Improper kitchen practices or poor food safety standards can lead to the spread of harmful bacteria that are responsible for causing foodborne illnesses. Approximately 600 million foodborne illnesses cases are accounted for yearly, meaning unsafe food is a significant threat to human health. 

This whopping figure emphasises the importance of proper food hygiene practices in residential and commercial kitchens or food manufacturing units. Read on to learn the significance of food hygiene and some safe practices to prevent illnesses caused by contaminated foods.  

Knowing the Importance of Food Hygiene 

The importance of food hygiene can be emphasised by the fact that it helps control the spread of food hazards within the food supply chain or commercial or residential kitchens. If left unmonitored, poor food hygienic practices can contribute to the spread of food contamination-causing agents. Consuming such foods can lead to foodborne infections and diseases like food poisoning or other gastrointestinal ailments.  

You can prevent these food hazards and potential outbreaks by deploying best food hygiene practices in your food manufacturing unit or kitchens. 

Talking about food hygiene, it is the practice of preparing or manufacturing food properly by following optimal food washing, cooking, preserving, storage, and distribution practices to avoid food contamination. 

Enlisting the Best Practices to Prevent Foodborne Illnesses

The key to preventing foodborne illnesses is having basic knowledge about food safety and hygiene practices. You can employ the following food handling and hygiene practices anywhere at your home, workspace, or within the distribution chain to reduce the risk of foodborne infection and diseases:

• Maintain Cleanliness

Maintaining cleanliness is the first and most important food hygiene practice you must follow when preparing food. 

If you are cooking raw meat and poultry, make sure to clean all surfaces that come in contact with raw meat and poultry and your hands with hot, sudsy water. Besides this, even when you aren’t preparing raw meat and poultry, you should wash your hands properly with soap and water before proceeding with the cooking process. In addition, clean all the plates, bowls, spoons, cups, etc., with the utensil-specific soap in which you will serve food. 

Another tip would be to wear gloves while cooking if having open cuts or sores on your hands. Moreover, avoid preparing food when sick, especially if having nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, or diarrhoea. 

• Select Food Carefully

Canned foods, particularly home-canned products, are the major food borne infection source. Therefore, when buying such food products, you should look for signs of bacterial contamination. These signs can include milky liquid across vegetables, swollen cans or lids, cracked jars, or loose lids. In case of such signs, wrap the canned food in a plastic or heavy paper bag and dump it. 

Some other food selection tips comprise buying fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood from a reputable supplier and not using raw milk or cheese made from the same milk. 

• Use Salt or Vinegar Water to Wash Raw Vegetables and Fruits

Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually covered with dust, sand particles or chemical residues. Thus, eating them raw can cause food poisoning or other gastrointestinal illnesses. To prevent food contamination, take some water and add salt or vinegar to it. Use this mixture to wash the raw fruits and vegetables.

• Use Clean Water to Prepare Food

You shouldn’t overlook the quality of water you use to wash, mix, or prepare food. Food prepared from contaminated water can cause various waterborne diseases such as vomiting, diarrhoea, upset stomach, etc. So, always use clean, drinkable water to prepare a meal.

• Use Separate Chopping Boards and other Tools

If you are a non-vegetarian and eat raw meats like fish and beef along with vegetables. Consider using separate chopping boards for all these ingredients. In addition, consider using a separate knife or chopper for raw meat and vegetables. Doing so will prevent cross-contamination.

• Cook at Appropriate Temperatures

Another key food hygiene tip you can’t miss is cooking your food at an appropriate temperature to kill pathogens. Not many know that undercooked meats or ages can cause E. coli and salmonella infections.

So, you should see that meats like chicken, pork, or sausages are cooked for a longer time till pink traces on their bodies disappear. 

Moreover, you can use a food thermometer to measure your food temperature and ensure it’s cooked at a suitable temperature. The ideal temperature at which you should cook whole meats is 145℉, ground meat is 160℉, and poultry is 165℉. 

• Refrigerate Perishable Foods

Some foods, like perishable items, can’t withstand normal environmental heat for long and, thus, are more likely to get destroyed when not refrigerated. Having such food items can cause foodborne illnesses and infections.

So, store your perishable food items, such as milk, meat, fish, cheese, etc., in your refrigerator as soon as they arrive home.

• Keep the Raw and Cooked Foods Separately 

Keeping raw and cooked foods together can increase the chances of cross-contamination. You can store your cooked foods in sealed containers and the refrigerator’s compartment other than where you have kept raw foods.

• Keep Track of Expiration Dates

You might have heard of advertisements warning you not to eat expired foods. Foods past their expiration date are at higher risk of being spoiled or rotten. No cooking technique or temperature can restore the expired food’s quality and taste. So, keep track of expiration dates and avoid consuming expired foods.

To sum up it all!

Understanding the critical food hygiene practices, from food selection to washing and storage, can help keep food contamination at bay. Moreover, you can lower the risk of contracting any foodborne disease or other health problems.