The kitchen is easily the most important part of any house. After all, where would we make food and wash utensils if we didn’t have a kitchen? This is why it’s necessary to make sure your kitchen is as clean as possible throughout the year.
Suppose you have a restaurant kitchen or a food business from home. In that case, there will be Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) conducting frequent investigations to see if you follow standard hygiene rules or not. The USDA has conducted nearly 7.5 million inspections across 6600 USDA-regulated organizations.
Even if you do a thorough inspection of your kitchen by yourself, there are many things you must be aware of. Here are some of them that you should check.
1. Food handling practices
First of all, you need to make sure that you handle the raw materials and cooking equipment properly. This includes ready-to-eat and prepared food items, color-coded tools like cutting boards, awareness regarding allergens, and prevention of cross-contamination.
The way you heat, cool, or defrost your food is also important; you should make sure these methods do not spoil the cooked food or the raw materials in any way.
2. Personal hygiene
Personal hygiene in the kitchen includes:
- Wash your hands with soap and water frequently.
- Wearing an apron, gloves, cap.
- Cleaning your tools.
If you use disposable gloves and caps, buy plenty at once so that you never run out of stock.
There should also be a suitable changing station so that you can switch aprons or anything else in case it gets greasy or spoiled. Also, make sure the bathroom is not directly connected to the kitchen facilities.
3. Storage
How you store the cooked food and raw materials is also important. Don’t stack the prepared dishes inside the refrigerator in a messy manner. The raw materials like vegetables must be kept in a separate place inside the refrigerator.
Fruits should be kept in a clean fruit bowl. If you see that any stored item is past its expiry date, immediately dispose of it hygienically.
4. Food rooms
The instruments and equipment you use to clean the kitchen should also be handled properly. For example, make sure you don’t dump cleaning chemicals or clothes right next to the food items.
They should be stored in a separate cupboard or shelf. Safe use of cleaning detergents, soaps, and clothes is very important to avoid any kind of illness.
5. Pest control
The kitchen can often attract unwanted pests like rats or cockroaches. One of the most important things during an inspection is to make sure none of these creatures live anywhere near your kitchen. Clean the kitchen floors regularly with soap and water.
Use pesticides or insecticides safely so that you don’t contaminate the food accidentally. Try to use natural or organic pesticides. If you see pests and insects are roaming around in the kitchen, call a pest control company as soon as possible.
6. Proper light and ventilation
If your kitchen is dimly lit, you won’t properly cook your food. Ventilation, too, is an important part of a healthy kitchen. You should make sure the smoke and odor have proper exits to prevent the kitchen from suffocating.
Regularly inspect your chimney to make sure there’s no debris. You can even contact experts like Chimney Sweep, a company that conducts chimney inspection in Seattle and ensures your chimney is healthy.
7. Waste
Hygienic elimination of waste products is another important factor. For example, the waste products should never be placed next to or mixed with cooked food. Instead, throw all the waste in plastic or eco-friendly bags and make sure the bag is properly taken care of.
8. First-aid
Often, we might cut our fingers or blister our hands while cooking. So it’s necessary to make sure you have a first-aid kit nearby. The kit should include ointments, bandages, gauze, tablets, and sprays, among other things. In addition, make sure there is a tap that emits cold water so that you can wipe off any traces of blood and even cool your hands if there’s a small burn.
Over to you…
Conducting a frequent inspection of your kitchen will not only keep you safe but also make sure the food quality and standards are excellent. Keep these criteria in mind and maintain cleanliness at all times.
