Basic Rules of Kitchen Safety
Store knives in a wooden block or in a drawer. Make sure the knives are out of the reach of children.
Never cook in loose clothes and keep long hair tied back. You don’t want anything accidentally catching fire (not to mention hair ending up in the food!).
Never cook while wearing dangling jewelry. A bracelet can get tangled around pot handles.
Keep potholders nearby and use them! Be careful not to leave them near an open flame.
Turn pot handles away from the front of the stove. Children can’t grab them, and adults can’t bump into them if they’re out of the way.
Don’t let temperature-sensitive foods sit out in the kitchen. Raw meat, fish, and certain dairy products can spoil quickly, so refrigerate or freeze them right away.
Wipe up spills immediately. Keep the floor dry so that no one slips and falls.
Separate raw meat and poultry from other items whenever you use or store them. This precaution avoids cross-contamination of harmful bacteria from one food to another.
Wash your hands before handling food and after handling meat or poultry. Hands can be a virtual freight train of bacteria.