Kitchen and Food Safety
Introduction
Preventing Kitchen Accidents
- always try to store knives separately from other utensils
- keep your knives sharp, dull knives are more dangerous
Slips and Falls:
- wipe up spills right away
- walk in the kitchen, don't run
Burns:
- make sure the pot handles are facing inward on the stove top
- do not touch the heating units on the stove top
Fires:
- do not wear loose and baggy clothes when cooking
- make sure hair is tied back and out of the way
Shocks:
- make sure your hands are completely dry before touching electrical equipment
- grasp the plug and not the cord when removing from outlet
Poisoning:
- keep cleaning products and hazardous materials away from food
- keep all cleaning products in original containers
What To Do In An Emergency
- cover the fire with baking soda or use an oven mitt to slide the lid of the pot over the fire to cut off oxygen
- turn off the heat source
- always leave the oven door closed to cut off oxygen to the fire
- turn off the oven
- let the fire burn out
- put the cut under running water to remove debris
- wash the cut with mild soap
- use a paper towel and apply direct pressure to try to stop the bleeding
- cover the cut with a bandage or with gauze once the bleeding has stopped
- run the affected area under cold water for 10-20 minutes to cool the burn
- clean the area with mild soap and water
- cover it with a cool, clean cloth
- if burn blisters, do not pop or drain it, blisters will help with the healing.
All About Foodborne Illness
Each year, 1 in 6 Americans gets sick by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. Many different disease-causing microbes, or pathogens, can contaminate foods, so there are many different foodborne infections.-http://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/facts.html
You can get Foodborne Illness by not washing your hands, kitchen utensils, cutting boards, counter tops or other surfaces that have had contact with raw foods.
The most common types of Foodborne Illness are:
- Salmonella
- Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni)
- Escherichia coli (E. coli)
- Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)
- Vibrio
- Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum)
-http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/foodborne-illnesses/Pages/facts.aspx#2
Preventing Foodborne Illness
1. Clean your food if its a meat or vegetable.
2. Clean your cooking area
3. Check expiry date on your items before using them
4. Have food cooking at the right temperature
5. Do not have cleaning products near any of your food
6. Clean your hands between dealing with different foods
7. Always make sure to clean cutting boards after cutting raw meat