Home Economics Form 1

HYGIENE AND SAFETY

What is Hygiene?

Personal Hygiene is a routine of personal care that keeps you clean and healthy. It
involves regular care of your hair, skin, face, teeth, ears, hangs, nails, and feet.

Personal Hygiene in the Kitchen means keeping staff clean and handling food safely.

Kitchen Hygiene is the action taken to ensure that food is handled, stored, prepared
and served in a way to prevent the contamination of food (bacteria in food).

Precaution is a measure taken in What is Safety?

advance to prevent something Safety is the act of being free

dangerous, unpleasant, or from any risk and danger that
inconvenient from happening. might cause an injury.

Personal Hygiene in the Kitchen

Tie long hair back and wear a hairnet or scarf.

Remove any jewellery as they harbour bacteria

between the skin.

Wear an apron over your clothing to avoid cross

contamination.

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Wash your hands frequently: before starting the
preparations, after handling raw foods, after blowing
your nose, after touching the bin and after using the
toilet.

Cover cuts and sores with a waterproof dressing. The

dressing used in the kitchen is of blue colour, since
there is no food in such colour.

Do not lick food and avoid directly touching the food.

Use a teaspoon to taste the food.

Do not smoke near or while handling food.

Do not cough or sneeze on the food.

Never handle food if you are suffering from any

infectious or contagious disease.

Avoid touching the face, nose, eyes, ect. while handling

the food.

Keep the nails short and clean from any nail polish or
nail extensions.

Do not forget to be hygienic even outside the kitchen:

- Take a shower or bath every day. - Keep your hands clean and do not bite your nails.
- Wash your hair and keep it tidy. - Put on clean clothes.
- Wash your teeth and visit the dentist every 6 months.
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Kitchen Hygiene

Clean the work surface regularly to kill bacteria.

Sweep and wash the kitchen floor regularly to

remove dirt and bacteria.

Waste bins should be emptied as soon as they are

full, washed out regularly and stored away from the
kitchen.

The sink and drains should be disinfected once a

week. Oven, fridge and freezer are also to be
cleaned regularly.

Pets should not be allowed in the kitchen because

they may carry a lot of germs which can cause food
poisoning if in contact with food.

Make sure kitchen equipment is clean before you

store it.

All food in the cupboard should be covered since

uncovered food attracts germs which may spoil
it and cause food poisoning if consumed.

Tea-towels should be changed regularly and boiled or

bleached to kill bacteria.

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Use different coloured chopping boards for the

different foods. *

Do not leave the fridge open for no specific reason,

since this will increase the bacteria.

Install insect screens to keep insects away from the

kitchen.

Common Accidents in the Kitchen

Cuts

Electric
Fires
Shock

Common
Accidents Chocking
Falls and
Suffocating

Burns
and Poisoning
Scalds

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Kitchen Safety

Cuts
Store knives in a wooden block or in a drawer. Make sure
the knives are out of the reach of children.
Pay close attention when using knives and other sharp
equipment such as graters and kitchen scissors.

Fires
Turn off the hob immediately after use.

Never cook in loose clothes and keep long hair tied back.
You don’t want anything accidentally catching fire.

Do not let tea towels or anything that can catch fire near
flames.

Do not leave cooking food unattended. Extra attention

needs to be paid during frying.

Chocking and Suffocating

Cut foods in small bites.

Try to teach children to stay seated while eating.

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Encourage low chocking foods when preparing meals for

the elderly.

Poisoning
Store poisonous detergents away from food and drinks
and out of reach of children.
Keep detergents and all cleaning materials in their
original container.

Wear gloves and ventilate when using harsh cleaners.

Burns and Scalds

Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove.
Children can’t grab them, and adults can’t bump into
them if they’re out of the way.

Never cook while wearing dangling jewellery. A bracelet

can get tangled around pot handles.

Falls

Use non-skid backing on rugs and anti-slip floor tiles.

Keep the floor dry so that no one slips and falls. Wipe up
spills immediately.

Put away any wires or objects that may cause tripping

(including pets).

Use a stepping stool to climb and get items stored up

high.

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Make sure all areas are always well lit.

Electric Shock

Buy reliable equipment that has the safety mark.

Do not touch sockets with wet hands.

Use covers on electrical outlets.

*Coloured Chopping Boards Guide: