Personal hygiene, Uniforms & protective clothing

OBJECTIVES:

1. Students should be able to understand the importance of personal hygiene in the kitchen
2. Students should be able to understand why protective clothing is essential in the kitchen
3. Students should be able to understand and identify various types of uniforms and its uses in
the kitchen.

A. INTRODUCTION

Hygiene is a branch of science dealing with reducing contamination and cross contamination. In the
Food Production department it is studied under two broad heads - Personal hygiene and Kitchen
hygiene.
Personal Hygiene means the cleanliness . Each food employee must know and practice high standard
of sanitation to protect the consumer from health hazard and illness.

B. PERSONAL HYGIENE

Skin-Take full bath, clean shave, wear clean clothes, particularly undergarments, never wear twice
without cleanliness.

Hair- short if possible, clean, no dandruff and itching. Hairs should be trimmed, covered by net (for
females) /chef cap. Use Shampoo and wash at regular intervals.

Hand- Wash in between and keep clean after going toilet or going for a smoke or sneezing in particular.
Wash in potassium permanganate solution. Don’t use fingers for tasting.

Nails- should be nicely trimmed to work comfortably and there is no scope to carry dangerous
microorganism that may cause food poisoning.

Eyes- should be washed with cold water. One should be careful to avoid eye-lash. Never brush the eye
nearby food area.

Nose- Never touch your nose while working or in food preparation premises. If touched, wash your
hand. We should clean your nose nearby hand wash. Never sneeze. If it comes, sneeze by closed face
with hand and wash it.

Ears- Keep your ears- outside, inside and ear hole clean. Avoid the bad habit to touch. For check, take
the help of mirror and wash your hand.

Face- Wash, face and clean with a towel. Check in front of mirror and confirm smartness.
Teeth- Brush the teeth every day in the morning and while going to bed with good quality paste and
soothing brush that supports you. Always wash and keep mouth clean.

Tongue- Clean in a tongue cleaner regularly

with a proper tongue cleaner
Mouth- Mouth means to take care of cheeks,
inside, teeth and tongue. Never harm your
speaking ability by misusing it. Only we need
to wash at regularly

Throat- Take care of your sore throat, if

suffering. Gurgle with warm salted water in
case of cold or little infection. Which may
cause food contamination.. Never cough
nearby food premises.

Foot- carries the body weight. Wash it

properly after the duty or in between, if you
don’t feel comfortable. Clean the entire leg
with soap if needed.

Jewellery- Food handlers should not wear

any jewellery as they tend to harbour
bacteria and small parts may sometimes drop
food into food.

Shoes -Wear a good quality, rough and tough, polished unwounded shoes with good quality, clean,
never smelling dry shocks to walk comfortably.

C. UNIFORMS AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING:

A chef’s uniform is very important for him/her as it not only makes him look smart but it provides him
protection. Chef’s uniform is designed in such a way that a chef can be easily recognised among the
other professionals, it is also having different kind of colours specially to differentiate the hierarchy
positions.
Chef Cap / Net

It allows circulation of air, doesn't allow the hair to fall into the food.
The chef cap also partly absorbs sweat, perspirations. The chef cap
differentiates a chef from other employees. The modern trend of the chef
cap is disposable, which is used only once so that the hygiene is improved
than a chef cap made with cloth.

Scarf-

Scarf is used to complement the uniform. It also absorbs the sweat.

Scarves have different colours to represent the hierarchy levels. Note: The
colour coding of the scarf changes from organisation to organisation.

Chef Coat/ Jacket

As chef works on cooking range, he/she requires a fabric which provides

insulation against heat. That’s why cotton is used to make chef coat and
also in white colour as white colour repels heat. Chef coat is always
double breasted as the thickness in the cloth will prevent the chef from
being scalded by the hot liquids or spattering hot oil and thermal shocks
as the chef constantly shuttles between the cold storage areas and hot
kitchen areas.

Chef Coat has two rows of buttons, which are useful to change the sides of
coat whenever a side gets soiled. The chef coat should not be loose to cause
inconvenience and look odd, inconvenience to work, nor tight to restrict free
movement. Designed jackets look more attractive and distinct.

Chef Pant/Trouser

Pants should be comfortable and without cuffs, which can trap debris and any
hot liquid. Pants should be worn without belts, so that it can be easily removed
in case of fire or hot liquid spillage Executive and sous chefs wear black pants
and rest of the staff wear black & white checks so that they can be easily
segregated or recognised.

Dusters

They are used to pick up hot pots and pans and also to wipe hands in order to keep them dry.
Usually two dusters should be kept by the chef one to wipe the wet hands and other, the dry one to
pick up hot pans. Considering the modern hygiene trends paper towel use is advised for wiping hands.
Duster should be used to pick up hot pans

Apron

It is usually made of cotton fabric and is worn around the waist with the
help of a long string. The apron should reach below the knees to protect the chefs
from spilling hot liquids. The string of the apron helps hold the chef’s kitchen
towel in place.

Shoes and socks

Well-polished black shoes should be worn by the chefs. Sole should be made
of rubber to prevent slipping. Black cotton socks should be worn to absorb the
sweat. Shoes should be closed to prevent the feet from scorching in case of spills.
Shoes should be comfortable as chef has to stand for longer hours.

It is important that as an employer, you provide sufficient protective clothing to all members of
staff who are at risk of any injury in the workplace. The clothing / uniform provided must be well-
fitting, comfortable and clean. Identifying the risks in a kitchen and minimising these by providing
the correct protective clothing ensures that all employees are safe and therefore allows them to
carry out their duties without any interference.