Food is an inevitable part of our life. Without food, we won’t be able to continue life any further. Life will prematurely meet its grave. So, it is very much necessary to consume food. And consuming food doesn’t mean eating anything and everything. It has to be good food. Good food here means healthy food. Therefore, it is very much necessary to consume hygienic food to ensure a healthy living.
The law declares that all operators of food business should get food hygiene certificate to ensure quality food to their customers. This will make sure that consuming the food the customers will not get infected with disease germs.
If you are a food handler yourself and run a business then it is important for you to acquire a certificate yourself. Another important thing is to install kitchen extractor and ventilation system in order to keep the kitchen place clean.
If you are a restaurant owner or a food service provider, you need to follow the tips to maintain hygiene at your place. The tips are-
- Wash hands before and after cooking the food.
- Wash the fruits and vegetables thoroughly before cutting them down.
- Cook the food at a minimum of 100 degree Celsius and which deactivates certain disease germs.
- Cool the foods as quickly as possible, because this helps keeps out certain bacteria.
- Keep the place clean where the cooking is done.
- Check if the foods are cooked thoroughly.
- Do regular pest controlling when the work is over.
- If an employee is sick, immediately move him or her from there.
Why is it important to maintain food hygiene?
Proper hygiene is necessary for food preparation. Diseases spread rapidly from unwashed hands. Some people do not have this awareness and take it lightly.
Cross-contamination is a major issue and the bacteria can cause food poisoning from one item to another. It is important for the food preparer to know how it spreads and act accordingly.
Generally, poisoning spreads from one food to another, mainly in raw food. Bacteria also transfer indirectly, by hand, knives, clothes. One thing that can be done to prevent that is keeping the chopping boards for raw and cooked foods.
Refrigerators should be kept in check to ensure they are running at a proper temperature. It should be kept clean, both in and outside.
What are the contents of food hygiene training?
The training is short term, generally around 2 to 3 months. In some places, the qualification is required to be renewed after certain years. Nowadays, these courses are also provided online at cheaper fees and making it easy.
It is always better to get first aid training done along with food hygiene training. This will enable the food provider to overcome sudden mishaps like burning or cuts or others and treat them immediately.