Kitchen Safety: Why It Matters in Every Home - Essay Sample

Introduction

The kitchen is perhaps one of the busiest areas in most of the homes as people strive to prepare various meals. While cooking is fun, it is also a significant way that helps in meeting some of the basic human needs, and therefore, kitchen safety is as essential. Kitchen safety is hence considered as the situation when the environment within the room has a minimum or no tendency of causing accidents ("Improve Your Kitchen and Food Safety," 2016). Many tools and equipment are used within the kitchen, and if they are not stored and arranged accordingly, they may be extremely dangerous to the people within the house. For instance, carelessly placed sharp knives, open fire, broken electrical appliances, and untidy cooking appliances may not only cause accidents but also contribute in spreading bacteria that may be harmful to the health and wellbeing of the people therein (Fung, Wang & Menon, 2018). In this case, understanding the basic rule of kitchen safety and acknowledging the importance of kitchen safety can help to minimize and eliminate accidents and injuries that occur due to minor mistakes.

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The Basic Kitchen Safety Rules and Their Importance

While there are a million ways that can help to enhance safety in the kitchen, the following few guidelines are vital in preventing the common accidents that occur in the kitchen. First, the kitchen mostly entails cooking and therefore encompasses the use of sometimes open fire. In this case, it is crucial to employ safety measures to ensure that the fire does not have the probability of causing accidents. Some of measures include keeping children and pets away from open fires in the oven and stoves ("Improve Your Kitchen and Food Safety," 2016). They should also not be allowed to walk underfoot, especially while pouring hot foods in the sink. It is also advisable to supervise chefs during cooking lessons. Also, it advisable to use potholders to hold hot pots, dishes, or pans to avoid burns. Backburners are also considered safe and hot foods that have been removed from the oven directly should be kept out of the reach of children. There should be fire extinguisher within the kitchen to help in putting off the fire when accidents occur. It is vital to ensure that one knows how to use fire extinguishers. Cooks are advised not to wear shirts that have long sleeves since they can easily catch fire. Long hair should be pulled back into a ponytail and if possible cover the hair to prevent hair falling into the food.

Sharp equipment such as knives is also frequently used within the kitchen. If not handled safely, they may lead to cuts, and to avoid this, one is advisable to utilize the following basic measures ("Improve Your Kitchen and Food Safety," 2016). The user should handle sharp knives with care to avoid cuts. One should, therefore, avoid distractions, especially when slicing vegetables to avoid cutting their fingers accidentally. After using or washing the knives, it is recommendable to remove them from the sink or the counter where the children can easily grab them. This helps to avoid dangerous accidents where children experience cuts using these knives (Fung, Wang & Menon, 2018). Also, spilled foods and liquids should be wiped off immediately they pour to avoid cases when both children and adults slip and fall. Sometimes it may be hazardous, especially if they fall onto sharp objects that have been kept carelessly or even fall onto open fires.

Kitchen safety also helps in minimizing and avoiding food poisoning, which is one of the most significant cases that contribute to deaths in the country. Food poisoning occurs when a person consumes food or water that is contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or other organisms that cause illnesses ("Improve Your Kitchen and Food Safety," 2016). Such accidents occur when the level of cleanliness within the kitchen is very low. In order to avoid such problems, it is advisable to keep the kitchen area clean all the time. Ensure that everyone cleans their hands before taking a meal. It is also recommendable to clean the hands before and after preparing the food. Children should not be allowed to touch kitchen pots, pans, and other dishes. They should also be taught the necessity of washing their hands before taking meals. It is also important to clean fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consumption. Drinking water should be clean, and it can be filtered or boiled to make it more safe for drinking. Ensure that foods such as meat and eggs are thoroughly cooked before served. Leftover foods should be stored in a refrigerator or a freezer immediately to avoid possible contamination by germs within the environment.

Conclusion

Kitchen safety is very vital in minimizing and eliminating common accidents that not only affect the health of the victims but also lead to death. In this case, various safety measures help to avoid frequent accidents such as experiencing cuts from sharp objects, getting burns from open fires and hot foods, slipping and falling as a result of slippery floors, and also suffering food poisoning due to consumption of contaminated foods. Therefore, while cooks focus on employing safety measures to keep third parties safe, they should also ensure that they handle the kitchen tools and equipment with care. Generally, children should be kept away from the kitchen area, and they should not be left there alone.

References

Fung, F., Wang, H., & Menon, S. (2018). Food safety in the 21st century. Biomedical Journal, 41(2), 88-95. doi: 10.1016/j.bj.2018.03.003

Improve Your Kitchen and Food Safety. (2016). American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 10(1), 21-22. doi: 10.1177/1559827615609043