14 Food Hygiene Tips That Can Help Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus
Do you feel like the threat of the coronavirus is following you? Through your job, into your car, and even into your kitchen? I want to encourage you to not be anxious or fearful, but to have hope. Although the events since the coronavirus outbreak quickly caused great turmoil in our nation, the CDC and WHO have worked hard to provide numerous ways we can do our part to prevent further spread of this virus.
These recommendations will surely cause us to change our habits, customs, and routines. Though I understand some of the recommendations may be challenging to adapt into our daily lives (as there are many activities we do in our African culture that are foreign to such concepts as social distancing), it’s our duty to do our part to in saving humanity at this time.
Therefore, in addition to the recommendations of the CDC and WHO, here are 14 food hygiene tips that can protect you and your family from infection as you grocery shop, cook, and gather to eat in your homes.
Use Utensils Instead Of Your Hands
1. It saddens me to say (as you all probably share my love for eating fufu with your hands) that it may be wise to eat with utensils instead of your hands. As recommended by the CDC, you should wash your hands as often as possible, especially after you cough or sneeze. It may be safer to enjoy your African meals with utensils. However, if you must eat with your hands, make sure that they’re thoroughly cleansed. The CDC recommends that you wash your hands with foamy soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
Cut Down Long Nails
2. Bacteria can easily live underneath long fingernails as well as artificial nails. If you’re still eating with your hands, this maybe unwise to do if you have long nails. Consider trimming down long nails and follow the CDC recommendations for washing your hands to make sure they are thoroughly clean.
Disinfect All Cooking Surfaces
3. Recent data shows that coronavirus can stay alive on certain surfaces for up to 9 days in areas at room temperature. This is especially true for glass and metal surfaces. Make sure that you’re disinfecting your kitchen surfaces thoroughly using government approved disinfectants. You can find a list of government approved disinfectants on CDC here.
Carry Hand Sanitizer/Portable Soap and Water When Visiting Markets
4. Use general precaution and hygiene measures by applying hand sanitizer or carrying portable soap and water when visiting live animal markets, wet markets or animal product markets. Make sure to use a a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Protect Yourself After Visiting Meat Markets
5. After touching animals and animal products, avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with hands.
Buy Meat Products From Clean Professionals
6. Make sure you are buying meat products from market places that you know practice good personal hygiene. Please refrain from buying meat products from market workers who handle meat products with their bare hands. They should be wearing protective gowns, gloves, and masks while professionally handling animals and fresh animal products. If they are not, please refrain from buying from them.
Wrap Your Meats Well Before Storing
7. When placing animal products in your fridge/freezer, make sure that it's sealed very well. Purchasing a spoiled/contaminated meat should be avoided t all costs. This is because if the meat is contaminated and not wrapped well, it can leak in your fridge and can contaminate the other produce it touches.
Avoid Consuming Sick Animals
8. Sick animals should never be slaughtered for consumption and dead animals should be safely buried or destroyed.
Avoid Touching Stray/Sick Animals
9. Avoid contact with stray animals that possibly live in the market. Contact with their body fluids located on the soil or structure of shops and markets should also be avoided.
Avoid Eating Stray Animals
10. Avoid eating stray animals and wild animals. This should be very clear at this point!
Designate Cooking Tools For Specific Produce
11. Designate a cutting board and knife to use only for meat products and wash all cooking tools thoroughly before and after use.
Cook Meat At Correct Temperatures
12. Cook your meat until it is fully done. Not rare. Not medium rare. Well-done. Follow these cooking temperatures to make sure that your food is safe for consumption.
Rinse All Produce With Apple Cider Vinegar Water
13. Apple Cider Vinegar has acetic acid which kills bacteria by passing through into the bacteria’s cell membranes and neutralizing it. It can dissolve common wax coating, get rid of pesticide residues and reduce bacteria and other pathogens that maybe left on your fruits, vegetables and meats. Use a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water to as a natural solution for cleansing your produce.
Wipe Down Produce Items In Containers With Disinfectant Wipes
14. We don’t know how many hands have touched the produce that finally make it into our kitchens. Wether it’s plantain chips or gari, if the produce is held in a container I would suggest wiping down that container with disinfectant wipes to safeguard yourself from any possible contamination.
Use these 14 food hygiene tips to assist and protect you as you maneuver through your kitchen during the coronavirus pandemic.
Have I missed anything? If you have any other food hygiene tips please feel free to comment or send us a message and we would love to share it with our community.
Please stay safe out there. Until next time!
Share these tips with family and friends!
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“For all those at the frontline who are working tirelessly to save lives during this period as the world is greatly affected with this CoronaVirus Pandemic- We at Keng’s Kitchen says
-THANK YOU-
for your dedication to serving and saving humanity.”
-Keng’s Kitchen Team
COVID-19 Resources and Useful Information Links Related To Food Hygiene
Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Persistence Of Coronaviruses On Inanimate Surfaces And Their Inactivation With Biocidal Agents
Interim Recommendations For US Households With Suspected/Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019
USA Environmental Protection Agency Releases List Of Disinfectants To Use Against COVID-19
