Good hygiene practices in food handling in gastronomic establishments

Restaurants and gastronomic establishments 

What food hygiene guidelines must a restaurant meet? 

To ensure that the food we serve in a restaurant is free of dangerous microorganisms that could cause discomfort or disease to the consumer, we must apply guidelines based on these basic lines of action:

• Reception and storage. 
• Food handling and preparation. 
• Personal hygiene. 
• Maintenance of facilities and equipment. 
• Pest control.

We explain them below: 

• Reception and storage:
  • During the reception it is necessary to verify that the merchandise is in perfect condition and that we can store the food safely.
  • Swollen, rusty, dented or crushed cans will be discarded. 
  • On the suspicion that the taste, color or smell of a product or raw material has changed, it is discarded. 
  • We must separate cooked food from raw food and immediately place it in the refrigeration or freezing chambers if they need it.
• Food handling and preparation:
  • If a product has already been thawed, it cannot be re-frozen except when the food has been fully cooked and a new freeze can be made. 
  • To avoid cross-contamination, cutting boards for raw and cooked food should be different and preferably made of food plastic, rather than wood. Boards should be washed and rinsed after use. 
  • You must wash fruits, vegetables and even more if they are going to be taken raw. 
  • In the case of reheating food, you have to avoid doing it more than once. 
  • It is essential to respect the storage temperatures of food so that they do not exceed the so-called «danger zone» and spoil or lose their safety. 
  • According to the WHO (World Health Organization) that area is between 5°C and 60°C, when microorganisms multiply more quickly. Remember that refrigeration between 0°C and 8°C approximately and freezing below 18°C slows down or prevents this growth as long as it is done properly and respecting the cold chain. 
  • Completely cook food to ensure that microorganisms disappear. In general, it is recommended to reach 70°C so that its safety is guaranteed, control thermometers are very useful in this task.
• Personal hygiene:
  • Meal makers, mainly chefs and kitchen helpers, should wash their hands frequently before handling any food. 
  • As you can imagine, it is essential that the team of a restaurant has training in hygiene and food safety to avoid mistakes. 
• Maintenance of facilities and equipment: 
  • The kitchen should always remain clean and ventilated. 
  • Kitchen utensils should be washed with soap and water after use. 
  • We will carry out the cleaning and disinfection of utensils, machinery and, in short, all kitchen equipment (fryers, microwaves, ovens, freezers, cold rooms, etc).
• Pest control:
  • Protecting food preparation areas from pests and implementing prevention systems is another requirement. 
  • Relying on a professional disinfection and pest control service will also be very important.

Hygiene of the most common foods in a restaurant 

Below, we find more specific indications about the most common foods in a restaurant:

• Vegetables with leaves.  It is necessary to remove the damaged and dirtiest leaves, wash them thoroughly with drinking water and to disinfect them you can use products suitable for this purpose. 
• Soups and stews.  We must make sure that they reach 70ºC of cooking. 
• Eggs. They must be refrigerated to a temperature of 5ºC or lower and cooked at 63ºC unless otherwise indicated. Pasteurized eggs should be used instead of raw if they are not going to be cooked at the indicated temperature. 
• Fish.  If it is fresh, the eyes should be clean, the gills and the flesh firm. 
• Meat. For chickens and red meats, the juices should be of a light color.