What’s wrong with this photo?
The answer is the huge potential for cross contamination between raw and ready to eat foods – the biggest sin in the kitchen!
Cross contamination is the transfer of bacteria from raw food, unclean utensils, and unclean surfaces to clean surfaces and ready to eat food. This most commonly is introduced during preparation making it extra important to keep your kitchen contamination free.
When using coloured chopping boards it’s important to ensure that they’re situated far away from one another. By placing the blue raw fish board, the yellow cooked meat board and the red raw meat board next to one another, the the possibility of cross contamination is high. Juices and residue caused whilst cutting easily mix between raw and ready to eat foods.
Boards are coloured for a reason. Be sure to think about the places in the kitchen where cross contamination can thrive.
How cross contamination spreads in your kitchen
It’s also worth noting that the plastic storage containers placed on the raw meat and cooked meat boards present even more chances for bacteria to spread from the raw meat board throughout the kitchen (ready to eat board, work surfaces, hands, fridges etc).
Be sure to keep raw meat and fish totally separate from ready to eat food preparation. To find out more about dealing with cross contamination and achieving a Level 5 Food Hygiene Rating we recommend giving us a call on 01737 824039 or email us at contactus@foodsafetyguru.co.uk .