Food Preparation Skills
Food-Preparation Safety
At the grocery store
- Don't buy any opened packages, damaged or dent goods
- Don't open the fruit container for sampling
- buy frozen good last
Kitchen
- WAsh hands often.
- Fold fingers, cut away from the body, and use a sharp knife to prevent wounds and injury, storing food properly
- Clean lids on canned goods
- Wash cutting boards, dishes, and other items that are used to prepare food.
- put food in the freezer or fridge within 2 hours after cooking or buying.
- throw away any food that has been in the fridge for more than four days to prevent others from being sick. especially pregnant women, older adults, and people with health conditions. They are at more risk of being sick due to eating spoiled food.
Preventing Accidents in the Kitchen
- Throw away any dishes with broken edges
- When cutting food, use claw methods to prevent cutting your finger and other parts of your hand/arm
- place a side dirty knife or any sharp items beside the sink until when your ready to wash them.
- knife shouldn't be kept in a soapy water
- Keep knife lose to you side, tip down, with the blade facing back, by the handle when walking with it.
- When a glass is broken never use bare hands, use gloves, and get a separate bag before throwing is the garbed bin
- Let other know when walking with a sharp object
- Use sharp knives not dull to cut food
- secure cutting by placing a damp paper towel or kitchen towel between the counter and the cutting board
- Don't wear lose/large clothing
- Never touch hair, face, clothing, phone, etc., while touching food
- use separate cutting board , and other tools for meat and vegetables
- Check food if it has cooked properly by using a thermometer
- store raw meat at the lowest shelf in fridge
- Wash hands before and after touching food
Spills
- Kitchen should be kept clean and orgnaized
- Food nees to be stored properly, in a seeled containers, and it shouldn't be overfilled
- Alwasy inform other when there's a spill
- throw any food that fell on the floor
- spills should never be unattneded and is cleaned up right away
- Turn off the water, and unclog the sink when it filled
- Don't leave the stove/ oven unattended. This will ensure a fire doesn't occur.
- Never open a hot lid toward it, Rather open it away from your face.
- In case of a fire emergency. Call 911.
Preparing Food For Others
- Wash hands regularly
- Rinse fruit and veggies thoroughly.
- making sure cooked and uncooked food is not kept at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- always use separate cutting boards, utensils, and plates when preparing and serving food.
- Once the food is cooked check it's internal temperature using a thermometer. To make sure all the microorganisms have been killed while it was cooking.
- Regularly check the temperature inside the cooler is at or below 4c(40F) and avoid placing it near the sunlight and don't leave the cooler open for a long period of time.
Food Hygiene
Key Elements
- Personal hygiene- Handwashing often, wearing protective clothing,
- Preventing cross-contamination- This includes preventing bacterial, physical, chemical, and allergenic contamination, especially having separate kitchen tools for raw meat and raw vegetables.
- Cleaning- Regularly cleaning the kitchen, equipment, and kitchenware including plates and cutlery.
- Allergen Control- informing others of who is allergic to what food helps prevent allergens from cross-contaminating with other food.
- Safe storage of food- Lebaling items and throwing items past the expiry date. Checking for dents or leakage on cans of food.
- Cooking temperature- Cooking and holding food at appropriate temperatures to prevent bacterial risks
Common Accidents in the Kitchen
Cuts
- Getting cuts from an unstable cutting board
- Leaving the knife in a soapy water
- Using an unsharp knife
- Cuts from open-edge cans
- Not using claw method when cutting food
Fire and Burns
- Flames due to the use of alcohol or cooking with hot oil
- burns from hot dishes, tray, and pots
- hot oil splash burns
- opening a hot lid toward your face
- leaving an empty pan/pot unattended on a hot burner
- unattended stove causing fire and burns
- wearing loose clothing, which can catch fire or dipping in a pot or hot dish
- Not keeping a timer when cooking food, which can cause food to burn
Spill,Trips and Falls
- Oil glass spill
- unattended spillages
- Trips from food on the floor
- Appliance tipping over
- Wet floor that has not dried
Washing Dishes
- Cleaning the edge of the knife.
- Broken glass in soapy water.
- chipped plates and cups.
- sharp objects utensils.
- Washing the sharp area of a blender with a bare hand and a sponge.
Cross-Contamination
- Uncleaned kitchen tools and area which is fille
- Not separating cutting boards for meet and veggies (cross- contamination)
- Under cooked food
- Unwashed hand during and after cooking
Safe Internal Cooking Temperature
Food Temperature
- Remove meat from the heat before inserting the digital food thermometer
- To check the internal temperature of food, Insert the middle thickest part of the meat, that isn't touching any bones.
- For burgers, insert the through the side of the patty.
- It's best to use a digital thermometer for accurate reading
- When cooking more than one piece of meat. Examine all pieces separately, to ensure it's cooked thoroughly.
- Wash the thermometer, in soapy, warm water before
- Cold food should be kept cold, and hot food should be kept hot. so that it never teachers the " temperature danger zone" where bacteria can grow quickly and lead to food poisoning.
Storing Foods
While Shopping
- Buy cold or frozen goods last to prevent the foods from defrosting.
- Check for any dent, rust, leakage, or open lid before buying non-perishable goods
- check the best date when buying non-perishable foods
- Inspect fruit and vegetables for bruised or damaged areas.
- when using reusable bags or bins label them to the type of food it carries.
Chilling Food
- Check storage direction on labels
- Raw Seafood, meat, and poultry are to be stored in a plastic bag (to prevent leaks)and kept separate from other food.
- When placing raw meat in the fridge place. Always place it at the bottom of the cooler.
- Regularly checks to make sure the refrigerator is set at 4°C or lower and the freezer at -18°C or lower.
- When you bring fresh fruits and vegetables home, it's best to store them in the refrigerator. This includes pre-cut and ready-to-eat goods.
Non-Refrigerated items
- Keep food away from non-perishable foods(household cleaning products and chemicals. To prevent food poisoning.
- store non-perishable food in a clean, dry, cabinet away from the stove or the refrigerator exhaust.
- once you open a can of beans or soup, it needs to be placed in the refrigerator.
Cross-Contamination
Dangers of Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamintion is dangerous. since bacteria can spread everywhere. Its important that safety measure are followed when handling food. Some of the
As most people know. Cross-contamination causes food-borne illnesses such as E.Coli, Salmonella and etc. It's caused by improper handling or cleaning methods. could be contaminated when preparing food. handling raw meat around raw vegetables in the kitchen. Some of the dangers it can cause are individuals to experience allergic reactions, sickness( vomiting, food poisoning), and can lead to death. It's important when an individual follows the right steps to cook, clean and safe food.
Contaminated Food
Food-born illness is a disease that can be carried or transmitted through contaminated food. such disease are e.coli
- Examples of the disease are E.coli, sala
- There are many places cross-contamination takes place, such as the grocery store. When grocery shopping, raw meat needs to be in a sealed bag and separated from fresh produce.
- after grocery shopping. Raw meat should be placed on a lower shelf of the refrigerator or freezer. this will ensure that meat juice doesn't drip on ready-to-eat foods.
- When preparing food it's important that hands are washed properly and regularly to prevent bacteria from spreading on the food.
- Counter, cutting boards, utensils, and other kitchen tools should be sanitized before using to prepare food.
- Meat shouldn't be rinsed, otherwise, the rinsed water can splash all over the counter, dishes, and anything nearby which can cause cross-contamination. The best option is to cook the meat, fish, or poultry at a proper temperature, heat will kill any bacteria that's on it.
- not using the same kitchen tools for raw and raw vegetables and fruits.
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
Food prep
There is a number of ways food-borne illness can be prevented:
- Washing hands, and surfaces, regularly.
- fruits and vegetables should be washed before peeling or cutting them.
- Refrigerate food once it arrives home.
- using separate cutting boards and other kitchen tools for raw meat, cooked food, vegetables, and fruits.
food
- Cooking at the right temperature.
- Don't use the same item to place cooked meat
- Keep cold food cold and hot food hot
- Throw any frozen food that has freezer burn
- Throw away any cooked food that has been left for more than 4 days.
Clean Kitchen
- The kitchen should be kept clean at all times will stop the spread of germs.
- Use paper towel to wipe kitchen surface, or change dish clothe daily.
- Sanitzing the countertops, cutting boards, and utensils before and after preparing food.
