Hygiene Aspect of Food Premises :Hand-washing station & Food Contact station

Hand-washing Station

 

Hand washing sink at the back of the Asian Kitchen

It is important to keep the hand-washing station clean and hygienic as mentioned from ‘Personal Hygiene’ that we need to wash our hands properly before going in the kitchen. Thus, the hand-washing station serve as a ‘bridge’ in maintaining personal hygiene to prevent cross contamination during food preparation. 



Hand washing station at the entrance of the kitchen.

 It has to make sure that it is equipped with warm and cold running water and liquid soap. Also we should have either a disposable paper towel or a warm air dryer. A common cloth for drying hands should never be shared as it may cause bacteria to grow and cause cross contamination to happen.
One of the bacteria that could be found on the common cloth is Staphyloccus Aureus which could be commonly found on the hands and human skin. It may also cause symptoms like e.g. abdominal pain and vomiting when it contaminate your food. Thus, it is important to use only disposable paper towel or warm air dryer to dry your hands to be more hygienic and reduce the risk of bacteria accumulating and multiplying on the common cloth for drying your hands, as the bacteria would be further pass on to contaminate the food you are preparing.

Food pieces and debris in the sink that could attract unwanted pests e.g. cockroaches, rats, etc. The pests or insects carry bacteria or germs that could contaminate the food during preparation or even your hands when you are washing your hands. E.g. Listeria (which could be found in the environment or insects that will cause mild flu or even miscarriage in pregnant women) Thus, we should clean off soil, dirt or food debris with detergent regularly to prevent attract unwanted pests.  

Some bacteria that could be found on the surface of the hand washing station are e.g. Salmonella, E.coli 0157 that could lead to severe food poisoning.
Thus to reduce the risk of food poisoning, it is important to keep the station clean. It should be free from dirt, soil and food debris. Thus, by cleaning it regularly with detergent (alkaline, acid or degreaser detergents) to clean away all the oil, dirt and grease that may attract pests which may carry germs and microbes (e.g. Listeria). Also to further clean it, we can use sanitizers to reduce the amount of disease- causing microbes to a safe level.

 

Adequate resources to facilitate practice of good hygiene:

• liquid soap, paper towel
• hand basin at the entrance of the kitchen.

Good Examples:

They sink should be clean from time to time with no food debris or pieces


 

Bad Examples:

many food debris are stuck at the filter/ bottom of the sink could easily attract pest or insects that could carry germs and bacteria which may lead to cross contamination.

Food Contact Station

The food contact station in the kitchen is a long metal bench located near both sides of the stoves for food preparation.

The food contact station should be kept clean, tidy and hygienic at all times. If there is any sauce spills or food pieces on the food contact table, it should be cleaned immediately or after you have finish the task.

Although it is a food contact station, the station should be wipe with only a yellow cloth as food should not be placed directly on the station but in a plate, chopping board or an insert.

If there is food debris or pieces or sauces on the food contact station that is not clean off and was left there till the next day, it will attract pests or insects.

The pests and insects will carry germs and bacteria e.g. Listeria which will contaminate the food contact station. And this will in turn contaminate the chopping board or utensils placed on the table and lastly cross contaminate the food. This might cause food poisoning, food borne illness or even death. Thus, it is very important to clean and/or sanitize the station between tasks or after the whole day to keep the environment safe and hygienic.

Since it is a food preparation table, we will be handling with vegetables, meat, poultry, milk products, dried products and more. Thus, many types of bacteria could be found on the surface of the food contact station. Some examples are Bacillus Cereus, Campylobacter, Clostridium Perfringens, Salmonella and more!
Thus it should be regularly sanitized and clean with detergents and sanitizers, similar to the hand washing station to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the station to prevent any cross contamination when handling or preparing food. Also, it is important to separately prepare cooked food and raw food.

 

Bad Example:

Food pieces and vegetables peels were left on the table and the cloths were not placed properly.
 

Good Example:

The station should be neat and clean after the day or even between tasks, keeping it tidy to prevent cross contamination.



The appropriate food contact station should be

• safe
• durable
• corrosion - resistant
• non-absorbent
• smooth
• easy to clean / maintain

It has to also be sufficient in weight and thickness to withstand repeated cleaning. It has to be able to resistant to scratches, scoring, pitting, etc.