What Are The Basic Food Hygiene Rules?

If you work in an environment where food is prepared, cooked, or served, you must know how to cook, clean, chill, and prevent cross-contamination safely. This is sometimes known as the four Cs of food hygiene. We explore the four Cs in more detail below:

The Four Cs

Cleaning

A clean environment and strict cleaning processes ensure that bacteria are not spread throughout the kitchen and do not contaminate food, which could be harmful if consumed. To maintain a clean environment, it is essential to adhere to a thorough cleaning schedule, including tasks such as mopping, wiping surfaces, and scrubbing sinks multiple times a day. You must also dispose of waste properly and safely. 

Personal hygiene should be a priority when working in the kitchen. Staff must wear suitable and clean clothing when working with food, with their hair tied back or covered with a hairnet. You shouldn’t wear any jewellery, except a wedding band, when working in a kitchen. 

Effective hand washing is also important when handling food. Kitchen staff should wash their hands.

• After cleaning (including after changing bins)
• Before handling any food
• After handling raw meat or fish
• After touching a door handle, a light switch, or a cash register

Cooking 

To ensure that any harmful bacteria are killed during the cooking process, you must ensure that your produce reaches the correct internal temperature for the recommended length. To ensure you are cooking food safely, follow these guidelines:

• Don’t reheat food more than once
• When reheating food, the internal temperature should reach at least 80°C
• Follow instructions on the food packaging and cook for at least the specified amount of time, at the correct temperature
• Use a temperature probe to ensure your food is cooked through
• Cook the meat to the correct temperature, until the juices run clear. Refer to the table below for more information.

Chilling

Bacteria grow quickly in the ‘danger zone’, between 4°C and 60°C. Therefore, foods that need to be stored chilled, such as raw produce and finished dishes, should be kept below this temperature. 

To ensure your food stays fresh and free of bacteria, you should:

• Chill foods and refrigerate within two hours
• Don’t leave hot food to sit out for more than two hours, and keep the temperature above 63°C
• When unpacking ingredients, ensure there is no time for products to reach room temperature / defrost before chilling or freezing them again.
• Defrost foods in a fridge and not at room temperature
• Keep your fridge between 1°C and 5°C 
• Keep your freezer below 18°C

Cross-Contamination

Mishandling food can sometimes lead to cross-contamination, which allows bacteria to spread unknowingly throughout a kitchen. Harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella, could cause illness if consumed. Raw foods, such as chicken and other meat, must be kept away from ready-to-eat foods, such as finished dishes, bread and cheese. 

To ensure you don’t unknowingly contaminate food, you should:

• Use colour-coded chopping boards for different food products
• Wipe down surfaces after preparing meat and fish
• Wash your hands and other equipment in between handling different foods
• Ensure your fridge is organised so that raw foods are on the bottom, in sealed containers to stop leakage
• Sauces that have been used to marinate foods should not be used unless it has been cooked afterwards

While holding a food hygiene certification isn’t a legal requirement, all staff working in an environment where they handle or are near food must demonstrate that they can safely handle food and equipment in any way relevant to their role. Kitchen porters, cooks, cleaners, kitchen managers, and front-of-house staff must show food hygiene skills.

Staff could take a Level 2 food hygiene qualification to learn all necessary skills and procedures or receive training equivalent to Level 2, which a supervisor or manager could provide. 

Either route is acceptable, as long as you consistently demonstrate food-handling skills when visited by an environmental health officer from the Food Standards Agency. 

Some food hygiene certifications won’t expire. However, the industry recommends that you retake any certification every three years to ensure you are updated with the latest food safety regulations and best practices. We offer a Level 2 Food Hygiene course that remains valid for three years, which can be retaken and renewed easily online within a few hours.

Suppose you want to learn about maintaining a commercial kitchen's cleanliness and adhering to the standards set by the Food Standards Agency. In that case, your staff must be certified in Level 2 Food Hygiene or trained to a Level 2 equivalent. At HSE Docs, we offer a certified Food Hygiene Level 2 course, which can be completed online. 

Not only will the course teach you the basic rules for food hygiene, but the certification is also recognised by local authorities and Environmental Health Officers, which may count towards your Food Hygiene Rating

Our level 2 food hygiene course covers these basic principles: 

• Personal and kitchen hygiene
• Risk assessment and control measures
• Temperature control and its importance
• Cross-contamination risks
• Hazards and how to avoid them.

If you have any questions about the courses we offer or want to find out more, contact our team, who will be happy to help.