Can opener
Named by the regulator, and the reason is the one part nobody washes: the cutting wheel.
Precautions
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
In detail
A can opener appears on the food-safety list of frequently touched items needing regular cleaning and disinfection, and it earns its place for a reason particular to its shape. The mechanism carries a wheel and a gear that pass through the contents of every tin opened with it, and both sit in a housing that is awkward to reach, slow to dry and rarely dismantled. It is a good illustration of a wider principle: the part that needs cleaning is often the part that cannot easily be reached, and no product applied to the outside addresses it. A brush is more use than a cloth, and drying matters as much as washing because the assembly holds water in exactly the recess that holds residue. Electric openers add an appliance's constraints; the manufacturer's instructions govern whether any part is removable or washable.
Sources for this page
Sources
Safe Method: Cleaning Effectively (Safer Food, Better Business)
Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That items people touch frequently — work surfaces, sinks, taps, door handles, switches, can openers, telephones and scales — should be regularly washed, wiped and disinfected because hands carry contamination from them to food and to other areas. (states this directly)