Serious stuff… food hygiene in the kitchen

Soooo boring – I can hear you groaning from here!

Tough – it's the time of year when you do all sorts of crazy things, like eat outside – that is if we ever get any summer weather.

I know before I begin that you'll already be aware and observe what follows, anyway, humour me and who knows, there might be something on the list that you hadn't thought of.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, just a few basic bits and pieces :

You don't have to use fancy expensive antibacterial sprays. You can't beat hot, soapy water for your work surfaces. If you want to use a spray and I do from time to time I use Milton – if it's good enough for babies it's good enough for me – check out the baby aisle.

I hate and detest (you get my drift) dishcloths, that is to say the type that has to be washed. If you use your washing machine daily then fair enough. If you don't then it makes no sense on any level that a cloth sits and breeds all kinds of yuk. I know that you'll call me names when I say I use disposable dishcloths. I know that it might be considered wasteful and expensive but in this day and age of competitive “supermarkets” and “pound shops”, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Tea towels – yep I get that they have a place but the best way of “drying pots” is to air dry. If you have a “magic box” (aka dishwasher) you'll know that when your cycle is complete and you open the door if you wear specs they completely steam up and the contents is too hot to handle. You'll not get any more hygienic since the washing cycle is at such a temperature the contents is squeaky clean.

Did you know … that the kitchen sink contains more germs than in a bathroom? Bacteria are on our hands, on raw food and on our pets too. It's imperative that you begin with hand hygiene i.e. washing after touching pets, waste bins, before and after touching raw food and obviously before cooking.

Recently I mentioned in A bit of red wine about the lack of kitchen hygiene shown by celebrity chefs – I do appreciate that it doesn't look trendy to talk about boring stuff like education of the food/kitchen sort – may be the celebrity chefs could consider giving something back and include a nugget of knowledge – after all they reach massive audiences.