Would Your Kitchen Pass a Health Inspection?

Like most of us, you’re doing your best to keep your home clean and organized, but there’s a difference between tidy and truly clean – especially in the kitchen, where food safety can affect you, your family’s and your guests’ health. Unsure of how your kitchen would hold up to the high standards of restaurant and foodservice inspection in Canada? Don’t be afraid: We’ve rounded up some the first things that an environmental health inspector would check for, so you can keep your kitchen as food safe and sanitary as possible.

turquoise fridge in kitchen with wallpaper

Unsplash/Latrach Med Jamil

1 / 15

Keep Your Cool

Sure, your fridge is cold, but is it cold enough? When it comes to food safety, temperature is more important that you may realize – storing perishables at even just a few degrees too warm can inadvertently put your food in a temperature danger zone where bacteria can breed like crazy. What’s the best temp? According to Canadian food safety standards, your fridge should be set at 4°C (40°F) or lower. And, while you’re at it, keep your freezer at -18°C (0°F) or lower to keep frozen items at their safest.

white kitchen with metal dish rack beside white double sink

Unsplash/House Method

2 / 15

Scrub Up

Clean hands are essential whenever you’re handling food, yet many of us rush through hand washing when we’re cooking – which seriously raises the risk of spreading disease. Wash your hands frequently when you’re in the kitchen. At the very least, wash your hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds before handling or serving food and touching clean utensils, after touching raw foods, after handling dirty dishes and after sneezing, coughing or touching your face, hair or arms. Not sure how long 20 seconds really is? It’s about the length of a round of the happy birthday song, so sing it in your head (or out loud!) every time you scrub up.

orange cat sitting on wooden dining table

Unsplash/Paul Hanaoka

3 / 15

No Pets in the Kitchen

As much as you love your pets, they could be putting your food safety at risk – so do your best to keep them out of the kitchen. While it may be hard to keep your furry friends totally away from kitchen and dining areas, allowing animals like cats on countertops or tables is a serious no-no, so train your fluffy family members to stay away from the kitchen for safer food prep.

white kitchen with recipe book and wooden cutting boards on counter

Unsplash/Becca Tapert

4 / 15

Safer Cuts

While some home cooks may view grooves in their cutting board as a badge of honour, they can also be a hidden hindrance to food safety. Regularly check cutting boards for nicks and scratches, as they can be sneaky breeding grounds for bacteria. Find a few abrasions? You don’t necessarily have to throw your favourite board away – wooden cutting boards can be sanded smooth to remove the issue.

white kitchen with dishes and utensils on shelves and counter

Unsplash/Edgar Castrejon

5 / 15

Handles Up

Picture this: you’re lost in a whirlwind of flavours, grabbing spoons and spatulas from a convenient jar on the counter as you whip up a delicious meal. But which way are those utensils facing? One quick and often overlooked food safety mistake is storing kitchen utensils in a way that makes you touch their tops with your hands when you reach for them. Reduce the risk of contamination by storing utensils with their handles up (whether on the counter, in a drawer or hanging on the wall).

Unsplash/Brett Jordan

6 / 15

Think Top to Bottom

There’s more to keeping your fridge organized than colour coordination: knowing where to place certain types of foods on the shelves is critical to preventing cross-contamination, too. Separate raw foods (like uncooked meat, fish and poultry) from ready-to-eat foods (like salads, cooked foods and produce) and then use a top-to-bottom strategy for fridge storage. Place ready-to-eat foods on the higher shelves and raw foods on the bottom (in sealed containers). By keeping raw animal items on the bottom shelf, you’ll help stop juices from dripping into other food.

white kitchen shelves with dishes and pantry goods

Unsplash/Jason Leung

7 / 15

Check Your Cans

Canned food has a long storage life, but that doesn’t mean everything in your pantry is automatically safe to eat. Check canned food for damage – any deep dents or rust are a sign it’s time to throw cans away. Even though it may feel wasteful, eating from potentially compromised cans isn’t worth the risk of illness.

bottles of homemade cleaners and brush on wooden table

Unsplash/Daiga Ellaby

8 / 15

Keep Them Separated

As important as it is to maintain a clean kitchen, it’s equally important to keep cleaning products and chemicals separate from food. Even in a small-sized kitchen, dedicate a separate area to store cleaning products – and consider switching to all-natural cleaning solutions to eliminate the potential of harsh chemicals accidentally contaminating your food.

modern kitchen with brown cupboards and white counter

Pixabay/Connoman

9 / 15

Clear the Counters

More than just being an eyesore, cluttered countertops can lead to areas of dirt and debris that could come into contact with your food. Combat this by clearing your kitchen countertops of non-essentials items and regularly sanitize surfaces to keep them clean.

modern kitchen with green cupboards and clean double sink

HGTV Canada

10 / 15

Don’t Leave the Dirty Dishes

A pile of dirty dishes in the sink is a recipe for nasty smells and bacteria, so get in the habit of washing up during and right after cooking – and do it the right way. A dishwasher is likely the most effective method, but if you want to hand-wash dishes, start with a clean, sanitized sink, use hot, soapy water and hand-wash dishes with a silicone brush (sponges never really dry, so they quickly become home to the bacteria you’re trying to avoid).

stainless steel oven and microwave with blue pots and pans

Unsplash/Dane Deaner

11 / 15

Cook Cleaner

How can you expect to cook food safely if your cooking devices aren’t clean? Regularly clean your oven and microwave – inside and out – so you start cooking your meals from a clean slate.

kitchen with tiled backsplash, wall shelves and white oven hood

HGTV Canada

12 / 15

Check Under the Hood

Speaking of a clean oven, when was the last time you checked under your hood? Even if your stovetop is sparkling, dirt and debris can build up under the oven hood and land on your food during preparation. Don’t forget to clean and sanitize your oven hood and filter whenever you give your kitchen a deep clean.

modern kitchen with white kitchen island and stainless steel garbage can

Pexels/Mark McCammon

13 / 15

Put a Lid on It

Want to keep questionable smells (and bacteria) at bay in the kitchen? Get your garbage under control. Trash – and compost – bins in the kitchen should always have a lid (options that open with a step or hands-free mechanism are best for limiting contamination). And, never let the garbage linger – take it out regularly.

Unsplash/Sven Mieke

14 / 15

Towel Off

Do you use the same towel to dry your hands and your dishes? A simple switch to a two-towel system (that is, always having two separate, clean kitchen towels – one for your drying your hands after washing and one for drying cookware) can help cut back on cross-contamination.

Unsplash/Dev Benjamin

15 / 15

Hold the Ice

Grabbing a few ice cubes from a bucket in the freezer may seem innocuous, but – if you think about it – touching ice cubes with your hands is like stirring a drink with your finger. If you like to keep ice cubes at the ready, use tongs or a scoop to ensure a more sanitary situation.