Thursday 10th May 2018
Your Kitchen is where germs are found.
Here is 7 ways to keep your kitchen safe!
1.WASH YOUR HANDS! The number 1 rule: Germs spread easy between your hands and the food you are preparing. It is important to correctly wash your hands after touching raw meat, going to the toilet, using bins it will reduce the risk of spreading bacteria. When selecting soap use an Anti-Bacterial Soap this is much more effective at killing E. coli and Salmonella the kitchens silent assassins.
2. Cook Food Correct. Professional chef’s don’t need to be told this, but you would surprised how many people under cook food. Food that is under cooked especially white meat and poultry seriously increase the risk of Food Poisoning. An easy way to check food is cooked through is to slice into it.
3. Proper Storage. Correct food storage is vital, when putting cooked food into fridges or chillers ensure the food is at least at room temperature. Warm food in fridges doesn’t allow the food to cool evenly increasing the risk of food poisoning. Remember always cover food, uncovered food is suspect to bacteria and foreign bodies.
4. Wash Fresh Produce. Fresh produce can carry all sorts of germs and bacteria so it is advisable to wash them before using to eliminate the risk of contaminating other food preparation surfaces.
5. Cleaning. We’ve covered the basics but this along with cleaning your hands is very much one of the golden rules in the kitchen. Did you there is 200% more faecal bacteria found on chopping boards than toilet seats. Another breeding ground is tea towels, cloths and sponges used for wiping down so ensure they are clean and regularly laundered or use disposable products. It is vital that when cleaning your kitchen that your cleaning products come from an approved source and are certified for safe use around food. Using a Grease Buster Kitchen Degreaser or Degreaser & Sanitiser Klenzite will not only reduce the risk of cross contamination but improve overall levels of hygiene in your kitchen.
6. Dishwasher. It is just as important that if we are using an automatic dishwasher that this appliance it also kept cleaned and drained regularly, no point washing dirty dish’s in a dirty appliance. Read our Blog The Importance of Keeping Your Dishwasher Clean
7. Descaler. In hard water areas I would recommend the use of a food safe descaler AntiKalk for Kettles, Coffee Makers, Bamborees etc. This will remove Limescale build and increase the life of your expensive kitchen appliances as well as the flavour of your coffee.
By Tony Field
February 2017