People’s germs are a major source of foodborne illness, so all chefs and kitchen staff should practice good personal hygiene to ensure food safety.
The term hygiene refers to conditions and activities that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases; this SOP defines the standard hygiene policies and procedures that food and beverage production workers, such as chefs and kitchen owners, must follow.
Personal Hygiene Standards for Kitchen Staff / Chef:
- Always arrive at work station with clean hair, teeth cleaned, and bathed daily.
- Keep fingernails short, clean, and polish-free; artificial nails are not permitted for any food preparation workers.
Chefs Policy for Smoking, eating, and gum chewing:
- Chef/Kitchen staff should not smoke in working places, and smoking or chewing tobacco is not permitted in food preparation facilities.
- When drinking water in the F&B production area, always use a closed beverage container.
- Kitchen personnel should refrain from chewing gum or consuming confectionery during food processing.
How Should Kitchen Staff or Chefs Wash Their Hands?
- It is essential to wash one’s hands according to hygiene standards and at the proper time.
- Hands should be washed vigorously and thoroughly with soap and warm water beneath fingernails and up to the forearms for at least 20 to 30 seconds.
- Hands must also be washed at the following times or scenarios:
- Before preparing food or handling equipment.
- As frequently as required during food preparation when contamination develops.
- After using the toilet and before returning to or entering your kitchen.
- Wash your hands after handling or dealing with raw foods and before handling or working with ready-to-eat or cooked meals.
- Wash your hands after touching your face, nose, hair, or any other area of your body, as well as after sneezing or coughing.
- After disposing of rubbish, handling cleaning chemicals, picking up dropped food items, and so forth.
Proper attire for the Chef / Kitchen Staff:
- At all times, all kitchen personnel should wear appropriate and proper clothes.
- While on duty, wear a clean cloth with sleeves and non-skid, close-toed work shoes.
- Always wear your apron on the job site as needed.
Appropriate Hair Restraints and Jewellery for Kitchen Staff or Chefs:
- Always wear a hair net or cap that completely covers all hair in any food processing location.
- Keep beards and mustaches neat and trimmed.
What should the Chefs do in case of any Cuts and Burns while working?
- If you cut a finger, the most important action is to control the bleeding by immediately applying direct pressure to the wound.
- When a burn occurs, it is most important to wash the burn with room-temperature water.
- Consult the in-house superiors/ doctor for first aid and further treatments.
- Bandage any cut, abrasion, or burn that has broken the skin.
- Cover bandages on hands with gloves and finger cuts as appropriate before handling food.
Food Handling and Sanitation Standard Procedures:
- Ensure the cleanliness of wholesome foods and make sure to only buy from reputable purveyors.
- Whenever applicable, buy only government-approved or certified meats, poultry, fish, dairy and egg product.
- Handle food directly with as little contact as possible: make use of tongs, spatulas, or other utensils instead of hand whenever possible.
- Use clean sanitized cutting equipment and work tables.
- Clean and sanitize cutting surfaces & equipment after handling raw, poultry, meats, fish, or eggs before working on other food.
- Follow the ’Clean as you go method i.e., do not wait until the end of the work day.
- Always wash raw fruits and vegetables thoroughly before processing.
- When bringing food out of the refrigerator, do not bring out more than you can process in an hour.
- Keep food covered whenever possible unless it is used immediately.
- Do not let any perishable food remain in the temperature danger zone for more than one hour.
- Boil leftover gravies, sauces, soup, and vegetables before serving.
- Don’t mix left-over with freshly prepared food.
- Chill all ingredients for protein salads & potato salad before combining.
- Chill custard, cream fillings, and other hazardous food as quickly as possible by pouring them into shallow, sanitized pans.
- Always cover the food items and put them into a refrigerator without any delay.
- Do not stack the pans when kept in the refrigerator.
- Cook all pork products to an internal temperature of at least 150º F (65º C).
Food Packing:
Packaging is just as important as the product. Packaging is the customer’s first point of contact with the chef/kitchen. The primary purpose of the packaging is to keep the food safe. So, it’s worthwhile to invest time in packing.
- Become familiar with industry regulations and ensure that foods are packed in environmentally friendly containers only.
- Ensure the containers are leakproof
- Containers must be resistant to heat or relevant to that
- When packing, the chef/kitchen must make sure that the heavy weight items are at the bottom and the light weight items are on top.
Thank you for joining us!
- The chef can prepare any dish in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions.
- Please ensure that the raw materials and cooking ingredients are of high quality.
- When posting the food on the Fresh Food app, please fill in all the details, including the ingredients used, Veg / Non-Veg, Foods Self expiry details, availability time from and to, and so on.
- If the items cannot be made ready/are not available after posting, please remove the post. If someone ordered, please send them a message with the details of the non-availability, either directly or through Fresh Food customer support.
- The chef’s payment will be credited within 20 days of completing the transaction.
- If you have any questions, please contact Fresh Food customer service via email at info@freshfood.com.my