Sanitation Of Food Storage
By: Jefferey Dam
What is it?
Hello fellow cook, what your about to read is the importance of food storage. In the kitchen, sanitation is the most important thing. Having a clean, bacteria free work place, helps keeps the workers healthy. An important thing that is needed bacteria free is food. In our kitchen fridge, the separation of food is a great way to avoid bacteria.
Why is it important?
So your probably asking why is it important? Well, bacteria easily jumps from object to object. When two foods come together and gets bacteria on them, its called " cross contamination. Contaminated foods is a HUGE problem in the kitchen. For one, your food will now have bacteria on it, but your then running the risk of that bacteria spreading to other foods. Serving contaminated food to customers is not only bad for them, but for you as a chef as well. If you ever vomit or have diarrhea after a meal, it may be from food poisoning, and it never ends well. For you as a cook, you'll be the one to take the blame, which will most likely cost you your job.Food storage also affects your "mise en place". Leaving cans of food all over the place can make it difficult when your looking for something.
Where does it happen?
Luckily, these incidents don't occur often, but these places are where they occur. The first place where bacteria could spread is in the fridge. While the fridge temperature may be below the "Danger zone" they can still get contaminated. Like i said earlier, cross contamination happens when raw foods are mixed together. In the fridge, keeping things unorganized leads to this accidental mixture.That's why having separate sections in the fridge for different items is a good idea. This separation prevents foods from mixing together.
How To Avoid It?
Like i said earlier, having separate areas for food in the fridge is a good food storage method. Other ways to keep foods safe from bacteria is putting them in separate containers. Never put different raw foods together in the same together. The food will be mixed together and get contaminated. Keeping cans and bagged foods organized also helps. Put all your cans together, and all your bags of dry ingredients together can make it easier when finding them. Having separate rooms, or closets for different foods also may not be a bad idea. You could have spices in one section, vegetable oil and other liquid ingredients, and then have all your cans and bags of food in another room.
Conclusion
Keeping foods organized and separate from each other is very important in the kitchen. Knowing what goes where, and what should, and shouldn't be put together raw can make you a better cook. There you have it, the importance of food storage in the kitchen, and how to do well in it. I hope this helps you impress your boss, or maybe you could use this to teach other beginners. Always make sure you know all the basics of food storage whenever your in the kitchen.