Cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross
contamination
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Learning objectives
• To understand the importance of food hygiene.
• To know how to prevent cross- contamination by cleaning, cooking
and chilling.
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Food poisoning
Food poisoning is often caused when harmful bacteria on one food is
spread via hands, kitchen utensils or surfaces to cross-contaminate
other foods.
This can be avoided by maintaining high standards of food hygiene
when storing, handling and preparing food.
The Food Standards Agency suggests four strategies to prevent food
poisoning:
– cleaning
– cooking
– chilling
– cross contamination.
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Cleaning
• Clean kitchen surfaces before and after
preparing food.
• Try to ‘clean as you go’ washing utensils and
surfaces as food is prepared.
• Spills should be wiped up immediately.
• Always wash hands, utensils and surfaces
thoroughly after handing raw meat, poultry fish
and other raw foods and before any contact
with other food.
• If you are unwell, e.g. diarrhoea or vomiting,
you should not prepare food.
• Sores and cuts should be covered with a
waterproof dressing.
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Cleaning tips – use the right materials for
cleaning
• Detergents such as washing up liquids are designed to dissolve
grease, oil and dirt.
• Disinfectants, such as bleach, are designed to kill germs. Antibacterial cleaners, often in a spray form are types of disinfectant and
can kill germs.
• Clean surfaces first with detergent to remove any grease or diet,
then apply disinfectant to kill any remaining germs.
• Separate cloths can be used for separate tasks. These cloths should
be changed regularly.
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Cleaning
• Crockery and utensils should be washed with hot soapy water after
use.
• The washing up water should be changed regularly.
• Dishes should be rinsed in clean, hot water.
• Where possible dishes should be drained until dry.
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Cleaning – washing hands
Hands should be regularly washed with
warm soapy water and dried.
This is particularly important:
• After going to the toilet
• Sneezing or blowing your nose
• After handling raw food
• Before preparing food
• After touching bins
• After touching pets.
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Cooking tips
• Follow recipes and preparation instructions on
food labels for cooking times and temperatures.
Ovens and grills will need to be preheated.
• Food must be piping hot before serving above
63ºC.
• Sausages, burgers, pork and poultry are
cooked thoroughly when the juices run clear.
• Some meat, such as steaks and joints of beef
and lamb can be served rare as long as the
outside has been properly cooked.
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Cooking tips
•Once cooked, keep food covered and piping hot until
serving time.
•When reheating food, ensure it is piping hot.
•Leftovers can be kept for up to two days and not reheat
food more than once and should not be re-heated more
than once.
•Stir and stand food heated by a microwave in order to
remove cool/hot spots.
•Follow the date marks.
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Chilling tips
• Refrigerators should be checked kept in
between 0-5°C and freezers below -18°C.
• Hot food should not be placed directly into the
refrigerator or freezer, but left to cool sufficiently
within 1-2 hours.
• Large amounts of food can be divided into
smaller portions to speed up the cooling of food
to speed up the cooling process.
• A cool bag or cool box can be used when
eating outside at a barbecue or picnic.
• Frozen food should be defrosted thoroughly.
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Chilling
• Do not refreeze food once it has begun to thaw.
• The bacteria that cause food to deteriorate and
food poisoning rapidly reproduce around the
temperature of 37ºC (body temperature).
• The temperature between 5ºC– 63ºC is
sometimes called the ‘danger-zone’.
• Reducing the temperature below 5ºC slows the
reproduction of microorganisms.
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Cross contamination prevention
Cross contamination occurs when bacteria are
transferred from food or surface to another.
Contamination can be:
• Direct – where food touches or drips onto
another food transferring bacteria
• Indirect – where bacteria on hands, work
surfaces or equipment are spread to food.
• Pets and pests should be kept away from
food and food preparation areas.
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Cross contamination prevention
• Hands should always be washed after
handing raw food.
• Raw and ready-to-eat food should be
stored separately.
• Different utensils should be used for raw
and ready-to-eat food, or cleaned in
between preparing different types of
food.
• Use separate clean knives and chopping
boards for raw and cooked food.
• Ensure raw meat is covered and stored
separately on the lowest shelf of the
refrigerator.
• In catering establishments, different
coloured chopping boards and knives are
used for different types of food.
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Summary
There are many opportunities for cross
contamination when preparing food.
There are many strategies which can be
employed to prevent this:
•cooking
•chilling
•cleaning
•cross contamination (prevention).
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