Food hygiene

Food hygiene is the practice of properly preparing and storing food to prevent foodborne illness. It involves a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards.

Overview

Food hygiene is crucial in ensuring the safety and quality of food throughout the supply chain. This includes practices from food production, harvesting, processing, storage, transport, distribution, handling, preparation, and consumption.

Importance

The importance of food hygiene lies in its ability to prevent foodborne diseases, which can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food. Poor food hygiene can also lead to food spoilage and waste, impacting food security and economic growth.

Practices

Key practices in food hygiene include hand hygiene, surface cleaning, avoiding cross-contamination, cooking food to the correct temperature, and proper food storage.

Hand hygiene

Hand hygiene is a fundamental practice in food hygiene. It involves thoroughly washing hands before handling food and after touching raw food.

Surface cleaning

Surfaces and utensils should be cleaned and sanitized before and after use to prevent cross-contamination.

Avoiding cross-contamination

Cross-contamination occurs when harmful bacteria are transferred from one surface to another. This can be prevented by using separate cutting boards for raw and cooked foods and by properly cleaning all surfaces and utensils.

Cooking food to the correct temperature

Cooking food to the correct temperature ensures that harmful bacteria are killed. Different types of food require different cooking temperatures to ensure they are safe to eat.

Proper food storage

Proper food storage helps to prevent foodborne illnesses and food spoilage. This includes storing food at the correct temperature and in suitable containers.

Regulations

Food hygiene regulations vary by country and are typically enforced by national or local public health authorities. These regulations set out the basic requirements for all aspects of food hygiene, from production to consumption.

See also

• Food safety
• Foodborne illness
• Hand hygiene
• Cross-contamination