Lifeskills: Cooking Safely

Food Hygiene

Many foodstuffs contain tiny organisms. The most common type are bacteria. These can occur in raw and processed foods no matter how carefully they are produced or stored. They may have got there when the food was growing for instance.

Food that is not prepared hygienically can be a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. If these get into our bodies in sufficient numbers they can make us ill. This is called food poisoning.

Good food hygiene means being realistic about these risks and doing what you can to reduce them.

1. Stopping bacteria getting onto food

You cannot tell by looking whether food has germs in it: bacteria are far too small to see. They do not usually affect how the food looks, nor what it smells like, or even what it tastes like.

• Keep food covered
• Handle food as little as possible
• Keep raw and cooked foods separate
• Keep animals and pests out of the kitchen
• Dispose of rubbish in covered bins
• Follow strict kitchen hygiene procedures
• Follow strict hygiene procedures

It's important to remember that germs can spread from one type of food to another. This could be via your hands, or it could happen if you use the same utensils for two or more food items. It's called cross-contamination.

This can also happen where someone is unwell with a viral illness and they prepare food without taking precautions. This could spread the virus to other people.

For example: Say you were planning a meal of cooked meat plus salad.
The raw meat is a very likely source of bacteria.
You chop the meat and then use the same knife and chopping board to chop salad leaves.
You don't wash the utensils in between.
You may now have transferred bacteria from the meat to the raw salad.
Even though you may wash the salad components this won't necessarily kill the germs.
While you are busy cooking the meat these germs could be breeding in the salad vegetables...

2. Stopping bacteria from multiplying

Bacteria reproduce very quickly indeed if the conditions are right.
To breed, they need:

1. moisture,
2. food,
3. warmth, and
4. time.

Even when food is chilled or frozen, bacteria can survive. They lie dormant and when the temperature goes back up they become active again, and start breeding. It is vitally important to store food in a cool place until shortly before you need to use it.

As a guideline, you should not keep food out of the fridge for more than 90 minutes. Cool cooked food quickly and completely and refrigerate it within 90 minutes.

3. Destroying the bacteria in food

Few bacteria are able to survive temperatures that are higher than 70^o C. This is why it is important to cook food thoroughly.

• With larger vegetables and pieces of meat especially, they should be chopped into smaller pieces to ensure that they are cooked all the way through.

• Food that has been frozen should be defrosted thoroughly before it is cooked, otherwise it is easy to be deceived into thinking the inner parts are cooked when they are not.

• If you reheat food that has previously been cooked, it needs to be done thoroughly, and it is unwise to then reheat the food again. Leftovers that have already been reheated once should be discarded.

Dirty equipment and utensils can breed bacteria. These are the basic things you need to do to make sure that the kitchen stays clean.

1. Cooking utensils: pots, pans, chopping boards, and so on
2. Crockery & Cutlery: i.e. all plates, bowls, knives, forks, etc
3. Equipment: such as mixers or can openers

• Scrape leftovers and scraps off.
• Use hot water with washing up liquid.
• If you have few utensils wash up as you go along so that you can reuse utensils if necessary.
• If you use a dishwasher set the program correctly and remember to add detergent.
• When washing kitchen equipment check the manufacturer's recommendations and follow those.

1. Floor surfaces: with a mop and cleaning liquid.
   If there's a carpet then vacuum/sweep it.
   The carpet will need to be steam-cleaned every 3 months.
2. Work surfaces: with cloth and cleaning liquid.
3. Sink and surrounding area: with cloth and cleaning liquid.
4. Microwave oven: with cloth and cleaning liquid, remembering to wash up the platen if it has one (usually this is a removable glass plate).
5. Kitchen bin: empty and wash (make sure you wear gloves).
6. Cooker: wipe up any spills.

1. Fridge: wipe the fridge out with cloth and cleaning liquid. Often the racks and shelves can be removed for cleaning which makes the job easier.
2. Food storage cupboards: wipe out with cloth and cleaning liquid making sure no crumbs are left behind.
3. Dishwasher, if you have one.
4. Cooker: clean the oven and hob. You can often partially dismantle this to clean the tricky bits, particularly with gas hobs.

1. Other storage cupboards and drawers: for example where you keep pots and pans and cutlery.
2. Fridge: clean thoroughly and defrost if needed. Choose a time when there's not much in the fridge and remove all racks and shelves and clean them separately.
3. Free-standing equipment/"white goods" (e.g. freezer): move these and clean behind them as well as cleaning the equipment itself.

• Defrost the freezer at least twice a year
• The kitchen should be a no smoking area
• Don't allow animals in the kitchen
• Keep a separate chopping board for raw meat and fish.
  The full colour coded range of chopping boards is shown below.
• Kitchen bins should have a lid. Pedal bins let you put things in the bin without having to touch it with your hands.
• Wash fruit and vegetables before consumption, especially salad ingredients.
• Keep cooked food - or any food that is ready to eat - away from raw food.
• Keep the fridge door closed as much as possible to prevent the temperature rising.
• Keep an eye on "Sell by" and "Use By" dates on food.
• Preheat the oven before cooking. Any scraps of food or other remains in the oven could harbour bacteria. Pre-heating will make sure they are destroyed.
• Check that food is cooked all the way through.

• Always wash and dry your hands thoroughly before starting to prepare food.
• Wash and dry your hands regularly during food preparation.
  For example, when handling raw meat and fish and before touching any other food.
• Use a plaster to cover any cuts or abrasions on your hands.
• Short fingernails are less likely to harbour germs.
• If you wear nail varnish it may chip off, with pieces going into food.
• If your hair is long it may need to be tied back while preparing food. Your hair needs to be clean and you should avoid touching your hair while preparing food as you could transfer germs back and forth.
• Jewellery can also harbour germs.
• Don't cook wearing dirty clothes. A clean apron could be worn over the top.

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