Foods 1010 Lessons

Sanitary food preparation

Lesson Questions

How do you ensure safe sanitary practices in your kitchen?

Lesson

Why is food safety and sanitation so important? There are many foodborne illnesses from bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria (which can cause diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and dehydration). Without clean and sanitary kitchen practices, these can contaminate our foods. Happily, we can easily protect ourselves by ensuring hand washing (with plenty of soap) before and after handling food. For extra insurance, a sanitizer based on bleach can be used. If you don’t keep your hands, utensils and food preparation areas clean and sanitized, bacteria can spread easily. It can then contaminate your food.

BLEACH SANITIZER

Combine 5 mL (1 tsp) of bleach with 750 mL (3 cups) of water in a labelled spray bottle
After cleaning, spray sanitizer on the surface/utensil and let stand briefly
Rinse with lots of clean water, and air dry (or use clean towels)

Safe kitchen practices:

Use separate cutting boards:

one for raw meat, poultry and seafood
another for ready-to-eat and cooked foods
Clean and sanitize cutting boards after each use
NEVER cut cooked meat on a cutting board which was used to cut raw meat unless you have cleaned it thoroughly after cutting the raw meat

Wash the lids of canned foods just before opening them to prevent dirt from getting into the food
Take small appliances apart (food processors, meat grinders and blenders) right after you use them, and clean and sanitize them thoroughly
Air dry dishes and utensils if you can, or dry them with clean kitchen towels
Clean the pantry regularly, keeping food off the floor
Store food in sealed containers
Wash and sanitize containers and utensils that were in contact with raw food before you reuse them
Use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your food
Wash raw fruits and vegetables with clean, running water before you prepare and eat them

Safe food preparation practices:

Chill food because disease-causing bacteria multiply quickly when food is kept at room temperature.

Bacteria can grow in the danger zone between 4°C and 60°C (40°F to 140°F).
To prevent the growth of harmful bacteria, keep cold food cold. Store it at or below 4°C (40°F).
Do not keep food in the danger zone for longer than two hours. Foods that need to be refrigerated or frozen should be stored immediately after they are brought home from the grocery store.
Refrigeration at or below 4°C (40°F) slows down most bacterial growth, while freezing at or below -18°C (0°F) can stop bacteria growth almost completely.
Plan ahead: thaw food in the refrigerator, where the food will stay at a safe, constant temperature of 4°C (40°F) or below.

Separate raw food from other food because their juices can contain harmful bacteria that can contaminate other food.

Bacteria can be carried in raw meat juices. So keep raw food away from other food while shopping, and while storing, preparing and serving foods.
Place raw meat, poultry and seafood in containers on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This will prevent raw juices from dripping onto other food or touching other food.
Use separate equipment and utensils such as knives and cutting boards for handling raw foods.
When serving cooked food, do not reuse the same plates and utensils that raw food sat on. Use clean plates and utensils for cooked and other ready-to-eat food.

Cook foods thoroughly to a safe internal temperature to prevent foodborne illness

Bacteria can grow in the danger zone between 4°C and 60°C (40°F to 140°F).
Keep hot foods at or above 60°C (140°F).
Make sure that sauces, soups and gravy are brought to a boil when you reheat them.
When cooking food in a microwave, stir or rotate the food half way through the cooking time. This will eliminate any cold spots and will help with even cooking.
Use a digital food thermometer to check that the temperature of cooked foods has reached the safe temperatures