Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good
health and cleanliness in kitchen. In broader term, hygiene is the maintenance
of health and healthy living. Hygiene can be defines as destruction of harmful
bacteria in food by proper cooking, prevention of growth of bacteria in food by
adopting safe storage practices, avoiding cross contamination of safe food.
Does heat kills bacteria?
If heat is used in preparation of food, then it kills or
deactivate potentially harmful organisms including bacteria and viruses, this
depends on temperature, cooking time and technique used. Please note that refrigeration
and freezing do not kill bacteria but only slow their growth which can only get
killed with proper heat while cooking.
Are cutting boards important to clean?
Cutting boards lay a potential foundation for breeding bacteria
and can be quite hazardous unless safety precautions are followed. Plastic
cutting boards as compared to wooden boards are less porous and have conventionally
been assumed to be far less likely to harbor bacteria. But regardless of the
quality of board, washing and sanitizing cutting boards is very important,
especially after use with raw meat, poultry products, seafood or citrus fruits.
Hot soapy water wash and then rinse with an antibacterial
cleaner is treated best for sanitizing the cutting board.
Follow the below mentioned points to maintain hygiene in your kitchen:
·
Cleaning of food preparation areas and
equipment
·
Thorough cooking of meats
·
Dish sanitizing by washing with soap and clean hot
water
·
Washing of hands before and after meal
·
Not using the same utensil for preparing
different foods
·
Proper storage of food to prevent contamination by
vermin (Air tight)
·
Refrigeration of food
·
Disposal of uneaten food
There are 4 factors causing the growth of bacteria in food
items:
1.
Temperature
2.
Time
3.
Moisture
4.
Food itself
Bacteria multiply very fast and in ideal circumstances
bacteria double the size of their cells and split to create more cells.
Destruction of such bacteria is possible only through
heating between 100 degree to 140 degree Celsius. Spores under the bacteria
still survive and can revive into mature bacteria under favorable conditions. Certain
bacteria release toxins which can cause even death due to eating contaminated
food. Therefore for a healthy living it is important that such chances of occurrence
of bacteria should be avoided and one should consume fresh and nicely washed &
cooked food only.
“Food Hygiene starts
with Personal Hygiene”
Germs pass easily from hands when in contact with food,
therefore it is of great importance that one must wash hands properly before
cooking as well.