Food Hygiene and Sanitation Principles
What this domain tests
Food hygiene and sanitation principles are the exam's foundation: how food becomes unsafe, how to stop that happening, and what a food handler must do daily. Questions test temperature control, cross-contamination, cleaning and disinfection, water quality, pest control and waste handling in Kenyan food premises.
Core rules
- Temperature control: keep high-risk food out of the danger zone, roughly 5°C to 63°C. Cook poultry and minced meat to at least 74°C; reheat leftovers to 75°C once only.
- Separate raw and cooked: separate boards, knives, containers and storage shelves. Raw meat goes below ready-to-eat food.
- Clean and sanitise: wash with detergent and potable water, rinse, then sanitise food-contact surfaces. Cleaning removes dirt; disinfection kills microorganisms.
- Protect food: cover it, store off the floor, keep it away from chemicals and pests.
- Use safe water: potable water for cooking, ice and handwashing; ice is a food.
- Cool quickly: divide large portions and refrigerate within two hours.
Worked example
A cook thaws chicken on a bench above a bowl of salad. Drips fall onto the salad, which is served cold. The chicken may carry Salmonella or Campylobacter; the salad receives no cooking step to kill them. Correct practice: thaw chicken in a covered container on the bottom shelf of the fridge, or in a sealed bag under cold running water, and clean and sanitise the bench afterwards.
Traps that cost marks
- Freezing does not kill bacteria; it only stops growth.
- A food that smells normal can still be unsafe.
- Wiping a board with a dirty cloth spreads contamination rather than cleaning it.
- Gloves are not a substitute for handwashing.
- Reheating food more than once increases risk; do not assume hot holding makes old food safe.