Kitchen hygiene is very important and we expect that you know the importance. A clean kitchen can significantly contribute to the overall well being of your whole family. On the contrary, it can also be a leading cause of diseases. We are surrounded by microorganisms that we usually refer to as germs. The kitchen offers the perfect conditions for them to attack the whole family if the kitchen hygiene is not maintained properly. If the kitchen is not cleaned properly and left unclean then it can make your family vulnerable to several diseases like food poisoning, stomach infection and many more. Follow our guide on important steps of kitchen hygiene to keep your family safe from those unwanted diseases.
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Top 18 important steps of kitchen hygiene are listed below:
- Washing your hands with soap
- Use fresh apron
- Skip cooking with wounds
- Careful with Sneezing
- Remove jewelry to stay safe
- Be cautious to taste food
- Clean as you go
- Refrigerate foods quickly
- Check expiry dates
- Foods fell on the floor
- Cleaning kitchen rags
- Fruits and vegetable cleaning
- Clean kitchen cabinets and refrigerator
- Secure from insects and rodents
- Leaving dishes in the sink overnight
- Stop overloading the fridge
- Clean trash regularly and properly
- Use separate cutting boards
1. Washing your hands with soap
To begin with, hands are a great source of germs and they can make us sick. Washing hands before we start to work in the kitchen is a must. We must wash our hands with soap to make them free of germs as much as we can. This is really one of the unavoidable steps to work in the kitchen and you must make a habit of it. On top of that, you must wash hands before and after you prepare food. Moreover, washing hands while leaving the kitchen is also recommended. Finally, following this simple step will keep you on the safe side and offer long term benefits.
2. Use fresh apron
The kitchen apron must be fresh and clean. Kitchen aprons are another perfect ground for germs to gather and multiply. Using fresh apron will give you the upper hand and keep you safe from diseases. To wrap up, make a good habit of using fresh kitchen aprons.
3. Skip cooking with wounds
First of all, if you have a wound then it is better to skip the cooking. Wounds are another favorite place for germs to accumulate. Do not let those germs get into your food and infect the whole family. Secondly, if it is not possible for you to skip the cooking then you must cover the wounds carefully enough that they are not exposed in any way.
4. Careful with Sneezing
Sneezes are hard to resist. Our sneezes have thousands of bacteria in them and we must be careful about them. First of all, make sure you block the sneeze with your hand. Secondly, wash your hands with soap immediately after the sneeze. Finally, following the important steps of kitchen hygiene will benefit you in ways that you can not even imagine.
5. Remove jewelry to stay safe
Removing the jewelry while cooking will keep you safe. First, the pieces of jewelry like bracelets and rings have different places that are hard to clean. Those places will have germs in them and washing hands with soap will not remove them. So in order to stay completely safe, it is best if you remove them while cooking.
6. Be cautious to taste food
We all taste food while cooking. There is no harm in that. We do it to make sure everything is perfect and to ensure a proper taste. While tasting food use your utensils that are clean and make sure you do not put them back in the pot again. Once you are done tasting the food clean the spoon or whatever utensils you have used. Finally, these small steps will have great benefits for you and your family.
7. Clean as you go
Some good habits are hard to come by, cleaning your mess instantly as they are made fall in this category. First of all, we understand the importance of cleaning the kitchen but leaving it for later is a problem. Secondly, we are habituated to do the cleaning at the very end. It is normal for us to forget cleaning egg spills or other residues. Kitchen mess if not cleared instantly also can cause accidents. To wrap up, we highly recommend cleaning as you go. It will make your life more comfortable.
8. Refrigerate foods quickly
Foods kept outside are vulnerable to germs and do not leave your foods outside for more than two hours. You should always try to refrigerate foods as quickly as possible and no later than two hours. This will ensure that your foods are fresh while refrigerated and germs did not get enough time to attack it.
9. Check expiry dates
Checking expiry dates of your packaged foods and other ingredients like ketchup, dairy products are very important. Make a habit of looking at the expiry date even if you know that they are fine. Thus it will help you to create an excellent habit of checking the expiry date every time you are dealing with such items. Finally, as it is normal for us to forget about expiry dates, we should make a consistent habit of checking them.
10. Foods fell on the floor
Foods that are dropped on the floor should be in the trash. Just pick them up and dispose of them. Of course, clean the floor properly. It does not matter how much you clean them, floors will have lots of bacteria on it. Final words, always avoid foods that have fallen on the floor.
11. Cleaning kitchen rags
You should clean the kitchen rags regularly. Everything in the kitchen should be clean and fresh. We have already mentioned that the kitchen is one of the favorite spots of bacterias. So when it comes to kitchen rags, you must clean them regularly. Cleaning will appear as the most important task in the list of important steps of kitchen hygiene.
12. Fruits and vegetable cleaning
First of all, fruits and vegetables contain different chemicals and bacterial. You have to take special measures to clean them thoroughly. Do not entertain the idea that basic cleaning will do for them. Finally, give raw fruits and vegetables the due attention to clean properly.
13. Clean kitchen cabinets and refrigerator
Kitchen cabinets, refrigerators and faucet should always stay clean. Make schedules to clear them properly at a regular interval. Do not make the gap too long and keep yourself vulnerable.
14. Secure from insects and rodents
Insects and rodents are easily attracted to the kitchen as there is food. You must secure your kitchen from all sorts of insects and rodents. First of all, if there are any insects or rodents in your kitchen then they will definitely mess around with the kitchen at night. Secondly, you do not know what are the things they have touched. Thus insects and rodents become a great threat. Finally, insects and rodents carry lots of threats themselves and also with the germs that they carry.
15. Leaving dishes in the sink overnight
Leaving the dishes overnight on the sink is another bad habit and most of us are guilty of it. Make a shift from this and do not leave your dishes in the sink overnight. First of all, if you leave the dishes like that then bacteria will have a fair chance to grow on them and spread to other parts of the kitchen. Secondly, insects and rodents will be attracted to your kitchen as they will know about the food. Finally, make the change today and stop leaving dishes in the sink overnight.
16. Stop overloading the fridge
Here comes another mistake that we make with our fridge. Very often we overload the fridge to such an extent that it does not even get the chance to function properly. A refrigerator must not be overloaded as it will hamper its performance. Refrigerators require some breathing space to circulate air inside it and to function properly. Finally, make sure you understand this point and give your refrigerators the important breathing space.
17. Clean trash regularly and properly
The trash can should be closed properly and cleaned on a regular basis. If you are using a bag on top of the trash can then you may not want to wash it regularly. It is still important to clean your trash can regularly. Do not get lazy and let ideas fool you. It is a matter of your own safety and your family’s safety.
18. Use separate cutting boards
Last but not least, cutting boards are our final area of concern. You must use separate cutting boards to cut raw fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits. Never use the board that is used to cut raw fish and meat to cut something else on it. If in case there is no option left for you, please make sure to clean the board extensively. This was all for our list of important steps of kitchen hygiene.
We should not undermine the value of kitchen hygiene under any condition. We understand that it was a lot of reading for you so we will wrap up here. Just follow those steps and keep the whole family secure from unwanted diseases.
Also Read: How To Clean Your Kitchen In 15 Minutes
