Written By: Pavitra Sampath | Published : April 7, 2015 3:50 PM IST
April 7 is World Health Day and this year s theme is Food Safety.
If you have someone who cooks your meals for you, it is essential for you to teach them to not only cook your meals the right way, but also to stay clean in order to avoid infections. Here are 12 things you should teach your kitchen help.
Wash hands with a good soap: Our hands touch a number of things on a daily basis, but no matter how clean the surface looks, it could be infested with a large number of disease-causing bacteria. Therefore, it is essential that you teach your kitchen help to wash their hands the right way with a good soap before they start cooking. This is especially essential to help prevent the transmission of food and waterborne illnesses like typhoid, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.
Wipe wet hands on a clean towel and not the clothes you are wearing: When a person enters your home from the outside, their clothes tend to be coated with dust and dirt from the outside. Apart from that, travelling in public transport can further add to the adhered disease-causing organisms. All this put together makes wiping their washed hands on their clothes futile. Also wiping surfaces and the dishes with the clothes they are wearing is another common practice that must be stopped to ensure cleanliness in your kitchen.
Avoid working during a bout of flu or any skin ailment: Organisms that cause a cough, cold or other skin lesions can be extremely harmful to you and your family. Therefore, it is best that your kitchen help be taught to avoid working closely with your family if they are ailing, especially with a condition that is contagious. Apart from that, skin infections are often caused due to either bacteria or fungus which can then cause stomach ailments in you and your family. It can also be transmitted to others working closely with them.
Use a clean tissue or napkin when coughing or sneezing while in the kitchen: With the fumes that arise as one cooks it is common to cough or sneeze. But it is essential that you teach your help to cover their mouths with their hands when they sneeze and then wash their hands before they proceed. This is because when one coughs or sneezes, tiny droplets that are released into the air carry bacteria in them that can then contaminate your food.
Avoid working without a proper hair-net or tied up hair: Hair in your food can have disastrous effects on your health. Not only does it carry dirt and grime, but studies have found that hair can have Staphyloccocus bacteria on it, that could cause food poisoning if ingested. Apart from that, in extremely rare cases, if you ingest a lot of hair (over a period of time) then it could lead to the formation of what is clinically called, trichobezoars, or hairballs. These hairballs clog your intestines and can lead to intense cramping and abdominal pain.
Ensure they have well-trimmed nails: Your nails are common breeding grounds for dirt and infection causing organisms like Salmonella typhi (causes typhoid), E.coli (causes diarrhoea), Staphyloccus (causes gastritis) and Streptococcus. Therefore, it is best to ensure that your kitchen help trims his/her nails so that cleaning in the area under their fingernails is easier and through.
Use the right amount of oil, masala and avoid other unhealthy ingredients: When your kitchen help cooks meals for you, they may use certain unhealthy practices to make your meal taste good. Adding ingredients like soda, artificial colour, too much spice or even using large quantities of oil or ghee can harm your health in the long run. Therefore, train your kitchen help to cook healthy and clean.
Cut and store foods and meats the right way: When foods are cut (like meat and vegetables), they quickly become breeding grounds for disease-causing bacteria and therefore, it is essential that your kitchen help knows how to store these foods safely to ensure your food is healthy when prepared.
Cook at the right temperature: In order to maintain the nutritional value of your food, it is essential that you cook your food at the right temperature. Not only does it help preserve the innate health benefits of the food you cook, but it also ensures that your food does not spoil -- leading to stomach infections. You may also like to read about the simple ways to prevent food poisoning.
Cover food after it is made: We all have learnt that covering food after it is prepared is essential in order to prevent it from getting contaminated with disease-causing organisms. Covering food with a mesh or a lid helps keep flies and other pests from feasting on your meal. It also prevents dust and other dirt from falling into your food.
Discard wastes the right way: The way you discard your waste is also essential for food safety. Properly throwing your waste into a dustbin that has a lid will ensure that your garbage does not attract harmful pests such as cockroaches, flies and rats. You may also like to read about the 7 simple ways to keep your kitchen clean.
Image source: Shutter Stock
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