Personal Hygiene
Describe what you need to do to your hands before cooking.
Wash hands in hot soapy water for 20 seconds and dry for 20 seconds.
Why sanitise the table and bench before starting to cook?
To destroy all the bacteria on the surfaces to keep harmful bacteria out of the food.
Name one high-risk food.
Meat, fish, egg and egg products, shellfish, cooked pasta, cooked rice, milk and milk products.
Any food that is high in protein.
What must be done to vegetables and fruit before using them in a recipe?
They must be washed to remove all dirt and sprays.
What is the temperature of the danger-zone?
Between 5◦C and 63◦C.
Identify three personal hygiene practices you personally will have to do before cooking.
Wash and dry hands for 20 seconds each.
Tie hair up.
Wear a clean apron.
Cover cuts or infections with a plaster and a glove.
Remove all jewellery.
Name and describe one piece of kitchen equipment that is difficult to keep clean and could cross-contaminate into food being prepared.
Tongs, dirty on the inside.
Whisk, dirty on the wires, e.g. egg that has set.
Egg slicer, not clean on the end.
Bowls not dried properly.
Where should you store potatoes?
In a cool dark place so that the potatoes don't go green in the sunlight. This is solanine poisoning.
What are the colours for the chopping boards for
a) meat
b) vegetables
c) cheese and bread
a) red board
b) green board
c) white board
What is the fridge temperature?
Between 2◦C and 4◦C
Explain why it is important to wear a clean apron.
A clean apron will prevent any bacteria from the cook's clothing to contaminate the food with bacteria.
Describe how to deal with food scraps while cooking.
All food scraps are collected in a bowl. Then sorted. Meat, bread, onion and citrus skins are wrapped in newspaper and put into the bin.
All other fruit and vegetable scraps are placed in the worm farm container.
Where should raw meat be stored?
In the bottom shelf in the fridge.
Explain why it is important to have separate chopping boards for meat and vegetables?
So that the bacteria found in raw meat will not cross over to other foods, especially if the other foods are not going to be cooked e.g. salad vegetables. Bacteria are destroyed by heat.
What is the temperature of the freezer and what happens to bacteria in the freezer?
- 18◦C
The bacteria are in hibernation or sleep mode.
Explain why it is important to wash and dry your hands properly.
Bacteria found on the surface of the skin and underneath the fingernails could cross-contaminate into food. Washing the hands removes all surface bacteria and drying the hands properly stops the bacteria moving freely on a wet surface.
Explain why it is important to have the water as hot as possible, without burning your hands when washing dishes.
Hot water and dishwashing liquid help to wash the dishes properly, especially to dissolve any oily film left on the dishes and so that it does not cover other dishes yet to be washed.
Where should leftover high-risk foods be stored?
Above the raw meat on a separate shelf. The leftover food must be covered or in a sealed container.
Describe what must be done when you have finished cutting meat on the chopping board?
The board and knife must be rinsed properly ready for a final wash with the dishes.
Your hands also must be washed properly after touching raw meat to stop cross-contamination onto other foods and equipment.
Explain why a high heat above 100◦C is important when cooking meat.
The high temperature destroys the pathogenic bacteria. (Food poisoning bacteria).
Explain why it is important to cover cuts or infections on the hands.
An infection has bacteria multiplying inside the area. By covering the cut with a plaster and a glove, it is stoping the bacteria from entering the food.
Explain the importance of rinsing and stacking dishes before washing the dishes.
Rinsing removes all excess food so that the washing water remains as clean as possible so that food residue will not cling to other dishes.
Stacking provides a good management skill to keep the work area tidy and speeds up the cleaning process because it is tidy.
Explain why you need to keep high-risk foods separate when storing them in the fridge.
High-risk foods are susceptible to having pathogens. (Food poisoning bacteria) Raw meat especially needs to be separate (bottom shelf)from cooked meat and must be stored where no cross-contamination can occur. The fridge slows down the bacteria's multiplication because the temperature is cold, 2-4 degrees Celcius.
Explain why it is important to keep high-risk foods in the fridge as long as possible before using them in your recipe.
High-risk foods must not be in the danger zone as this gives the bacteria the opportunity to multiply every 20 minutes. If given too long it could cause the numbers of the bacteria to increase to such a number that causes food-poisoning.
Explain why it is important to serve hot food hot and cold food cold.
By serving the meal immediately while it is hot, the bacteria have not had time to multiply to large numbers in the food and therefore it is safe to eat.
If a high-risk food is to be served cold, e.g. cold meat, then it must be served as soon as possible once removed from the fridge's cold conditions. (same reason as above)