Quality control and hygiene in the kitchen.
How the must be done — and what can be done
Quality control is the kitchen's own system to ensure the food is safe to eat. In Denmark, every food business is required to have quality control, and as a chef you are a central part of making it work in practice. Quality control is not just about paper and forms, but about the habits you have with your hands in the raw materials every single day.
§What is own control?
Quality control is a systematic way to find the places in the workflow where something can go wrong and make sure you have control of them. It is based on the principle of preventing rather than repairing. A good quality control program describes what you do, how you check that it is done, and what you do if something is not as it should be.
§HACCP — focus on critical control points
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. The idea is that you go through the whole way from the raw material comes in, until the dish is served, and find the points where a hazard can arise or be eliminated. A critical control point is e.g. cooling after preparation or thorough cooking of poultry — places where it is crucial that temperature and time are correct.
- 01Review the work process and identify hazards (bacteria, foreign bodies, allergens).
- 02Determine where danger should be directed — receipt storage preparation cooling heating.
- 03Establish what you check and how often.
- 04Describe what you do if the limit is exceeded — e.g. discard or reheat.
- 05Write down the inspection so it can be documented.
§Personal hygiene
The most common source of contamination is hands. Thorough hand washing with soap and water is the most important single action in a kitchen. You wash your hands when you arrive, after toilet visits, between raw and prepared, after waste handling and every time you have touched something unclean. Clean work clothes, covered hair and no jewellery on the hands are part of it.
§Cool, heat and time
Bacteria Multiply Fastest in the Lukewarm Temperature Range. Therefore, Kitchen Hygiene is Largely About Getting Food Quickly Past That Range: Keep Chilled Foods Cold, Keep Hot Food Hot, Cool Prepared Food Quickly Down, and Don't Leave Food Exposed Longer Than Necessary. Use a Clean, Calibrated Meat Thermometer so You Measure Rather Than Guess.
“Clean food is not luck – it is a habit you repeat a thousand times.”
— Kitchen master principle