Maintaining sanitation and hygiene in the Kitchen

March 14 07:04 2022 Print This Article

The one lesson that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught is that, there is nothing ‘micro’ about micro-organisms. Their ability to wreak death, destruction and disruption in human lives is far greater than what any man-made event can. Virus, bacteria and fungi are ubiquitous on this planet and have existed even before humans did. They contaminate the air we breathe, the soil we grow our food in, the food and water we consume and trigger innumerable diseases, ailments or infections in human society.

That is why, maintaining sanitation and hygiene in every aspect of our lives, all the time, is an important step in preventing disease. The kitchen is a haven for microorganism activity and this can compromise the health or safety of you and your family. There are various tips, tricks, dos and don’ts which, if followed rigorously, will create a safe kitchen and a safe home.

Personal hygiene

• The pandemic has taught us the importance of washing hands with soap frequently. But those who will be cooking, preparing, handling or storing food must wash their hands between tasks. This prevents contamination of food. If the person has a habit of smoking or chewing tobacco at home, or needs to change diapers, or take out the garbage, these actions must be followed by washing hands.
• The person(s) cooking must use a hair net to prevent hair from falling into food which is a very common and natural occurrence as human beings shed hair all the time.
• In case of cuts, the person must wash the wound with plain water, dab the wound dry, rub an antiseptic cream and apply a cotton and gauge bandaging or a band-aid on the wound. In case of burns, the area must be immediately washed with cold water and an antiseptic cream applied there.
• Cooked food should always be handled using the right utensils and spoons, and never by hand. It’s easy to contaminate food with germs when you insert a finger (to taste food) or use your palms to transfer food from one vessel to another.
• If you use an apron while cooking, these must be washed regularly. A synthetic one is preferable as they do not harbor as many germs as a cotton apron. Avoid using the apron to dab your wet hands dry. Use a hand-napkin for that. Such napkins must be washed regularly.
• Do not wear jewelry while cooking. They trap germs and the same gets transferred to your food eventually.
• Do not smoke or consume alcohol in the cooking area. Alcohol is flammable and tobacco smoke contains toxic substances that can contaminate your food.

Handling vegetables and fruits

• Vegetables must always be scrubbed gently using cold water and a mild detergent to remove microbes and pesticides. In recent years, detergents to clean vegetables and fruits are available in most supermarkets. You can use the same. In the absence of this, make a solution of equal parts of cold water and vinegar (cooking vinegar, apple cider vinegar) and wash with them.
• Use different chopping boards to cut raw meat and vegetables.
• Whether you are cutting raw meat or vegetables, the cutting board must be washed with detergent afterwards.
• Once peeled and cut, the vegetables must be cooked immediately. In case you are cutting in advance to cook later, store the same in an air-tight container, in the refrigerator. Vegetables are rich in water, so cut vegetables that are exposed to air attract germs that breed quickly and spoil the vegetables soon.

Handling meat, fish and seafood

• Wipe the juices from raw meat, poultry and sea-food using paper napkins and then throw the napkins into the bin immediately.
• Cutting boards, utensils and probe-thermometers used in preparing non-vegetarian dishes must be cleaned with detergent immediately after use.
• Meats should be cooked to the right temperature as prescribed for that meat. Half-cooked meat attracts germs which multiply quickly and spoil the item.

Serving food

• Ready-to-eat food packages that is brought out of the refrigerator must be thawed by placing them under running cold water. Keep the same in a colander or vessel and do not place on counter-tops or kitchen platforms.
• Food should be served hot and must be covered all the time.
• Use different serving-spoons for different items. Depending on how much water is there in that item, different items attract germs at a different rate, so do not mix spoons.

Storing food

• Do not use the same bowls, plates and utensils used to store raw vegetables, fruits or raw meat to store cooked food, without washing them first.
• Cooked food, whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian should not be left outside for more than 2 hours and should be refrigerated. The food will cool down in 2 hours’ time, else dip the vessel in cold water to cool it quickly.
• Raw food ingredients stored in the refrigerator must be checked constantly for expiry date. Once expired, the item must be throw into the dustbin immediately.

Kitchen platforms and counter-tops

• Wash the platforms every day, preferably twice a day, with warm water and at-least once a week with detergent.
• Never put cooked or semi-cooked food on to the platform, no matter how clean you think it is. Always place food in utensils.

Kitchen equipment

• Clean the surfaces of your microwave, convection oven, refrigerator, grill, toaster, mixer and blender as often as possible. Gas stove must be cleaned once or twice a day.
• Choose your utensils like non-stick pans or vessels with care. Since teflon-coating disintegrates at high temperature and becomes carcinogenic, its best to not cook or store food in them. Use non-stick ware with ceramic coating or good old stainless steel utensils. Roasting pans (tawa) must be preferably the traditional cast-iron type.
• Avoid using latex or rubber gloves while cooking. These are flammable and will cause serious burns.

Preventing pest infestation

Pests like cockroaches and mice are carriers for germs and spread disease. Cockroaches in turn attract lizards that feed on them and when lizards fall into food items, the food becomes poisonous. The following tips will keep your kitchen free of pests.

• Humidity is required for cockroach eggs to hatch. Prevent this by keeping the kitchen area dry and clean. Wipe wet surfaces and increase cross-ventilation to keep the kitchen dry.
• Do not accept food packages which contain tiny cockroaches, cockroach eggs or droppings of some animal or insect.
• Garbage bins must be kept tightly closed. Every time you touch garbage or the garbage bin, you must wash your hands thoroughly with soap.
• Some raw foods like flours, nuts, seeds, lentils may attract pests. So refrigerate them and do not leave them in the open for more than 5-10 minutes.

Miscellaneous

• In addition to the kitchen platform, keep the floors and walls of the kitchen free from dust and food particles. Dust attracts dust mites and in turn other insects that feed on them. Kitchen floors must be mopped with a disinfecting solution at-least once a day.
• Also, keep these surfaces dry as damp surfaces attract fungus. Inhaling or ingesting fungal spores can cause health issues.
• Clean the cupboards as often as possible. Watch out for foul smells which is an indication that something is spoiling. Packaged foods or snacks must be stored in air-tight containers. Do not stuff too many items in the cupboards as this limits air-flow and intensifies food odor. This in turn attracts insects.
• Do not stuff too many items in the refrigerator as this reduces the cooling capacity, so some food items spoil quickly.
• As far as possible, keep the garbage bin in a separate enclosure away from the kitchen and keep the lid tightly closed. Remove garbage as often as possible. In case you are composting food waste at home, keep the composting bin far from the kitchen.
• Wash your water tap or faucet as often as possible with soap. The average faucet has as much germs as your toilet bowl. Touching faucets and then touching food can contaminate food items. Scrub the kitchen sink as often as possible with soap water.
• Use paper napkins to wipe oil or grease from counter-tops and gas stoves. Using a cloth will only transfer the grease to other surfaces.
• Kitchen rags and cleaning cloths must be washed and dried as often as possible.
• Clean knives and meat cleavers every time after use.

Reviewed by Dr Suresh S Venkita, Group Medical Director, Kauvery Hospitals

Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801