AbstractProper cleaning and sanitation that can to maintain the sanitary and hygienic level in the catering kitchens is an important routine to prevent food‐borne diseases and good management of cleaning and sanitation is an important part of any hygiene management system. But large scale industrial kitchens in general seems to be quite slow in initiating change processes required to implementing new routines and only very few large industrial kitchens in Denmark had compulsory self‐inspection programs or auto‐control operating as required. Against this background a study was carried out in Danish institutional kitchens to study the implementation process of cleaning and sanitation practices at practitioner level. The aim of the study was to study how policies aiming at improving hygiene management in foodservice have been implemented at kitchen level when it comes to cleaning and sanitation. The study was conducted as a multiple case study in nursing home and hospital kitchens. The methodology was based on individual telephone interviews in combination with a quantitative questionnaire. A total of 15 kitchens participated in the study which were based on and open‐ended interview guide, focusing on applied cleaning methods, principles for choice of cleaning procedures and methods, cleaning management, including existing documentation for cleaning quality, as well as suggestions for improvements and advancements in cleaning and sanitation. The study shows that street‐level bureaucrats responsible for cleaning and sanitation feel themselves faced with number of challenges that they don’t have the right background to be able to handle properly and this is mirrored in their views and attitudes towards cleaning and sanitation. Street‐level bureaucrats find: that cleaning and sanitation is boring, monotonous and has low status; that help and guidelines for implementing their self‐inspection program is needed; that planning and management tools and techniques are lacking; that tacit knowledge is the guiding principle rather than written procedures; and that educational opportunities are lacking and that there are few opportunities for networking and sharing of knowledge. In general street‐level bureaucrats responsible for cleaning and sanitation feel themselves faced with number of challenges that they don’t have the right background to be able to handle properly and this is mirrored in their views and attitudes towards cleaning and sanitation.