Be The Health Inspector For Your Own Kitchen
If a health inspection took place in your kitchen today, would it pass? If you’ve ever worked in the food service industry, you’re probably familiar with those occasional (and often unexpected) visits from a local health inspector.
Health inspections at restaurants are done to ensure certain standards of cleanliness and hygiene are being followed and that it’s safe for the public to eat there. Your own kitchen doesn’t need to meet the same stringent requirements, but finding out whether it would pass one of those inspections can be a useful way to make your kitchen safer and more hygienic.
If you’ve ever wondered ever whether your kitchen would pass a health inspection, now’s your chance to discover the answer! Use this self-test to inspect your own kitchen and behaviors according to the instructions, then I’ll tell you how to determine your results near the bottom of this post.
Home Kitchen Health Inspection
All of the following statements represent important food safety and hygiene practices. Keep track of the number of statements that are not true of your kitchen or food preparation habits.
Hand Washing
- I always have soap and paper towels available for hand washing.
- I wash my hands frequently, especially after using the restroom and before preparing food.
- I maintain my fingernails and remove jewelry from my hands before preparing foods.
Shopping
- I make sure raw foods are separated from ready-to-eat foods when they are bagged at the grocery store.
- I make sure hazardous chemicals are separated from foods when they are bagged at the grocery store.
- After grocery shopping, I store cold foods (i.e. meat, milk) in the refrigerator within 2 hours.
- I avoid canned foods that are damaged and/or swollen.
Refrigerator
- My refrigerator is working properly, and the temperature inside is at or below 41°F.
- Food in my refrigerator is well spaced so that cool air can circulate freely.
- I store raw meats below all other food in my refrigerator.
- Prepared foods in my refrigerator are covered to prevent contamination.
Food Preparation
- I thoroughly rinse my fruits and vegetables before cooking or eating them.
- I defrost frozen foods by thawing them in the fridge, putting them under cold running water, using a microwave, or by cooking them from frozen.
- I cook meat thoroughly until the juices are clear.
Cleanliness
- My home is free of rodents, cockroaches, and flies.
- I wash my dishes and utensils with hot, soapy water.
- My countertops and other food preparation surfaces are properly cleaned and sanitized.
- My shelves and cabinets are clean and free of dust, and my food is stored on shelves (never on the floor).
- I promptly discard and replace damaged utensils.
- I keep my rags, towels, and cloths clean and dry.
- I sanitize my sponge daily and replace it routinely.
- My kitchen sink drains properly.
Leftovers
- I never leave leftover foods at room temperature for more than 4 hours.
- When cooking large portions of food to serve later, I rapidly cool it (i.e. using an ice bath, separating it into smaller portions, using containers that facilitate heat transfer, etc.) and store it in my refrigerator.
How Did You Do?
When you’re finished with your inspection, tally up the number of statements that were not true:
- If 0-2 statements weren’t true, you pass with an A grade.
- If 3-5 statements weren’t true, you pass with a B grade.
- If 6 or more statements weren’t true, you fail the inspection. (However, you’ll now know what you should be doing differently, which means it was a valuable learning experience!)
More Tips For A Safe & Healthy Kitchen
Were you surprised by the results of your “health inspection”?
Lots of things wouldn’t pass inspection in my kitchen – I have vitamins and pain meds in the same cabinet with my spices (!), cleaning products in the same cabinet as iron skillets, raw eggs stored above ready to eat foods in the fridge. That’s just an example of some of the things I’ve seen local restaurants lose point for.
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