Kitchen safety and cleanliness is vital to overall wellbeing. We rely on clean commercial kitchens for preparing meals and storing food—that’s why clean surfaces and utensils are just as important as clean hands when preparing food.

How do we keep our kitchens clean? Three words—kitchen hygiene products. In this blog we will look through hygiene liquids and protective gear that are essential to keeping your kitchen spotless and safe.

Types of Hygiene Liquids and Protection

Dishwash Liquid

Clean plates and utensils are essential to consuming food safely. Kitchen stains and messes are extremely common, yet they can be hard to clean with just water. Dishwash liquid is formulated to cut through grease, grime and other stubborn stains—it eliminates bacteria, making healthy eating a breeze.

PE Gloves

Polyethylene gloves are disposable protective gear that are used to keep your hands from contaminating food that is being prepared for large quantity consumption via hotels or catering. Depending on the quality and make of the PE gloves, they can vary in protection, comfort and durability.

Hand Wash Liquid

Clean hands should be the first in any kitchen process. Washing hands with soap and anti-bacterial handwash can ensure that the spread of germs and bacteria are minimized.

Floor Cleaner

Food particles, spills and grease can become a hotbed for bacterial growth and contamination. An effective floor cleaner can remove dirt and stains—killing bacteria and ensuring a sterile environment for cooking with hygiene. 

Tissue Paper

Cleaning up quick spills can help avoid persistent contamination in kitchen environments. Wiping down surfaces plays a huge role in setting up a kitchen for deep cleans. Soaked towels are not the way to ensure that cleanliness—damp fabric is a breeding ground for bacteria. 

So what’s the solution? Easily-disposable tissue paper is an absorbent alternative that assists with cleanliness on a deeper level than towels or fabric.

Microfiber Cloth

Microfiber is porous and absorbent. They have a propensity for deep cleans that overtakes tissue paper in durability, and it outclasses fabrics and towels in functionality. 

The fine fibers are more effective at trapping dirt, dust and bacteria without leaving behind stain streaks. A large majority of microfiber cloths are also designed to promote eco-friendly and sustainable kitchen hygiene.

Face Mask

The kitchen environment can be humid. It is also an atmosphere that is exposed to high temperatures consistently—becoming a breeding ground for stubborn bacteria. Kitchens with a large volume of foot traffic (like restaurant kitchens) are prone to larger contaminants

A face mask can act as a shield for chefs, janitors, dishwashers, etc. in busy kitchens to keep respiratory droplets away from the lungs—and keep the food safe from viruses and bacteria.

Bouffant Cap

Hair is another contaminating element in kitchens. A bouffant cap can keep hair from falling into food that’s on its way out of the kitchen. Bouffant caps form an essential aspect of uniforms in professional kitchens—where hygiene needs to be strictly enforced.

Apron

Another important aspect to limiting kitchen contamination is to ensure that spills and messes in the kitchen don’t follow you out of the kitchen. Aprons guard clothes and garments from spills and stubborn stains—that’s how they maintain overall kitchen hygiene.

Personal Hygiene in the Kitchen

Personal hygiene is just as important as kitchen hygiene. That is true for catering kitchens as well as professional kitchens. A clean cooking environment can eliminate odors and lingering contaminants from tainting the food and kitchen surfaces as well as stop the spread of bacteria and illnesses.

Best Practices for Handwashing and Personal Cleanliness

Hands touch everything in the kitchen. Clean hands are a number one priority for personal and kitchen hygiene. Experts have suggested that washing hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is essential for cleaning hand surfaces for handling food.

There are many key moments in the kitchen that require hand washing

• Handling food
• Handling raw meat
• Touching garbage
• After using the restroom

People who enter the kitchen, especially in professional environments, should also keep the following tips for personal hygiene.

• Keep fingernails short and clean
• Avoid touching the face
• Wear clean clothing when preparing food

Importance of Wearing PPE (Gloves, Masks, Hairnets)

Gloves, masks and hairnets are the biggest shields from hotel kitchen contamination. They protect kitchen personnel from spreading germs and contaminating food during preparation. 

• Gloves keep human skin from contaminating food and surfaces.
• Masks protect kitchen staff from respiratory droplets
• Hairnets prevent stray hairs from falling into food.

These are three key pieces of equipment that can keep your food at high standards and promote the adoption of business safety standards.

How to Train Staff on Personal Hygiene Standards

Another pillar of hygiene and kitchen cleanliness in hotels and restaurants is staff training. Grooming the staff to accept and practice personal and professional hygiene standards can help to keep your kitchen environment sterile and free of contaminants.

Here are some great tips for training kitchen staff on personal hygiene in Qatar:

• Educating staff on the importance of hygiene and how to properly use kitchen protective gear.
• Give everybody a chance to understand and demonstrate proper hygiene protocol
• Run regular refresher training to ensure that they consistently follow protocols
• Run monitoring programs where hygiene standards are regularly evaluated
• Set up hygiene practices as a compulsory part of the staff’s daily tasks

Cleaning and Disinfecting Surfaces and Floors

Kitchen countertops, cutting boards and floors are prone to spills, food stains, and contaminants. To prevent the spread of bacteria, especially in professional settings, proper cleaning and maintenance is necessary. 

 

Here are some tips for disinfecting and keeping kitchen surfaces clean and spotless:

• Use wet tissue paper to clean up quick spills as they happen to prevent stickiness
• For dedicated cleaning, make the switch to microfiber—it’s great for trapping dirt and bacteria.
• Use a disinfectant solution after cleaning to kill germs and keep the kitchen sterile

Common Mistakes in Kitchen Hygiene and How to Avoid Them

Even with good intentions, common mistakes can compromise hygiene in hotel or catering kitchens. Some of these include:

• Overuse or Misuse of Cleaning Products: Using too much cleaner can leave residue, while too little may not be effective.
• Ignoring High-Touch Areas: Areas like handles, switches, and knobs are often overlooked but are hotspots for germs.
• Cross-Contamination: Ensure that cleaning cloths and sponges used for raw meat are not used elsewhere to prevent bacteria from spreading.

 

Hotpack - Major Cleaning Liquid and Protection Wholesale Dealers in Qatar

Being the largest e-commerce food packaging company in Qatar, we have grown to become distributors of the best brands for hygiene and protection in Qatar. 

Hotpack currently serves 23 locations across the Middle East and the UK. We also own a large chain of food packaging supplies in Gulf, American and CIS countries. This connectivity and our capacity to fulfill orders of larger quantities makes us a major cleaning liquid and protection wholesale dealer in Qatar. 

Free standard shipping

Whenever you make a standard purchase over 100 QAR, your shipping charges are dropped! Get your order faster, and save money with Hotpack’s delivery service.

Pickup Available

In a hurry and need your order quickly? Hotpack offers timely pickups at our distribution centers.  

Easy Returns

Not happy with our products? No problem! Hotpack’s no-hassle return policy makes it easy to bring back products that were unsatisfactory.