Kitchen Safety & Sanitation Or…what You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You! Adapted by Dr. Vivian G. Baglien from Paula Haggerty Family & Consumer Science Instructor

Learning Targets  Learn why it is important to work in a clean and safe kitchen.  Know how to prevent food-borne illnesses.  Recognize and identify potential safety problems found in the kitchen.  Use good safety and sanitation practices in food preparation.

Orientation SANITATION SANITATION is the process of handling food in ways that are clean and healthy. SAFETY SAFETY in the kitchen means using precautionary methods in the kitchen to prevent an accident. ACCIDENTS ACCIDENTS happen due to carelessness.

SAFETY SAFETY first. How much do you already know about kitchen safety? For each question below, decide whether the practice is safe or unsafe. Click the box next to each question to reveal the answer. 1. Use a towel or your apron to remove a pan from the oven. 2. Pour salt or baking soda over the flames of a grease fire. 3. Wipe up spills on the floor right away. 4. Pour water on a grease fire. 5. Tie back long hair. 6. Climb up on the counter to get items from the top shelf. 7. Use electric appliances with wet hands. 8. Wearing loose clothing while working in the kitchen. 9. Cut away from your body when using a sharp knife. 10. Keep cabinet doors open so everything is in easy reach. SAFE UNSAFE

Do you think you’ve learned it all now? Let’s play a game and see! Click here tohere Test your skill!

Let’s Review…. Ways to prevent burns and fires. Use dry pot holders when handling hot items. Do not leave pot holders near a hot burner. Turn handles of pans so they don’t stick out over the edge of the range or over other burners. Always lift the lids of saucepans away from you so the steam will not burn you. Do not reach across hot burners or lit gas burners. Keep a fire extinguisher in or near the kitchen and know how to use it! If you have a grease fire, immediately put the lid on the pan. If this doesn’t work, smother the fire with salt, baking soda, sand or a fire extinguisher. When you have finished cooking, make sure all oven and range buttons or dials are turned off.

Let’s Review…. How to avoid falls. Wipe up spills immediately. Pick up toys and other objects from the middle of the floor or from any traffic area. Use a sturdy step stool or ladder to reach high places. Be sure all floor mats and rugs have nonskid backs. Keep pets out of the kitchen while you’re cooking.

Let’s Review…. How to prevent cuts. Always pick up a knife by its handle. Always slice, chop, cut or dice foods on a cutting board. Wash sharp knives separately. Do not simply drop knives into the dishwater. Always cut food with the blade of the knife down and slanting away from you. Never put your fingers near the moving parts of an electric mixer, food processor, blender or garbage disposal. Be careful when you discard broken glass. Do not pick up pieces with your bare hands. Sweep the larger pieces into a dustpan. Use a wet paper towel to pick up smaller pieces.

NEVER use the dish towel to wipe up the floor!! If you forget to put it into the laundry right away, it could spread germs from the dirty floor to clean dishes! A better and more sanitary solution would be to use a mop to clean up the spill on the floor. Click HERE to return to the story.HERE

OH NO! Allowing meat to thaw on the counter can allow bacteria to grow and multiply in your food. HOTHOTCOLD COLD A better and more sanitary solution would be to thaw meat, fish and poultry in the refrigerator. Keep HOT foods HOT and COLD foods COLD! Click HERE to return to the story.HERE

Believe your nose! Food that smells spoiled is probably not safe to use! SPOILED Although boiling water might indeed kill any germs, no amount of boiling can return SPOILED food to a condition that is safe to eat. Click HERE to return to the story.HERE

Keep pets off kitchen counters and tables. They can spread germs….even G-Unit!

Salmonella can grow in cans that are dented or bulging. NEVER NEVER use foods from dented cans.

Never lick a spoon or taste from a spoon and then put that spoon back into the food. Use a clean spoon for every taste. Never put a spoon that’s been in your mouth back into the food you are cooking! Click HERE to return to the story.HERE

FIGHT BAC Time to learn how to FIGHT BAC ! BAC (bacteria) make people sick. In fact, even though we can't see BAC - or smell, feel,millions may already be invading food products, kitchen surfaces, knives and other foods Fight BAC! and to keep food safe from harmful bacteria. It's as easy as following these four simple steps:

CLEAN CLEAN : Wash hands and surfaces often. SEPARATE SEPARATE : Don’t cross contaminate COOK COOK : To proper temperatures CHILL CHILL : Refrigerate promptly.

SUMMARY: Basic rules of kitchen sanitation include practicing good personal hygiene, keeping the kitchen sanitary preparing and storing food properly. By following the guidelines you can feel more confident that the food prepared in your kitchen is safe to eat. Safety is an important part of our everyday lives. y taking the necessary precautions, you can reduce or eliminate burns, fires, falls, cuts, electrical shocks, and poisonings in your kitchen. Put safety first! IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY!