The media are constantly reminding us that the main way to transmit COVID-19 is by mouth. So naturally, the first thing we asked ourselves was: does that mean we can get coronavirus through food as well? Keep reading and find out the most important rules for good hygiene in the kitchen!
There’s a saying in Croatia that goes: “Good hygiene makes up for 50% of good health.” And lately the hygiene measures have certainly become drastic. We’re not leaving our houses without rubber gloves, we’re stockpiling on toilet paper and building altars for our private collections of hand sanitizers.
We’ve heard all kinds of advice for good hygiene in public, but how about in our own homes?
The USDA (United States Department for Agriculture) tells us: “Public health and food safety experts do not have any evidence to suggest that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging.”
Phew, that’s a relief. However, that does not mean that you can stop following the strict hygiene rules in the kitchen! That’s why we bring you the 8 most important rules for good kitchen hygiene, from our personal experience running a restaurant and other expert sources.
1. WASH YOUR HANDS!
Your grandma always said wash your hands. Your mom always said wash your hands! Now mom and grandma are giving you that smug grin cause, whaddaya know, it turns out they were right all along.
So, for God’s sake, if you need to remember one rule from this list, remember that before touching food you need to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap under hot water.
Wash them before cooking, wash them while cooking so you prevent cross-contamination (for instance if you first handle dirty veggies and then ready to eat bread) and also before eating.
2. DON’T LEAVE FOOD OUTSIDE
Even though we frequently hear that you cannot put warm food in the fridge, this information is actually outdated and downright false. The proof lies in this simple equation:
Time + temperature between 5-60 degrees = rapid growth of bacteria!
You can leave your food outside for a maximum of 2 hours because after that time period the bacteria start growing very quickly. Therefore, the moment your meal cools down beneath 60 degrees, put in the fridge immediately .
If you’re in a hurry and can’t wait for the food to cool down, it’s better to put hot food into the fridge rather than to play Russian roulette with bacteria. Don’t worry – your fridge can take the heat and you can rest assured that bacteria won’t start multiplying on your favorite vegan pizza.
3. COVER YOUR FOOD
Food always needs to be covered because if you leave open all sorts of things can end up in it. Asking yourself how Buddy’s hair ended up in your vegan soufflé? Now you know.
4. STACK FOOD SHELVES PROPERLY
Golden advice for anyone who uses animal products or vegans who live with non-vegans: raw food of animal origin needs to be kept at the bottom of the fridge. This is because raw meat and fish can easily leak onto ready to eat food. This can then lead to poisoning with pathogens such as Salmonella or E. Coli which are sometimes found in raw meat.
The essence of organizing food in your fridge is: keep ready to eat food at the top of the fridge (e.g. a sandwich) and raw food at the bottom of the fridge (e.g. dirty onions).
This rule is exercised by restaurants who practice good hygiene, but we rarely see this rule being implemented at home. Become an Ambassador of Well-Organized-Food-in-Fridges! Not the coolest title in the world but it does saves lives…. DUM DUM DUUUUM [*dramatic music].
5. CORRECTLY DEFROST YOUR FOOD
Correctly defrost food? Wut? “Usually I just take out the frozen beans from the freezer in the morning and I reheat them after I come back from work. Isn’t that good enough?”
No, no, no! Food needs to be either defrosted in the fridge, or in cold running water, heated up in the oven or in the microwave. Never leave food to defrost on room temperature for many hours.
Food that easily spoils should never be kept out of the fridge for longer than 2 hours because after that time the bacteria quickly starts multiplying. The inside of the food stays frozen, while the outer surface is in a so called temperature “danger zone” for bacteria development.
6. CORRECTLY REHEAT YOUR FOOD
We know the story. You’re in a hurry, late for a meeting or a class, and you don’t have time to completely reheat that frozen chickpea curry. So you will heat it up just enough so it doesn’t freeze your mouth.
Again…no, no no! When reheating food it needs to heated up to at least 75 degrees so that the high temperature kills the bacteria. You wouldn’t want your digestive system to remind you of this important rule in the middle of that meeting.
7. REGULARLY CLEAN YOUR COOKING SPACES
No, we don’t just mean the kitchen counter. We mean EVERYTHING. Yes, even that greasy oven that everyone’s been blatantly ignoring to clean up.
Clean out your sink daily, and on a weekly basis clean it with a stronger disinfectant, such as Genox. Genox also happens to be manufactured in Croatia so even if the borders are shut down, we can still clean our kitchens. Yay!
Don’t forget the fridge and freezer either. They need to be cleaned on a monthly basis…and not “moments before the penguins start settling down on that iceberg that’s been growing in your freezer for the past six months.”
8. AVOID CROSS-CONTAMINATION
Restaurants often have cutting boards and knives in different colors: red, green, yellow, etc. Some would say we’re a happy colorful bunch, but we know we are actually dead serious about hygiene.
Why the colors? The differently colored knives and cutting boards mark the different types of food (for example: red is used for meat, green for vegetables and black for ready to eat foods such as bread, tofu, etc.)
This is done because cross-contamination is a very frequent cause of food poisoning and it happens when bacteria from one product cross over to another one.
Not all of us have the money or the will to have 5 different cutting boards in 5 different colors so a practical tip is: always wash your knives and cutting boards after using different produce that have a potential for cross-contamination.
ADDITIONAL ADVICE
- Don’t wear rings while cooking. Don’t worry no one will try to pick you up in your own kitchen.
- Grandma’s don’t wear head scarfs without a reason. If you’re cooking for guests put your hair in a hair net or in a scarf. We wouldn’t want a hair ending up in your neighbor’s plate. Or just put your hair in a bun!
- Don’t wipe your hands into a cloth or an apron! We seriously doubt that they’re THAT clean. Wipe your hands into paper towels. Definitely don’t wipe your hands on your pants.
- That’s all for now! We guess after reading this article you have zero desire to cook ever again… ?
We’re just kidding of course. These are simple but important rules that aren’t even hard to follow, but they make a big difference in the kitchen hygiene. Which means they also make a big difference for your health!
But if you’re the type of person that can barely remember to wash their hands when they get home… Or the type of person for whom the bare thought of cooking makes them cringe in horror… Then leave the cooking to the professionals.
Order gourmet vegan food over the Glovo, Pauza.hr or Wolt apps and don’t worry about colorful cutting boards nor cross-contamination nor Buddy’s hair in your souffle.
Author: Martina Beg