5 Essential Food Safety and Hygiene Practices Which Must Be Kept In Mind
1. Wear proper clothing and footwear : It always important that employees wear garments which are suitable for their job, which in this case is the food processing industry. Wearing proper clothing and footwear for food processing is the best way to maintain cleanliness of food which is particularly important when working in an industry such as a hotel where standards need to be kept high.
Any employees in the hotel which deals with processing food, should wear impermeable gloves as they are a necessity which should be kept clean and sanitized at all time to prevent the spread of bacteria. As well as that, all jewelry must be removed when dealing with food, because jewelry could be a main source of negative microorganisms.
Wearing proper footwear is a standard followed by any food manufacturing company. Wearing the correct footwear which is sturdy, clean and comfortable is a must. Any footwear worn in the food processing environment within the hotel must not cross contaminate areas, therefore it is best to dedicate one pair of shoes to be worn solely in the kitchen and not worn anywhere else. Finally, you must also ensure that you have hair and facial hair protection on at all times when cooking and preparing food as this is another basic hygiene practices which must be followed at all times.
2. Keep your hands clean : Keeping your hands clean is an absolute must in any industry as it is a daily process for us all. Predominantly, keeping your hands clean in food processing within hotels is required as it can prevent the spread of diseases and hotels to ensure clean environments. Cleaning your hands is a way for you to combat possible bacteria and contaminating agents inside the workplace. It is also a basic method to avoid diseases coming from other workers in the area.
Because of this, if you work in the food processing industry then you must ensure that you wash your hands before working, after lunch, after a toilet break or any time that your hands touch food or cigarettes. In other words, all workers in the industry must wash their hands before revisiting their workstation in the kitchen. All hotels should place the process of hand washing around the facilities to ensure that all staff, particularly the ones working in the food industry, and all customers wash their hands properly with soap and warm water in order to prevent contamination and prevent anyone from getting ill.
3. Ensure that the tools and equipment are clean and sanitized : Another practice which must be kept in mind is ensuring that the tools and equipment used within food processing in hotels are clean and sanitized. Usually, bacteria are present in tools and equipment that are not cleaned and sanitized regularly, particularly in such a big industry whereby tools and equipment are continuously used. Not only are the bacteria present in tools and equipment that are used on a daily basis, but are also present in the carts, hoses and other supplementary materials which are used inside the food processing industry.
Baring all of that in mind, the best way to keep all of these objects clean is by regularly sanitizing them with an antibacterial agent. As well as that, ensure that all of the tools and equipment within the hotel or hospitality kitchen are sanitized with the use of chlorine tablets to help minimize the risk of an outbreak in diseases. These chlorine tablets can be used safely within kitchens and food preparation areas, as well as in washrooms and bedrooms and is highly recommended to disinfect any body fluids and also disinfect cloths and mop heads
4. Make use of food safety equipment and metal detectable equipment : Making use of metal detectable and food safety equipment in the kitchens of hotels are standard measures followed by food manufacturing industries to make sure there are no contaminants being brought into the workplace. The use of detectamet pens can help maintain safety in any food industry, as well as pharmaceutical, packaging and beverage industries. Also, these are of best use due to the fact that contaminants, especially plastic contaminants, cannot be detected with the naked eye. So, utilizing these food safety equipment and metal detectable equipment is a must.
5. Step on the footbath: Lastly, one of the best ways to make sure you do not bring bacteria and contaminants into the kitchen of hotels is by stepping on the footbath. Even though this act is the simplest among the practices mentioned, it is definitely an effective way for self-sanitation. Just ensure that the footbath present in the workplace contains enough sanitizing agents so that it will not become a ground for bacteria to form. With the large number of workers stepping on it, make sure that the footbath contains sufficient anti-bacterial agents, and it is cleaned every time.
With the ease and simplicity of these 5 essential food safety and hygiene practices, there is really no excuse for food processors within hotel and hospitality industries not to do it. Keep yourself, your customers, your equipment and your workplace clean, as a way of working effectively!
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