Keeping yourself safe and hygienic
Think first!
Before we begin, spend a few minutes thinking about safety and hygiene in the kitchen. See if you can list a few examples of things you should do to make sure you are working safely and hygienically.
When cooking, you must always work in an area that is safe and hygienic. This includes always having good personal hygiene, such as:
- Wearing an apron.
- Washing your hands and nails.
- Removing nail/gel varnish or false nails.
- Tying long hair back or covering it so it doesn’t go into food.
- Removing jewellery.
- Not touching your hair or face.
- Sneezing and coughing away from food.
Personal hygiene is very important because good hygiene prevents food poisoning and the spread of illnesses such as coughs and colds. Dirty hands in particular can spread bacteria, therefore effective hand washing is essential.
Key point!
Some types of bacteria need to enter your body through the food that you eat before they can cause you to feel ill. Other types of bacteria produce a toxin (poison) on the food, which then makes you ill when you eat that food.
Every time that you cook, you must make sure that you have prepared yourself so that you are hygienic. This reduces the risk of bacteria being passed onto the food you are preparing, cooking and serving (this is known as cross-contamination, and you will learn more about this later in the Session).
Click on the images below to learn more about safe and hygienic personal working practices and why they are important.
Hand washing
Dirty hands spread bacteria, therefore effective hand washing is essential and it should be done:
- Before handling food.
- After handling raw food or packaging of raw food.
- After using the toilet.
- After touching bins or waste.
- After blowing your nose.
- After eating or drinking.
- After touching your ears, nose and/or mouth.
The key steps to following when handwashing are:
- Wet your hands under hot running water and apply liquid soap.
- Rub palms together to form a lather.
- Rub one palm along the back of the other hand and then along the fingers. Repeat with the other hand.
- Rub palms together again, this time with fingers interlaced, rubbing thoroughly in between each finger.
- Rub the back of the fingers with the opposite palm, with fingers interlaced. Repeat with the other hand.
- Clasp the thumb in the palm of the opposite hand and rotate. Repeat with the other hand.
- Rub backwards and forwards over palm with clasped fingers. Repeat with the other hand.
- Rinse soap off with clean warm water.
- Dry hands using a paper towel.
- Use the paper towel to turn off the tap, so that clean hands don’t come into contact with the taps, then throw the paper towel away.
Now take a look at this video to see an example of how to wash hands before cooking.
Correct clothing
Put on a clean apron and tie it at the back so it cannot catch when using the hob. A clean apron can stop your clothes getting dirty. It can also prevent bacteria transferring from your clothes to the food you are preparing.
Also, make sure your clothing doesn’t have any loose ties or cords that could hang into food or onto a hot hob, gas flame, etc.
Hair tied back or covered
Make sure that long hair is tied back – preferably, hair should be covered with a hat or hairnet. There is a risk that long hair could fall into food or get burnt.
No jewellery or make up
Remove any watches or jewellery. These items can be dirty, which means there is a risk of contamination/spreading bacteria. They can also fall into the food. Similarly, nail varnish, gel or false nails should not be worn as they can chip or break and contaminate food.
Avoid make-up and strong smelling perfumes, as they can find their way into food products and cause contamination. Similarly, nail varnish should not be worn as it can chip and contaminate food.
Appropriate footwear
Sensible footwear is important in any cooking environment, as this helps to minimise the risk of trips, slips and falls. Consider the difference in how steady on your feet you are when wearing flat, comfortable shoes with a good, non-slip sole as opposed to wearing footwear such as flip-flops or sandals!
Blue plaster to cover any cuts and grazes
Open cuts can spread bacteria. Wearing blue plasters means that cuts are covered and the spread of bacteria is controlled; in addition, the blue plasters are easy to spot in the food if they fall off during cooking.