Hygiene in Food Handling and Personal Hygiene

HYGIENE IN FOOD HANDLING

1. Purchasing Food

Each category of food items bought should be checked for signs of microbial contamination, accidental chemical additives due to pesticide residues or insect infestation. The following table suggests checks to ensure hygiene in foods.

2. Storage

Most perishables should be kept at temperatures below 10 o C and semi or non perishables between 10 o C - 20 o C to arrest microbial growth. Pests may find their way into food through defective drains, holes in food packages or bags, or doors and waste material storages outside or within kitchens. Some pests like cockroaches remain in dark, uncleaned corners, crevices of walls, backs of cupboards, under equipment, etc. It is also difficult to locate a cockroach infestation, unless it is very heavy because cockroaches generally do not come out of their hideouts in the daytime. An inspection is therefore necessary at night.

3. Preparation

Fresh fruits and vegetables especially roots and tubers which grow nearest the soil, need to be washed very thoroughly in plenty of water, to remove adhering soil or other particles.

High protein foods such as eggs, milk and meats must be kept separately as they are likely to take up micro organisms very fast, being excellent media for their growth.

Foods should be cooked as quickly as possible after preparation, unless frozen for later use. Cooking meats require high internal temperatures to make them safe for consumption.

PERSONAL HYGIENE

1.     Personal hygiene refers to the general health and personal grooming of people working in the kitchen.

2.     Hands should be washed well with soap before starting work or after using toilets during working in the kitchen.

3.     All cuts must be covered with waterproof dressings.

4.     Infection is easily transferred from hair, nose and mouth. Therefore.

5.     Combs should be kept out of the kitchen.

6.     When sneezing while handling food, the face should be turned away from food and a handkerchief should be used.

7.     Leaning or sitting on the work table is an objectionable habit.

8.     All peels, etc should be thrown into a container and not kept lying around on the work table near the prepared food. The containers should be emptied into covered bins as soon as the work is done.

9.     Food should be kept covered and maintained either ice cold or piping hot.

10.    Food must be handled correctly and as little as possible.