Maintaining food safety is a vital aspect of healthy eating. You can reduce microbial infection and keep food healthy to eat by following good food handling practices. Here we are describing 20 tips for safe food preparation that will help you in cooking delicious food without getting burnt.

There are some ways following which you can do safe food preparation. Here they are

1. Wash your hands – Hands are the primary element that is used while cooking. Before starting any cooking dish, must wash your hands and clean it. Wash your hands with soap and try to use medium hot water if possible as it kills germs & bacteria. Then dry the hands using a cotton towel or paper towel.   

2. Wash food items – Almost every food item should be wash and rinse with water in order to remove dust or chemicals. Fruits and vegetables like potato, bottle gourd, cucumber, papaya, etc. must be washed thoroughly after peeling it. It’s a good habit to wash every fruit and vegetable before having it.

3. Wash utensils – It’s very important to wash the utensils thoroughly before using them. Washing utensils is necessary to remove dust and sometimes to prevent the infection from the cockroaches and other tiny insects. Knives and cutting boards also be washed before using.

4. Clean the surface – Insects like cockroaches, lizards, ants, flies, etc. infects the surface at night, hence it’s necessary to sanitize it before using. Clean the surface using hot & soapy water. Liquid chlorine bleach is more efficient for cleaning the surface.  

5. Wear cotton Apron and cap – You should wear a cotton apron and bouffant caps while cooking. The apron protects your clothes from food stains and even from small hot oil spatter. Bouffant caps prevent hairs from falling into the food while cooking. 

6. Separate foods while shopping – While shopping place the raw foods such as meat, seafood, and poultry in a separate bag, and other raw eatables such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and other ration items in another bag.

7. Separate foods while preparing and serving – Always use separate cutting boards for vegetables-fruits and non-veg food items. Wash the cutting board with hot-soapy water especially the board that has been used for cutting non-veg items. Never ever use the same board or plate for storing cooked food which was previously used to store raw food.

8. Don’t use plastic containers to store food items – Some plastics are safe for food storage like PET or PETE, HDPE, etc. but some are harmful to all living beings. When hot eatables kept in these harmful plastics, they produce cancer-causing chemicals. So it’s advised that don’t use plastic containers to store food items especially hot food items unless and until you are sure about the plastic quality.

9. Check Expiry date before using it – Every ready-to-eat (ready-made) food in the market has some expiry date after which they are not good to eat or drink. Eatables after their expiry date become harmful to the body. Hence it’s necessary to double-check the expiry date before buying any product. 

10. Save your foods from rats and insects – Whenever you prepare any food it’s necessary to cover it completely after completion to protect from insects. Insects carry harmful germs with them which they can leave on food if allowed to sit on it. So always cover the food as this also helps in maintaining the food temperature.

11. Keep food at a safe temperature – Keeping the food items at the correct temperature is quite important otherwise it will get spoiled. Cold food must be kept at 40° F or below and hot foods must be kept at 140° F or above, if you leave your food between the temperature 40 °F to 140°F, it is no longer safe to eat.

12. Use a food thermometer when cooking – Thermometer ensures that the food is prepared safely and is kept at a safe temperature until eaten.

13. Cook food to safe internal temperatures – Checking the internal temperature of seafood, meat and poultry is one of the efficient ways to prevent illness. Cook food such as beef, pork, lambs, etc. at a minimum internal temperature of 145° F. Wait for at least 3 minutes before eating meat items. Cook poultry items at an internal temperature of 165° F.   

14. Be careful while using electrical appliances – There are many electrical appliances used while cooking in the kitchen such as mixer, oven, microwave, blender, and many more. Use all electrical appliances carefully. Prevent them from water. Your house must have a trip-off system to protect a short circuit.

15. Be careful while using the microwave – Microwave is an electrical appliance that needs to be handled with care. After cooking something in microwaves always use a pot handler to handle the containers. Don’t use metal vessels in the microwave (there are some special vessels made for microwave, use them). If you find any burning smell or smoke from it while cooking, close the door and switch off the main supply and open the door. Wait for some time, then take out the container using a pot handler safely.

16. Do not keep fire-friendly items near the gas stove – Do not keep fire-friendly items near the gas stove. Items like paper, kerosine oil, sanitizers, and alcoholic spray catches fire easily, hence these items must be kept away from the gas stove.

17. Keep Gas Cylinder away from Stove – A Gas cylinder must be kept at some distance from the gas stove to avoid big accidents. If somehow your food catches fire, then it won’t be able to reach the gas cylinder easily, otherwise, it will blast and even kills the person on the spot.

18. An exhaust fan is a must – Exhaust fan is also a necessary electrical appliance in the kitchen. It helps in removing the grease, smoke, and fumes present in the air while cooking.

19. Fire extinguisher – The fire extinguisher is a valuable material for safety measures. If anyhow fire spread inside the kitchen then fire extinguisher can help in those conditions to avoid the permissible damage. A fire extinguisher must be present wherever you are working with fire.

20. Keep the first-aid box – Accident can occur anytime in the kitchen and it could be either small or big. For that emergency, you must have a first-aid kit for safety. You can use the first-aid kit to avoid further problems.

So these were some tips for safe food preparation. Be careful and keep all the above-mentioned points in mind while cooking.