What Standards Do Kitchen Health Inspectors Require? Kitchen cleaning is one of the most neglected tasks in most homes. People don’t really get time to do dishes after every meal, check refrigerator temperature according to the food stored or even clean the counter after cooking. In fact, most households like to clean their kitchen only once a day and that is either morning or night. Rest, throughout the day, it is a very common scenario to find an average Americans kitchen in a lot of mess. But this is something an inspection officer will never tolerate and this is the reason why most states allow random inspections twice a month for ensure the residents live a clean and healthy life. Food safety and cleanliness are key ingredients to a good healthy kitchen. In this post, we’ll discuss some standards that your kitchen health inspector expects you to meet, if you don’t want to fail in the test. Refrigerator One of the best things you can do to keep harmful bacteria away from your kitchen is by keeping the refrigerator temperature at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also advised to not open the door too frequently so it stays cold. As soon as you are done with your meal, immediately put the leftovers in the fridge. The raw food should never be kept open in the kitchen as well. In short, anything that is perishable and left on the counter for more than one hour should be immediately thrown away.
Sink Dirty dishes should not be kept overnight in the sink. Wash your dishes as soon as you are done with your meal. Also, do not forget to scrub wash your sink to keep it dry and clean after every wash. Dish towels should also be washed between every use and remember to replace sponges every week.
Countertops Kitchen countertops should be sprayed with any good disinfectant and wiped clean after every use. Gradual warming of the frozen foods like meat should never be done on the kitchen countertop. Remember to check the gaps between the counter and wall, counter and appliances and so on. These gaps are usually the home for pests and insects. Seal all the gaps as soon as you see them. Similarly, warm spaces beneath the microwave, stove, and refrigerator should also be regularly checked for insects.
Fan Exhaust fan is one of the most overlooked aspects and a major reason why most households fail the inspection test. In fact, your exhaust fan is the first place your inspection officer will look at and if its not clean, he/she might not even bother to look at other places and mark you an F.
Here is the small checklist of the things a health inspector will probably notice during the inspection: ● The temperature of your refrigerator must be at 41 degrees. ● Drawers at the bottom of the refrigerator should not have any signs of meat or eggs leak. ● Count to 20 when washing your hands. ● Food preparation countertop should be away from the sink and potential sprays of dirty dishwasher. ● All the spoons, knives and ladle must be stored in a clean and dry place. They should not have dry water marks. So next time you have an inspection officer coming over, make sure you keep a note of all these things to meet the kitchen cleaning standards.