The word hygiene is very essential for food preparation. A person, when they go to have a dinner at the restaurant, they always ensure that the restaurant must be clean and all the employees, from the cook to the people serving it must maintain proper hygiene. But they need to follow the same hygienic levels when they are cooking at home.
At the home, a person cooks for themselves and for their family. So, the domestic setting must be clean and accurate procedures need to be followed while cooking. They should keep the surfaces clean at all times and pets should not be permitted inside the kitchen. It is also advised that these pets should have a separate eating and toilet environment. All the feeding equipment for babies should be sterilized according to the instructions and the kids should also be taught not to eat from the floor. As people often ignore and neglect the basic and general hygienic requirements, here are some suggestions:
- Washing hands is mandatory before cooking and eating food even if the person use spoon or fork while eating.
- If a person is feeling unwell then, they should not engage themselves in cooking. The chances of contamination increases manifolds.
- The cupboards, table, oven and fridge must be cleaned frequently with a suitable cleaning agent. It helps to reduce the chances of contamination and keeps the members of the family fit and fine.
- While cooking any form of meat, it should be cleaned, processed and boiled properly.
- It is highly recommended that a person before cooking food should remove all jewelry. The intricate design of jewelry are often high sources of bacteria and other microorganisms from where they can get easily transferred easily to food and other utensils.
- All the vegetables, processed food and spices that are used while cooking must be fresh and should not be expired. There are many people who does not notice the expiry date of the food before buying.
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Every kitchen should have a fine chopping boards, one for
vegetables and one for raw meat. These new chopping boards are not only
effective but they are also helpful in maintaining proper hygiene.
- After every usage, the dishes and utensils should be washed in hot water preferably. An effective washing liquid should be used in this process.
- Paper towels usage is a great way to prevent contamination. As they are not re-usable like the dish towels, bacteria and other microorganisms cannot transfer from one utensil to another.
These are some general tips which should be remembered while cooking or having food. Maintaining proper hygiene is necessary in the kitchen as it is regarded as the primary place from where every disease or illness gets spread. But following the general rules of hygiene can effectively reduce the chances of getting infected with the water borne diseases. Hence, all the home makers and people engaged in cooking food must take all the precautions to ensure that their kitchen and their cooking maintain all the standards of hygiene and cleanliness.
Joe Kikuchi is a food connoisseur from USA. He writes about his experiences from the culinary world. He writes about different cuisines, restaurants and his personal experiments with food. Follow him on Twitter.
