Preparation
and consumption of food involves the use of kitchen and
table utensils. Cutting boards, knives, saucepans, are
used when preparing the food while chopsticks, tablespoons,
forks, plates and bowls, are used for serving. Proper
use and cleaning of them can reduce the risk of food contamination.
How
do you use your utensils for food preparation? How often
do you clean them? Let's answer the following questions
and check whether you are doing right.
If
you have to cut up a piece of raw meat and a cooked
chicken, what will you do?
Do
you use your kitchen utensils for food preparation correctly?
Let's go through the main points:
Two sets of knives and cutting boards for preparing
ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and non-RTE foods should
be kept in the kitchen. The most effective way to
eliminate cross contamination is to use separate utensils
for RTE foods and non-RTE foods. If only one set of
cutting board and knife is available, the RTE foods
should be handled first and non-RTE foods should be
handled after thorough cleaning of the cutting board
and knife. This can prevent cross contamination of
cooked foods.
Some raw foods, such as salmon and vegetables, can
be consumed raw after thorough cleaning. They are
classified as RTE foods and should be handled separately
from non-RTE foods.
All cutting boards and knives should be cleaned before
and after use, and after preparing different foods.
When having hotpots, two sets of utensils should be
provided for handling RTE foods and non-RTE foods.
Last
revision date: 06-06-2003