While the kitchen is an enjoyable place where you can have fun making your meals, it's also one of the most dangerous places in the home. Kitchen fires, slips, food poisoning, and cuts are all risks associated with being in a kitchen. What is your kitchen situation like? According to The United States Personal Chef Association, between 5,000 and 6,000 personal chefs own their businesses. Whether you're a personal chef, running a kitchen, or cooking your meals solo, you should take certain measures to ensure kitchen safety. Here are three areas to gauge and ensure kitchen safety.

Food Sourcing and Storage

According to the FDA, food safety begins at the grocery store. Once the food gets to the kitchen, storage determines how safe the food is. Use the following prompts to gauge how safe your kitchen is in terms of food sourcing and storage. If you disagree with any of these statements, you need to consider changing your safety precautions.

• I use shopping bags and carts to separate my grocery shopping (poultry, seafood, meat, etc.)
• I refrigerate groceries within two hours of shopping.
• I separate types of food using plastic bags, storing them in different sections of the refrigerator.
• I don't overfill the refrigerator.

Cleanliness

Use running water and hand soap to wash your hands before preparing meals. You should wash fruits and vegetables with running water. Similarly, use hot water and soap when cleaning utensils that have touched raw meat or poultry.

Kitchen Equipment

When was the last time your knives were sharpened? Dull knives can be even more dangerous than sharp ones due to the uneven cuts they make. Your stoves are a big point of concern as well. According to the National Fire Protection Association, 61% of home fires involve stoves. Your kitchen isn't safe if your appliances are poorly maintained or outdated. Risky behavior in the kitchen, such as leaving equipment unattended, failing to clean, or placing heat near combustible materials, are some of the leading causes of kitchen fires.

You can keep your kitchen safe by observing basic kitchen safety guidelines. If your knives are blunt, it's best to get professional knife sharpening for your safety. Give us a call at Master Grinding Service Inc. for kitchen support today!