Tag: Food hygiene

  • Keep pests away from food

    There are three main kinds of pests which are commonly found in places where food for human consumption is prepared or stored. (There’s also a fourth type, namely student chefs who can eat like a plague of locusts sometimes, but that’s a different story.) The main types are: rodents – such as mice and rats…

  • Colour Coding

    The previous article looked at equipment to food contamination and suggested using separate equipment and utensils for raw and cooked foods. Colour coding is one way to achieve this. Most commercial kitchens use colour coded chopping boards, and even colour coded knives, cloths, etc. Here’s a table of the most usual colour coding system. Colour…

  • Prevent Cross-Contamination

    Here are some rules to prevent cross-contamination of food. Identify separate parts of the work area for dealing with raw meat and poultry and foods which will be eaten without being subjected to any further cooking This isn’t always feasible in a domestic environment, in which case you could use separate chopping boards for raw…

  • Other sources of bacteria

    Having already talked about the two main sources of food poisoning bacteria – raw food and humans – now we can look at some other common sources. Flies and other insects Birds Rats and mice All these pests carry bacteria in their bodies and in their urine and droppings. They can infect food and places…

  • Kitchen Cloths

    Wiping cloths can pick up bacteria when used to clean work surfaces and equipment. Once a cloth has bacteria on it the bacteria can easily be transferred to other surfaces or equipment. The danger arises particularly when the cloth has been used for wiping areas where raw meat and poultry have been prepared and then…

  • Food handler to food contamination

    To reduce the risk of contaminating food while you’re handling it you must: use tongs, plastic gloves, food bags or wrapping paper to pick up items carry food in containers or trays never use your fingers to test food use cutlery only once for tasting food not lick your fingers or blow into bags  …