Hygiene in storage and preserva­tion of food at home. Food products are stored for some time at home before these are consumed or cooked after their purchase from the market.

Boil milk to kill bacteria before storage. Meat, eggs, fish, etc. are highly peri­shable; hence, store them at low tempera­ture in a refrigerator.

Similarly, fruits and vegetables should be washed and kept at low temperature. Pages of newspapers, books, copies, etc. should not be used for covering food product because ink can poison them. Use dry, airy, neat, and clean tins for the storage of non-perishable foods like cereals, pulses, sugar, jiggery, etc. Do not keep them at a damp place. Expose them to sun time to time for better preservation.

1. Hygiene while purchasing food products.

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Cleanliness should be the first pri­ority at the time of purchasing food products. For this, cleanliness of the shop and the storage of food products must be ensured. Meat, chicken, fish, egg, milk, etc. are highly perishable foods. Hence, food products should be purchased only from reliable and recog­nized shops. Otherwise, shopkeepers may sell stale food products, like meat of diseased animals, etc., which can cause a number of diseases. Fruits, vegetables, etc. should be fresh and stainless. Similarly, ensure the good quality of pulses, cereals, and other food prod­ucts at the time of purchase. Don’t purchase foodstuffs if their colour, taste, flavour, etc. are slightly different from the normal. Do not buy defective packings of canned foods. Their manufacturing and expiry dates should also be checked at the time of purchase. As far as possible buy products bearing ISI, FPO, or Agmark on them.

2. Hygiene in storage and preserva­tion of food at home.

Food products are stored for sometime at home before these are consumed or cooked after their purchase from the market. Boil milk to kill bacteria before storage. Meat, eggs, fish, etc. are highly peri­shable; hence, store them at low tempera­ture in a refrigerator. Similarly, fruits and vegetables should be washed and kept at low temperature. Pages of newspapers, books, copies, etc. should not be used for covering food product because ink can poison them. Use dry, airy, neat, and clean tins for the storage of non-perishable foods like cereals, pulses, sugar, jiggery, etc. Do not keep them at a damp place. Expose them to sun time to time for better preservation.

3. Cleanliness in kitchen

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Cleanliness in the kitchen is very essential for the pre­vention from contamination of food. Food cooked in an unhygienic kitchen is not fit for consumption. Cockroaches, lizards, flies, etc. abound in a damp and dirty kitchen. All these make the food unhygienic and contaminated in one way or the other.

1. Clean kitchen daily to keep insects and pests away.

2. Use covered dustbins with a liner in the kitchen. It should be emptied out and cleaned every day.

3. Few hours of sunlight in the kitchen needed to remove the dampness besides killing some of bacteria.

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4. Kitchen and its associated rooms should be clean, well-lighted and well-ventilated.

5. Kitchen floors should be smooth and easy to maintain and clean but not slippery.

6. Kitchen doors and windows should be fly proof and hence have mesh on them.

7. Also ensure the sufficient supply of potable water in the kitchen with proper drainage system.

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4. Personal hygiene

Personal hygiene of the person who cooks and serves food is very essential. A housewife or other person handling the kitchen must take care of the following points:

1. Wash your hands with a good soap and clean water before cooking.

2. Housewife should wear neat clothes and tie her hair or make use of a head cover to avoid shedding of hair in food.

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3. Ensure that the cook is not suffering from a skin-disease, diarrhea, common cold or some infectious diseases. Pay special attention to the cleanliness of hands.

4. Do not cook food if the hand is wounded or use gloves while working in the kitchen.

5. Do not cough, sneeze or spit at the place of storage of food or while cooking. Use neat handkerchiefs in such conditions. While in kitchen avoid putting fingers in your nose, ear or mouth and scratching of your body.

6. Keep nails trimmed and clean.

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7. Don’t walk into the kitchen with dirty feet, shoes, chappals and clothing. These carry millions of bacteria and can infect and spoil your food. In the olden days, housewives used to have separate dress for the kitchen. Bathing before cooking food is a good habit.

5. Hygiene during preparation of food

1. Only required amount of food should be taken out of the store room.

2. Food should not be touched with hands if its preparation is possible with the help of gadgets and utensils.

3. Hold the glass from its bottom and utensils from their handles.

4. Wash the food thoroughly with clean water before working. Also wash fruits and vegetables well before peeling and chopping.

5. Cook them immediately and properly for sufficient time. Cooking kill’s bacteria to a large extent but certain bacteria which can resist high temperature still survive. Pressure cooking destroys such bacteria. Hence, pressure cooking is safer.

6. Cooking utensils should also be cleaned properly.

7. Utensils should be made up of such metals which do not react with foods.

6. Hygiene of cooked food.

It is not possible to consume the food immediately af­ter cooking. Cooked food is often kept sometime. Bacteria can easily grow in: food because of more moisture content in. Hence, keeping food at a low temperate equally essential as keeping it in neat, i and covered utensils keep food in such in which there is no possibility of it poisonous. Food should be thrown away at slightest indication of its getting spoiled.

7. Hygiene during serving

Serve’ in neat and clean utensils in hygiene surrounding. Do not touch the brims of sills with your hands. Utmost care in per’s hygiene of the persons serving and eat food should be ensured. Wash your h and feet before taking food. Nails should trim. Wash your hands and mouth no after finishing of your meals.

Cleanliness of utensils

Clear” of utensils to be used in kitchen is very portent. They must be washed properly.

1. Firstly, utensils should be cleaned hot water to remove the food pa11 sticking to them.

2. Clean them thoroughly with a detergent.

3. Dry them after rinsing properly in < water.

4. Do not use soil to clean the utensils safe contain large number of harm bacteria?

5. Never wash carved utensils with i powder as it gets deposited in the deism rather wash them with a solution! Detergent in water.

6. Clean the place properly where utensil have been cleaned.

7. Wash and dry brushes, dusters etc. avoid foul smell in them.

8. Disposal of refuse

1. An the kitchen and store room after very meal.

2. Throw away useless items like pieces paper, cardboard, peels, and other waste collect all the waste in a covered dustbin Otherwise, insects and microorganism may grow in it.

3. Clean the tables and the floor.

4. The drains for waste water should be covered with strainers to avoid the spillage of large pieces of leftover in them.

5. The waste in the dustbin should be emp­tied in the waste-bins.

6. Wash the dustbins with a solution of detergent and disinfect it with some disinfectant. Place the dustbin at some distance from the kitchen.

7. Keep the drain clean and disinfected.

8. Kitchen should have proper drainage system to avoid breeding of mosquitoes in stagnant water.

From the above discussion, we can con­clude that personal hygiene as well as food hygiene is very important for good health.