22 March 2020
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
8 Top Tips for Kitchen Hygiene
Brought to you by Silestone, Cosentino Ireland
The kitchen is the heart of the home – keep it healthy!
Kitchens are the heart of the home, and now more than ever, they’re at the centre of our daily lives. It’s where we cook, eat, relax and socialise, so it’s extremely important to take extra care to keep your kitchen clean and hygienic!
A virus is a micro-organism that cannot reproduce on surfaces or in food but can remain on them. To avoid possible infections, Maite Pelayo, microbiologist and technical spokesperson for the Silestone Institute, tells us how to protect ourselves from infections in the kitchen.
8 hygiene tips to exercise in the kitchen
- Spend a full minute washing your hands with warm soapy water, scrubbing vigorously for 15 to 20 seconds ensuring to include fingers, back of hands and wrists. Then wipe dry with a clean cloth or single-use paper towel.
- Clean your countertops and surfaces frequently with a household cleaner or with soap and hot water, rubbing them with a scouring pad intended exclusively for this purpose and leave to act for a few minutes. Rinse and dry with a clean cloth.
- Always keep common spaces clean. Don’t forget the knobs on the doors and cabinets, the light switches, the fridge handle etc..
- Cook food at a high temperature above 70º and keep it protected to avoid contamination.
- If food is not going to be consumed immediately, refrigerate it or keep it warm above 65º. Consume them as soon as possible.
- Clean dishes and kitchenware, preferably in a dishwasher, at maximum temperature.
- Change and wash kitchen tea-towels and textiles frequently after each cooking session and at maximum temperature. Leave the scouring pads and cloths to soak in 10% bleach for five minutes.
- Once the cooking is finished, do a general clean of the kitchen and the floor and ventilate the entire environment.