Food hygiene plays an important role in the processes of storing, handling and preparing food and drink in large quantities. A high standard of food hygiene is important because it minimizes the risk of spreading ailments from infections or food-borne viruses.
Working in the food industry involves handling a huge amount of food and ensuring that it is on par with the demands of the customers. This stresses the point that every person working with food must maintain a high degree of cleanliness in the restaurant business.
It becomes hard to keep track and monitor the handling of food that is processed and stored every day in restaurants. Hence it is important to educate your staff about maintaining hygiene and cleanliness and also specify the consequences if they do otherwise.
Below are guidelines of 5 important hygiene practices for those who work in the hotel industry.
Keep your hands clean
Keeping your hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid the spreading of germs and diseases. It is a way to combat possible germs and contaminating agents in your restaurant’s kitchen. While working in hotels or restaurants, it is a good practice to wash your hands before working, after lunch, after toilet break, or anytime when your hands touch other surfaces.
The right way to wash your hands.
- Wet your hands with water
- Lather by rubbing with soap for 20 seconds
- Rinse well with water
- Dry your hands with a towel, tissue, or dryer.
Wear clean clothing
Wearing clean clothes is the best way to maintain the cleanliness of the food. Every person is exposed to bacteria inside and outside his body. These bacteria increase the risk of infection if your clothes are not neatly washed.
So, make it a rule for all your employees to wear clean clothing and set high hygiene standards for your restaurant. The proper and clean clothing includes aprons, head caps, and gloves to ensure no food is contaminated while it is being processed.
Proper maintenance of refrigerator
Commercial Refrigerator helps you store a large amount of food like vegetables, fruits, and meat. It plays an important role in keeping the food fresh, safe, and hygienic. Luckily, maintaining a commercial refrigerator is quite easy what’s more, cleaning regularly protects the food from harmful bacteria too.
The interiors of the fridge must be wiped and sanitized every day and try to deep clean every week. The food stored in the refrigerator is hygienic only when it is maintained and cleaned frequently. Hence regularly maintain your commercial refrigerator to avoid major hygiene and food contamination issues.
Cleaning and maintenance of kitchen equipment
Kitchen equipment plays a major role in the busy food services and any unexpected failure could collapse the entire business. The only solution is to maintain and clean the kitchen equipment regularly.
Routine maintenance of kitchen equipment includes deep cleaning of the ventilation system, refrigerator, and freezer. Some of the advantages of maintaining the kitchen equipment are cost-effectiveness, hygiene, quality food, increased equipment lifespan, and reduction in fire hazards. Since the state of equipment directly impacts the state of food, well-maintained kitchen equipment gives you the best quality food.
Storage of goods
Food storage helps to preserve the quality and nutritional value of food. Hence, all goods should be stored according to their nature and requirement. Store the food in terms of their expiry date and also ensure to discard those which are expired or spoilt.
Dry goods such as cereals, coffee, tea bags, biscuits, etc. should be stored in a clean, labelled, and air-tight container with proper display of its expiry date. Dairy products must be stored in the refrigerator after purchasing and their temperature should be maintained. Cans should be checked for any damage, dents, or rust. Any damaged goods should be discarded.
Summary
Improper hygiene practices can cause cross-contamination, which leads to food poisoning and many other deadly diseases. Good hygiene ensures safe, healthy, and quality food to your customers.
With these 5 essential guidelines of food safety and hygiene practices, we hope you can produce hygienic & tasty food for your customers.
