment and staff look clean and hygienic, and its health rating is at least a B, then the likelihood of a problem with the tableware is very small. If the restaurant environment looks dirty and messy, and its health rating is only a C, then it's not worth worrying about whether the tableware is hygienic.