Food and cooking hygiene

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Italic textBold text'Food and cooking hygiene' includes a number of routines which should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards. Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

The following are fundamental requirements:

Wear clean clothes and apron.
Wash your hands with soap and water before and after cooking.
Tie your hair back with elastic band or rubberband.
Keep the temperature of hot food above 140°F / 60°C and keep the temperature of cold food below 40°F / 4°C. Food should not sit at intermediary temperatures (defined as 40-140°F / 4-60°C) for more than 2 hours.
Use an instant-read thermometer to measure the internal temperature of cooked meats.
Keep raw meat apart from cooked meat, and wash the cutting board and knife before reusing.
Wash meat, fruit, and vegetables thoroughly before use. (although some sources (http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter10.htm) suggest washing meat spreads bacteria, that would otherwise be killed in the cooking process.
Do not cook or otherwise prepare food if feeling unwell.