Personal and Kitchen Hygiene

1The five keys to safer food

The World Health Organization (WHO) sums up food hygiene in five keys:

1. Keep clean: stop germs spreading from people, pets and pests.
2. Separate raw and cooked: raw meat, chicken and fish must not touch food that will not be cooked again.
3. Cook thoroughly: cook long enough, and hot enough, to kill germs.
4. Keep food at safe temperatures (the next lesson).
5. Use safe water and safe raw materials. Water from a tap stand, well or lake should be boiled or treated before it is used for drinks or for washing food that will be eaten raw.

2Personal hygiene of the cook

• Wear a clean apron and cover your hair.
• Keep nails short and clean; remove rings and bracelets.
• Cover any cut with a clean waterproof dressing.
• Do not cook for others while you have diarrhoea or vomiting.
• Do not taste food with a finger or with the stirring spoon; use a clean spoon each time.

3Washing your hands properly

Wash your hands before you start, after touching raw meat, fish or eggs, after using the toilet, after handling rubbish or money, and after blowing your nose.

1. Wet your hands with clean running water (a jerrycan with a tap, or a tippy-tap, works well).
2. Apply soap.
3. Rub palms, backs of hands, between the fingers, thumbs and under the nails for at least 20 seconds.
4. Rinse under running water.
5. Dry on a clean towel or let the hands dry in the air.

4Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is the transfer of germs from one food or surface to another. The most dangerous route is from raw meat, chicken or fish to food that will be eaten without further cooking, such as salad, bread or cooked rice. It happens through hands, knives, chopping boards, cloths and dripping juices.

Controls:

• use separate boards and knives for raw meat and for vegetables, or wash and sanitise them in between;
• prepare ready-to-eat food first and raw meat last;
• in a fridge, store raw meat and fish on the bottom shelf, covered, so they cannot drip onto other food;
• change or wash cloths often, because a damp cloth is an ideal home for bacteria.

5Cleaning and sanitising

Cleaning removes visible dirt, grease and food waste, using hot water and detergent. Sanitising reduces germs to a safe level, using very hot water or a sanitiser such as a weak bleach solution made up as the label says. You must clean first: a sanitiser cannot work through a layer of grease. Keep food covered, keep bins closed and empty them daily, so that flies, cockroaches and rats are not attracted.

Worked example: planning the order of work

Task: Mutesi has one chopping board and one knife. She must make a tomato and avocado salad and cut raw chicken for a stew. Plan her order of work.

Solution:

1. Wash hands, then wash the tomatoes and avocado in safe water.
2. Make the salad first, cover it and put it away.
3. Cut the raw chicken and put it straight into the pot.
4. Wash the board and knife in hot soapy water, then sanitise them; wash hands again.

Reason: the salad will not be cooked again, so it must never touch a board or knife that has touched raw chicken.

Practice