The Importance of Food Hygiene

written by Meghan Belnap

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There are few things on this earth that are so seemingly innocent while being so very dangerous as food is. The tricky thing is that food can look fine, smell fine, and taste fine while it is so very not fine. Here are some of the dangerous effects of poor food safety you should be aware of.

Cross Contamination

When things get hectic in the kitchen, it’s easy to use the same spoon to plate different things. Using the same utensils on different food items might cause a serious case of cross-contamination. If you’re allergic to peanuts, but your order comes peanut-free, cross-contamination during the cooking process could have a harmful effect. This applies to all of the food groups used in the kitchen too. It is important to keep meat separate from other produce, particularly if you have a customer with a chicken allergy and they order a vegetarian dish. Should there be cross-contamination, it could leave you liable to a lawsuit. Shared utensils and cookware that have traces of foods will still have an impact on exposed allergy suffers. It is essential that proper food handling and preparation be followed in order to avoid unnecessary sickness.

Lack of Sanitary Precautions

Foods come with harmful bacteria and germs that should be properly sanitized. Failure to do so could lead to sickness. Not only should foods, surfaces, and utensils be carefully washed after each use, other precautions should be taken to ensure healthy food consumption. Since many restaurants are constantly busy and the employees have to keep cooking continuously, one of the problems is the smoke build-up which can lead to poor ventilation if the exhaust vents are not cleaned on a regular basis. This could become a serious issue if not looked at, at the appropriate time.

Many kitchens look to services such as this Commercial Hood Cleaning Service Omaha, NE, or others located in their vicinity to come and perform a thorough clean-up of exhaust vents. Not only that, but a number of other services, too, are important, such as grease containment, grease trap cleaning, and other routine kitchen maintenance that can help create a hygienic environment.

Basket sanitary strainers are also a helpful tool in the food industry. There are many uses for sanitary basket strainers such as protecting pipes from the dough and other pipe damaging materials, and removing seeds, pulp, skins, lumps, and other unwanted tiny items from sauces and liquids.

Wrong Temperatures

When it comes to food, the right temperature can be the difference between life and death. Meats are one of the most temperature-specific foods in the kitchen. However, any kind of dairy, egg or even fruit-based foods can develop life-threatening viruses and bacteria if served at the wrong temperature. Meat thermometers are sure indicators of proper food temperatures. When ordering foods, avoid raw beef and undercooked seafood. The consequences of consuming underprepared food could lead to a serious case of food poisoning.

If you run a restaurant or own a grocery store, it’s important that certain types of food are being kept in a cool environment to ensure your customers do not fall ill. Ensuring you have an efficient commercial refrigeration system is essential to food safety. There are plenty of commercial refrigeration services that owners of restaurants or grocery stores can contact to be reassured that meats and dairy won’t be contaminated by bacteria.

Whether you’re the master chef of your own kitchen, or you’re a frequent diner of fine cuisine, awareness of poor food handling processes is important for your health. A clean, safe kitchen requires hard work to ensure that proper food safety rules and guidelines are being followed.

Not sure if your favorite food joint is up to code? Do some investigative research and check their food safety tests and reviews. Food should be enjoyed, not a source of sickness and health distraction.

Content Provided by: Meyer Industrial