Food Hygiene
From DorkbotLondon
alelros ccnala
Contents |
Introduction
Cooking for large numbers of people presents a different set of challenges to cooking in a domestic setting. Not least of these is hygiene -- not only can you make a lot more people ill at any one time, but the conditions are such that contamination is more likely. What follows is a basic, minimal set of guidelines distilled from experience of cooking in both more challenging commercial situations (catering outdoors) as well as cooking in more unconventional, non commercial settings such as squat cafes.
The roots of these guidelines go back a number of years. At that time a small number of people with a background in catering plus a larger number of volunteers were involved in preparing to set up what became a very large and busy cafe in a squatted community centre and we came up with what was known as the 'As if' principle. This stated that though this was a very different setup to a professional kitchen with a proper environmental health certification, we should act as if were trying to achieve this, wherever possible, on the grounds that this was the best example of how to run a proper kitchen. On that occasion we were the subject of a surprise visit from Environmental Health officials on the first morning of opening --- and were promptly issued with a certificate.
This is not going to happen during DorkCamp but we are still subject to Environmental Health Regulations, and besides, food poisoning sucks.
Hand Washing
The kitchen should be equipped with a separate sink to be used only for hand washing, if not a washing up bowl should be provided for this. In either case it needs to be equipped with a nail scrubbing brush, anti-bacterial handwash, and something to dry your hands with.
When to wash your hands
Don't forget to scrub your nails!
- Before starting to cook
- After going to the toilet
- Everytime you leave, and re-enter the kitchen
- If you have a cigarette
- When you pick your nose/ear, scratch your arse/hair/armpits, breathe etc
- (Moving from raw to cooked food)
- Periodically when you are in the kitchen
- When in doubt....
The 3 Stage Cleandown
This should be done before and after cooking a meal.
- Degrease Mix a small amount of citrus degreaser in hot water and scrub surfaces to remove surface matter, then rinse off. This stage may be omited before cooking if the surfaces are clean.
- Disinfect This is the most important stage. Spray all horizontlal + vertical surfaces + sinks with spray, leave for short time (30s) to do its work (see bottle), then wipe surfaces with clean J cloth.
- Decontaminate When disinfecting of surfaces is done wipe down with clean white dish cloth dipped in hot water to remove chemical traces.
Don't forget to sweep and mop floors.
Food Storage
- Food needs to be stored below 5°c (in fridge) or above 60°c if stored for any time. (we won't be able to do this)
- Food needs to be covered with cling film.
- Keep cooked/prepared and raw food separate in fridges etc. Be wary of cross contamination -- i.e. things dripping on salads, especially with meat + diary.
We won't really have facilities for storing cooked food so don't keep any food left over from meals (overnight). This is one area where catering differs a lot from home cooking. Cooked rice in large quantities is a particularly notorious source of food poisoning. You might be able to get away with storing it at home you won't be able to here.
Meat needs to be kept away from communal supplies -- it's a source of cross-contamination. Meat in the same fridge as supplies for salads is a particular no-no.
We need to figure out what to do with meat that people bring.
Other Things to Note
- Wear an apron and tie back/cover long hair.
- Wipe surfaces as you go with a cloth and hot water
- Keep stuff off the floor if possible
- Keep non cooks out of the kitchen when the cooking is going on. Don't take 'just popping in to make a snack/cup of tea' or 'having a chat' as an excuse. They get in the way and are a health and safety hazard (cross comtamination, obstructing cooks)
- Nobody comes in the kitchen with out washing their hands.
- A separate area for teas/coffees and/or snacks saves a lot of hassle.
