A few words from the writers~

"I have learnt to be independent when it come to e-learning work as each of us are given an assigned task to be completed individually at home. I had also learnt how to create a blog as I do not know how until now. So maybe next time I can create my own blog and start a topic and allow others to discuss. This e-learning also help us to bond even further with our classmates as we often need to stay back and meet up, collate everything and allocate the things that we should do. This will help us to work with others even better in the future when we are out in the society. What we could have done better is perhaps we can find more advertisements, posters, and interesting facts from the net and put them into the blog to make it looks more interesting."

~ YUAN KAI

"I believe that this e-learning was very beneficial as it was a platform for us to be independent learners. Instead of the textbook and memorizing system, this allowed us to understand the content and broaden our knowledge.

Certainly, by studying the e-learning topic on personal hygiene, I will be able to apply it in the future. The various principles to ensure good personal hygiene will enable me to handle food safely for the benefit of the consumer and business.

Lastly, from this e-learning, I learnt that I need to manage my time better and ensure that I spend sufficient time on each subject I am taking. Moreover, it equipped me with better IT skills, as I know how to create a blog and use it as a media to share information to my classmates and others. What I could have done better was to manage my time more wisely and perhaps made the blog more organized with a wider array of media to illustrate our points such as using videos and diagrams."

 ~ MARIAH

"Carrying out a project using a blog as medium is definitely a first for me.

 It was an interactive and intersting medium for me, personally. Not only can I apply my knowledge and information that I found but it is also an easier way for me to comprehend the points. My team mates are cooperative and very efficient. However, during the submission week, two of our group members were down and were not able to attend the project meetings as a whole. It was pretty rushing and quite pressurizing for us as the dateline approaches

. 

However, we managed to pull it through as a team and I was pleased at the blog overall. Though we did rush quite a bit but we took pride in our work and ensured that the contents and information are as accurate as possible. Also, making it interesting and entertaining for our readers to read and comprehend. To sum it all up, we did well as a team but we could improve on the prioritizing part and time management bit. We could also explore other means to get our message across such as videos as mentioned by my team mates or programmed an 

interactive, educational games on our site. "

 ~NURUL

"Learning personal hygiene on my own has made me more hardworking as compared to just listening in class.

The blog creates an avenue for us to have information that can be more interactive and fun at the same time. It no longer just remains as dry old information that just needs to be remembered.

The most applicable practice that I would want to remember the most is always washing hands thoroughly after visiting the washrooms and in between handling of raw and cooked foods. I may have just indirectly cause contamination to the foods or even the equipment that will be in contact with any food.

Looking at personal hygiene as a whole, what matters most is to keep myself, the people around me and the consumers safe from foodborne illnesses and food contamination."

 ~ PAMELA

Good Morning!

 Source of Photo: http://airlase.com/kitchen-towels-suppliers/

Good morning! Good morning! Good morning! This is the type of cloth you might hear every day in the kitchen. However, good morning cloth is not a cloth-for-all. It cannot be used to wipe every single thing in your kitchen as this may cause food poisoning if you wiped the plates after you use the same cloth for wiping tables, dirty chopping boards. So maybe you can buy another cloth called the ‘Good Night’ cloth. =D 

Remember: White for food-contact surfaces; coloured for non-food contact surfaces.

Rainbow FTW~~

Not using chopping boards of different colours when preparing different types of food?Only have one chopping board in your kitchen? 

 If that’s the case be more caution to the cleanliness of the chopping board as dirty chopping boards may cause cross contamination if you handle cooked food after handling raw meat as the bacteria from the meat may be passed down if the chopping board are not washed thoroughly. So buy chopping boards of different colors for different purpose. Like red for meat, white for ready-to-eat foods, green for vegetables, blue for seafood, etc 

Different colours is the way!

 Source of Photo: http://www.isgift.com/public/new-arrivals/detail/index_html?content_id=148242

Health is wealth.

Is your business very good? Busy until you have to collect money half way when you are cooking and continue back to cooking after collecting? Well, well, well, that’s a very wrong thing to do. Money contains millions of bacteria, many people have touched it and it was passed around. Bacteria may be passed to the food if you handle food without washing your hands. So if you want to collect money, please wear a glove or find a new assistance that only knows how to collect money.

 Source of Photo: http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-04-12/entertainment/27061578_1_pain-study-kathleen-vohs

Get your boards right

Are you using the same utensils and equipment to serve food?

Ever wondered why we should not use the same utensils or equipment we use for preparation to serve? Well this may cause contamination as the utensils or equipments used to prepare the food might not been washed cleanly as the same equipments are used to serve the food. So always remember to separate utensils for preparing food and for serving to prevent contamination!

Do not mix raw and cooked food this will cause cross contamination!

 Source of Photo: http://www.johnboos.com/content/1/54

Colour code your boards!

 Source of Photo: http://teleburst.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/kitchen-tool-of-the-day-cutting-boards/

Tell your momma!

http://burisonthecouch.wordpress.com/2011/02/05/you-make-me-sick/

Remember the time when you were small, you would run to your momma crying just cause you had a small cut or you have a tummy ache?


For you food handlers out there! You should always tell your 'momma'; your management. When you are suffering from a foodborne disease or even a carrier of it, you should notify your management. Even infected cuts and sores are no small matter to just say a few words.


Such conditions may actually contaminate the food when one handles the food.


Remember this!

An infected wound will kill if go unsound!

Stay safe~

Wash those hands squeaky clean

-          Food handlers that does not wash their hands when handling food may cause cross contamination especially when they handle raw meat such as chicken. Salmonella bacteria for example are found in raw chicken. When an irresponsible food handler touched ready to eat foods without washing their hands after handling a chicken, cross contamination may occur. Our hands are one of the most efficient germs/bacteria carriers thus making direct contact with food without washing them may contaminate the food ingredients and causes us to fall ill.Washing our hands alone is not enough but to wash them THOROUGHLY. There are specific steps to hand washing.

 Do you know every step well? Check out Mariah's post called 7 Simple Steps and get those fingers scrubbin'!

Photo source http://rc.etundra.com/images/ArticleImages/FoodSafety/WashingHands.gif

Oh no you didnt!

Bad hygiene practices and irresponsible acts can endanger one's health and even life. One common habit is wiping of the hands on the apron. That is a big no-no.  Food handlers, instead,  should wear clean aprons and not wipe their hands on the apron itself.

 Aprons are worn to prevent the garment from getting dirty and not to clean your hands with. Get a kitchen towel instead. Wiping dirty pair of hands on the apron might heighten the chance of  germs and bacteria to be transferred to the food. This will result in food contamination and we do not want that to happen.

Photo source http://i856.photobucket.com/albums/ab124/SeesWhatYouDidThere/Fark/5vn7li.gif                https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFNGuXxU54-dj5E-LCAWR6iMxKQkhpxerXKICz8oZNKZH99WJtDSI2r8bDmDRxFsUje1tOstLwj0_mRFhP7IYAjImk4CntRcDrKi1vLDyx_blsE2iyuPtTB1s06rvHjAVxu_VJ66dHLO0/s640/black+and+white+gals.jpg

Not with your fingers!

While cooking it is so tempting to try the food using your fingers! Instead, use clean utensils like a tasting spoon to prevent the spread of diseases and bacteria.

Remember no double dipping!

Source of Photo: http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-stock-images-chef-tasting-food-image7046304

The guilty smoker

Food handlers should not be smoking in the kitchen or while handling food. The cigarette bud or ashes might drop into the food during preparation. This will endanger consumers  and add unwanted ingredients to the dish. Furthermore, the cigarette ashes  have black/grayish undertones which makes it difficult to detect when dropped. 

 

  "Where are you taking five?"

h Photo source http://miklasnjor.com/wp-content/uploads/main/2009_05/guilty_hand_02_smoker_q.jpg

Do the rubber duck!

Being clean always remind me of having the rubber duck in the bathtub just like Ernie from the sesame street.

http://www.rachelmarsom.com/?tag=bathtub


Scrubbing from head to toe,you would definitely be clean from dirt and other microorganisms that causes you to fall ill! You certainly won't be scratching yourself when you're cooking and contaminate the food.


So grab your ducky and reliable scrub and head down to your showers! It does not just clean,it also gives you a great feeling under the water.

SHOWERS AWAY~

Cover it up!

*Ouch!* In the kitchen, you will bound to have some cuts and burns! Remember to cover them up with bright coloured waterproof plasters. Not only does this prevent bacteria from getting into your wound but it also ensures that blood is not introduced into the food you are preparing. We don't want such 'extra ingredients' in our dish!

Source of Photo: http://thedontlovedare.blogspot.com/2012/01/day-5-where-are-you-taking-me-by-way.html

Latex is the way!

When all cooking is done and you are ready to plate your food, what should you do?

WEAR GLOVES!

Do wear gloves when handling ready-to-eat foods to prevent the transfer of germs and bacteria from our hands to the food.

Source of Photo: http://www.scimetricsinc.com/latex-gloves-industrial/

Ahhhchooo!

Source of Photo: http://www.efete.net/2009_10_01_archive.html

Are you coughing or sneezing into the food you prepare? It's going to get contaminated! Germs and bacteria can travel through the air and enter the food!

If you are sick, wear a mask during food preparation. This will reduce the transfer of bacteria. But the best is to stay at home to rest; don't handle food.

7 Simple Steps

 

Source of Photo: http://www.rafflesmedicalgroup.com/h1n1/prevent-influenza-a-%28h1n1%29/7-steps-hand-wash-technique/7-steps-hand-wash-technique.aspx

Follow these simple steps to minimize the transfer of pathogens while handling food! Do wash your hands when:

• Entering food room; before handling food.
• In between handling raw and cooked food.
• After handling waste.
• After visiting the washroom.
• After coughing, sneezing or scratching. 

Keeping vanity at bay

-         Food handlers should be a minimalist when it comes to makeup. Natural beauty is the best accessory. Wearing excessive makeup, perfume and jewelry is not allowed. 

In a kitchen, the environment is very warm thus  there are chances that the make-up pigments might go into the food through perspiration. There is also a possibility that the jewelry might be loose and contaminate the food. The jewelry poses as choking hazard too.


Less is indeed more lovely readers!

Photos sources:  http://kok.blox.pl/resource/jap3.jpg
                         :http://joeyalaiza.multiply.com/photos/album/105/Stef_the_pretty_chef

The black sheep

When an employee is sick, it is his responsibility to visit a doctor and have ample rest. Reporting to work does not only endanger his health and life but also the ones around him. He should be responsible for his own health and not the health of everyone in the whole restaurant. Ill employees coming to work may transfer their viruses to their fellow team mates, foods and consumers. So, here is an advice ladies and gentlemen, if you fall sick,


                         STAY HOME!

Photo source http://2.bp.blogspot.com/fe6L6N6AVh4/TyKtnBVt_3I/AAAAAAAAA0Q/MWLvEmqPBqM/s1600/sick_baby.jpg

First impression counts!

Good personal hygiene first starts with your appearance! Ensure that your hair and uniform is clean, neat and tidy and your fingernails are short and clean:

A clean attire and short fingernails minimizes the chance of cross contamination while working and it does not harbour unwanted bacteria. Furthermore, neat hair that is tied up (for women) prevents the possibility of your hair dropping into the food. We definitely don't want that to happen! Another preventive measure is to wear a hair net or chef hat.

Will you eat at a restaurant if the chef looks like this?

Source of Photo: http://mobile-cuisine.com/business/what-are-your-food-truck-uniforms-saying/

Now, don't these bunch of chefs look neat and tidy!

Keep Calm and Spam Soap!

Ever wondered why personal hygiene is so important? Especially in the food and beverage industry.

We handle food that will later be consumed by our customers. Customers are very valuable and we rely on them to help advertise our cafes or restaurants through the word of mouth. Thus, it is crucial that we practice good personal hygiene during the preparation of food to prevent food contamination and reduce the risk of foodborne illnesses or infections.

Source of Photo: http://nawsheenh.blogspot.com/2011/12/food-contamination-and-prevention.html

Moreover, good personal hygiene can help increase your business' reputation! Customers like to see staff handling food properly and safely.

Put yourself in their place and watch how your employees handle food. Would you want to eat at,

or buy food from, your business?

 Source of Photo: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/d/dish_it_out.asp

A warm appetizer...

Welcome to 'Hygiene Advice for the Soul'!

Here you will be able get a daily dosage of personal hygiene practices and how you can apply them in your food establishment. Look forward to reviews from our fabulous writers; Yuan Kai, Nurul, Pamela and Mariah!

We give personal hygiene advice in bite-size portions; so it's easy to digest!

Do you own a soup eatery? Do stay tuned for tips to ensure a clean and hygienic kitchen.