Kitchen Hygiene

Ensuring that foods are produced under hygienic conditions and consumed without breaking the hygiene chain is an important criterion for healthy nutrition. The knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of personnel working in accommodation establishments, especially regarding hygiene, constitute one of the most important steps in providing quality service and protecting guest health in this process. This guide explains some practical measures that can be taken to make food businesses healthier and to prevent food poisoning.

Foreword

Food hygiene is of great importance in protecting public health. However, due to the increase in food poisoning cases in recent years, the educational gap on this subject has become quite apparent. Therefore, I believe that educational materials prepared at every level will assist those working in the sector. When employees in accommodation facilities comply with hygiene rules, guest satisfaction will reflect positively on the businesses. Thus, the training efforts will have achieved their goal.

Our community's health largely depends on your hands. I sincerely believe that you will fulfill your responsibilities by adhering to hygiene rules wherever you work. Together, we should make our district, where we all live, healthier. I extend my love and respect with the wish that your problems are few, your opportunities many, and your workplace healthy and of high quality.

Mustafa TAYAR

What is Safe Food?

Safe food is clean, unspoiled, and free from substances harmful to health. Contamination of foods under various conditions threatens food safety and thus can cause foods to become harmful to our health.

Why is Food Health Important?

  • The healthiness of foods is important for the safety of the foods you sell.
  • This helps protect your institution's reputation and your guests.
  • Also, by law, you must ensure that foods are healthy.
  • Poor cleaning procedures at your workplace can endanger your guests.
  • Harmful microbes that cause food poisoning can spread very easily.
  • Therefore, it is your responsibility to do everything possible to prevent this.
  • Food poisoning can cause serious illnesses and even death, especially among the very young, the elderly, and the sick, who are at higher risk.
  • Harmful bacteria cause diseases in humans and animals and can even cause death in small children and those already sick or elderly.
  • Food poisoning is a serious health problem.
  • As a food workplace employee or someone working in a food-selling shop or preparing sandwiches, you have an important responsibility to keep foods safe.

Safe Handling of Foods

There are four main precautions against the growth and spread of microbes:

  • Ensuring the cleanliness of places where foods are kept,
  • Paying attention to personal hygiene,
  • Cooking foods thoroughly and keeping foods at the correct temperature,
  • Preventing cross-contamination.

To keep foods healthy, you need to consider the above points at every stage from the moment raw materials are procured until customers purchase the final product. If cleanliness and hygiene standards drop at any stage, it can lead to food poisoning.

Who Do Hygiene Rules Affect?

Hygiene rules apply to every place where food is produced and sold, from street vendors to five-star restaurants. If you have a workplace where food is prepared and sold or food items are sold, it is inevitable that you follow the recommendations in this brochure. These rules apply everywhere, whether it is a commercial business or our home kitchen.

What is the Relationship Between Food and Disease?

Food can make people sick in many ways. Poisoning and illness usually result from bacteria found in foods. Food poisoning occurs in the following situations:

  • If food is prepared long before consumption,
  • If stored at room temperature,
  • If not cooked properly,
  • If cross-contamination occurs.

All accommodation businesses must comply with laws and standards by producing clean and safely consumable products. Ensuring that foods are safe to eat is the responsibility of the businesses.

Foods can make people sick in many ways. Poisoning and illness usually result from microbes found in foods. Foreign substances such as nails, needles, drugs, and cleaning agents found in foods also pose a threat to human health.

Good hygiene practices ensure food safety and are important for protecting guest health and maintaining a good image for the workplace. Failure to apply hygiene rules in accommodation facilities negatively affects guest health and thus increases business risk.

General Hygiene Rules

Harmful microorganisms can easily multiply in foods and cause food poisoning. They can even cause death. Especially in children, the elderly, and sick people, they can lead to much more dangerous outcomes, directly affecting human health and quality of life. Reducing these risks is the responsibility of the workplace.

In producing reliable food;

  • Storing foods at the correct temperature,
  • Preventing cross-contamination,
  • Adhering to cleaning rules,
  • Conducting pest control,
  • Complying with personal hygiene rules,
  • Are very important.

Food Contamination

Food contamination is the presence of any unwanted substance in foods. Foods can be contaminated in 3 ways.

1. Physical Contamination

Physical contamination can be caused by foreign objects that are not food (such as glass shards, stones). Physical hazards can have many sources. Some originate from the product itself, while others may come from the external environment.

Precautions against physical hazards:

  • Ensure no foreign objects that could accidentally mix with the product are present in areas where products are processed or served,
  • Maintain ceilings, walls, paint, glass, etc., to prevent falling debris,
  • Control employee and work hygiene to prevent hair, rings, jewelry, bandages, etc., from contaminating the product,
  • Check storage containers and similar equipment before use.

2. Chemical Contamination

Chemical hazards mostly come from cleaning agents, packaging materials unsuitable for food use, and chemicals used in machine maintenance.

Precautions against chemical hazards:

  • Separate areas where food is stored from where chemicals are stored,
  • Store foods correctly and under specified conditions,
  • Keep and use packaging materials in a way that prevents contamination from the external environment,
  • Rinse food-contact tools and equipment thoroughly during cleaning and disinfection to avoid chemical residues,
  • Clean machines and equipment related to food after maintenance.

3. Biological Contamination

The main cause of biological contamination is bacteria that contaminate foods and frequently cause foodborne illnesses and food poisoning. Biological hazards can have many sources. Some originate from the product itself, while others come from external contact. Common biological hazards arise from failure to follow temperature and hygiene rules or ineffective pest control.

Precautions against biological hazards:

  • Receive, store, process, and serve products at the correct temperature,
  • Comply with hygiene rules for employees and the work environment,
  • Implement effective pest control activities.

What is a Bacterium? How Do Bacteria Multiply?

Bacteria multiply by dividing into two. If you provide bacteria with suitable food, moisture, temperature, and time, they multiply by dividing. Some bacteria begin dividing and multiplying within 10 or 20 minutes. Under suitable conditions, a single bacterium can produce more than two million bacteria in just seven hours. Therefore, it is important not to provide bacteria with an environment where they can multiply quickly.

How is Bacteria Diagnosed?

Bacteria are so small that they can only be identified through laboratory tests. Experts take a suspicious food sample, culture it, and determine the type of bacteria. Bacteria are tiny living organisms invisible to the naked eye but visible under a microscope. They are so tiny that only when 2,000 bacteria are lined up side by side do they reach the size of a pinhead.

Simply, bacteria can be divided into two groups: beneficial and harmful. Beneficial bacteria help produce yogurt and cheese. The second group can affect and harm our foods and threaten our health.

Bacteria that spoil foods are everywhere but mostly found on or inside raw foods, humans, insects, rodents, pets, garbage, and food waste. Usually, a large number of bacteria are needed to cause illness. First, bacteria must enter the foods people will consume and then multiply to cause diseases.

Food poisoning often arises from bacteria in poorly stored, preserved, or cooked foods.

Why Do Bacteria Cause Illness?

For bacteria to cause illness through food, either the bacteria themselves or their toxins (poisons) must enter the body. The disease develops when bacteria multiply in the body or when toxins produced by bacteria in the food cause illness. Food poisoning occurs when consuming foods containing harmful bacteria.

Foods contaminated with microbes may look, taste, and smell normal. The presence of pathogenic bacteria in food cannot be detected by smell or taste. Dangerous foods may be perceived as normal.

What Happens if Bacteria Contaminate Foods?

Nowadays, more people than before buy ready-made foods and fast food and eat at cafes and restaurants. This change offers people different options in their food but also brings new problems. The most important of these problems is the risk of food poisoning caused by bacteria.

Bacteria are present in most foods. Only foods produced or prepared under sterile conditions or subjected to heat treatment after preparation contain no bacteria. Examples include canned foods and UHT milk. Other foods contain some bacteria.

After harmful bacteria contaminate foods, they multiply rapidly, causing food spoilage. Bacteria that cause food poisoning are usually naturally present in foods. However, bacteria present in very small numbers can multiply at an alarming rate in a short time.

Therefore, immediately refrigerate foods you prepare a day in advance (especially meat, milk, eggs, and foods made from them). Never leave them on the kitchen counter or table!

Food poisoning results from consuming food or drinks contaminated with microbes.

Food Poisoning

Food poisoning occurs when consuming foods containing high amounts of bacteria. If unwanted substances are present in food, it is not hygienic.

Symptoms of poisoning:

  • Abdominal and stomach pain,
  • Diarrhea,
  • Vomiting,
  • Nausea,
  • High fever.

It is not necessary for all these symptoms to be present together. Symptoms vary depending on the cause of poisoning. Symptoms can appear within a few hours to several days or even longer and usually last a few days, sometimes longer.

Different bacteria cause different illnesses. Some cause short-term and mild illnesses, while others can cause more serious illnesses requiring hospitalization and lead to dehydration.

Symptoms of poisoning appear within 1 to 36 hours and can last several days. Food poisoning is more severe in children, the elderly, and pregnant women.

How Can Food Poisoning Be Prevented?

Food poisoning can be prevented by;

  • Preventing bacteria from contaminating foods, and
  • Storing and keeping foods in a way that prevents any bacteria from growing and multiplying.

High-Risk (Microbes' Favorite) Foods

Microbes that cause food poisoning are often naturally present in foods. Microbes can multiply and grow more easily in some types of foods than others. These are called 'high-risk' foods.

Meat and poultry products, cooked meat products, sauces, cream, dairy products, desserts, boiled egg products, mayonnaise, seafood, and rice pilaf are considered high-risk foods. These foods spoil if left outside the refrigerator for a long time. Microbes multiply easily in such foods and become harmful to health when consumed.

Spoiled food indicates poor hygiene and leads to high-risk foods that cause food poisoning. Risky and other food items should be stored separately.

Foods unsuitable for bacterial growth are called 'low-risk' and include packaged nuts, sugars, chocolates, uncooked pasta, rice, and biscuits. These foods can be stored for long periods without refrigeration. Canned foods are safe as long as the can is unopened, but once opened, the food can become high-risk.

Always keep high-risk foods below 5°C or above 60°C.

How Do Bacteria Contaminate Foods?

Bacteria cannot move on their own. Before reaching the table, foods can be contaminated by harmful substances from various sources, thus becoming contaminated. Bacteria need a carrier to contaminate food. These carriers are especially humans and animals.

Bacteria that can cause food poisoning are found in people's noses, hands, ears, and throats. Sneezing, coughing, and spitting spread disease.

Foods can be contaminated by;

  • Improper handling and storage,
  • Insufficient personal hygiene by preparers and servers.

What is Cross-Contamination?

Bacteria are often transferred from people to foods. Bacteria that can cause food poisoning are usually found in the nose, hands, ears, and throat. Sneezing, coughing, and spitting spread disease. Especially under the nails, harmful bacteria for food are found. Harmful bacteria are also found in intestines and can easily transfer to hands after using the toilet. Through this route, bacteria can also contaminate food.

Bacteria can reach foods through a process called “cross-contamination.” Cross-contamination is the transfer of bacteria from non-food and bacteria-containing agents to clean food. Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria (especially raw) transfer from one food to another. Even if a food does not contain bacteria, bacteria can contaminate it through cross-contamination.

This can happen in two ways:

While Preparing Food:

Bacteria from raw foods can contaminate hands, knives, and cutting boards. If you prepare cooked or ready-to-eat foods without thoroughly washing your contaminated hands and utensils, bacteria from raw foods can contaminate these foods. Unless these foods are cooked again before eating, the bacteria will not die.

During Storage:

If cooked or ready foods are not stored separately from raw foods, bacteria from raw foods can contaminate these foods. For example, if raw meat drips onto a cake in the refrigerator, bacteria transfer from the meat to the cake. If meat is cut on a cutting board, bacteria transfer from the meat to the board and knife. If the same board and knife are used to cut cucumbers without thorough washing, bacteria transfer from the board and knife to the cucumber.

To Prevent Cross-Contamination:

  • Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separate,
  • Wash your hands thoroughly after touching raw foods,
  • Clean kitchen utensils such as knives and cutting boards after each use,
  • Store ready and cooked foods separately from raw foods.