10 rules of basic food hygiene (for kids who love to cook)

Kids love learning to cook – and you can’t learn without making a mess. Tossing pizza dough around. Picking the eggshell out the cake mix. Stopping them just as they’re about to sprinkle dog treats on top of the icing.  

But as soon as they’re old enough to get flour up to their elbows, it’s time to start teaching basic food hygiene for kids. 

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Dressing the part
• Handwashing
• Preventing cross-contamination
• Washing fruits and vegetables
• Cooking food properly
• Don’t lick fingers
• Cleaning up afterwards
• Cleaning kitchen utensils after use
• Storing food safely
• Knowing when food has gone off

Here are 10 basic food hygiene rules for a fun, safe, and hygienic kitchen. 

1. Dressing the part

Turn food hygiene for kids into a game of fancy dress by dressing up as a hygienic chef. Make sure your kids’ hair is tied back, their sleeves rolled up, all jewellery removed and that they are donning an apron like a pro. Adding a tall chef’s hat is optional but encouraged.

2. Cooking with kids 101: handwashing 

Learning to wash hands before cooking is one of the most important steps in teaching kitchen safety for kids. Explain to them that, although there are good types of bacteria, there are some germs that can make your stomach start making certain noises. That’s why hands should be sparkling clean before handling food to make sure you all stay healthy. 

3. Preventing cross-contamination

Teach your child the difference between raw foods and cooked foods, and why one of the most important kitchen safety rules for children (and adults too) is preventing cross-contamination. This means keeping raw foods, especially raw meat, poultry, and seafood, separate from foods that are ready to eat, like fresh fruit, vegetables, and bread.¹ Let them know that raw meat can carry harmful bacteria that may spread to other foods if they touch the same surfaces.¹

A helpful habit to introduce is using separate coloured cutting boards: one for fresh produce and bread, and a different one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. This simple step helps stop germs from spreading and keeps everyone safer in the kitchen.

4. Washing fruits and vegetables

Teach your child that fresh fruits and vegetables may look clean, but they can still harbour dirt, bacteria, and traces of pesticides from growing and handling.² Explain that they should always wash fresh produce before eating or cooking it. Show them how to rinse fruits and vegetables under cool, running water to help remove anything unwanted from the surface.²

5. Cook food properly

Cooking with kids is a great opportunity to teach your children about how cooking makes certain food safe to eat, and why different foods need to be cooked for different lengths of time. Explain that food is considered fully cooked when the middle (or thickest part) reaches a safe temperature, as this is where harmful bacteria are most likely to survive.³ For example, foods like burgers, sausages, and chicken should reach at least 70°C and stay at that temperature for 2 minutes to be safe to eat.³

6. Don’t lick fingers

Licking fingers is one of those food hygiene rules that is all too tempting to break – even for mum and dad. If you’ve got kids helping in the kitchen when baking a cake, encourage your child to use spoons for tasting the cake mix instead of fingers, and stop them from putting the spoon back into the mixture once they’ve licked it. Keep some Plenty Flexisheets to hand to wipe sticky fingers on, which might help reduce the temptation of licking them.

7. Clean up afterwards 

Once your child understands the concept of germs, it will be easier for them to understand why it’s important to wipe surfaces and clean up after cooking. Involve your child in the cleaning-up process and show them that basic food hygiene rules are fun by playing a game of ‘germ busters’. Work as a team to wipe up spillages with kitchen paper and conquer the germs with surface spray.

8. Cleaning kitchen utensils after use

Teach your child that cleaning kitchen utensils and equipment after use is an important part of staying safe in the kitchen. Explain that forks, knives, plates, chopping boards, and cooking tools can collect germs during food preparation, even if they don’t look dirty.⁴ Washing these items thoroughly with warm, soapy water after use helps remove harmful bacteria and stops them from spreading to other foods or surfaces.⁴

Involving children in simple tasks, like placing used utensils in the sink or dishwasher, helps build good hygiene habits and saves you from a chaotic kitchen. 

9. Storing food safely

When kids are helping in the kitchen, it’s a great opportunity to teach them why proper food storage and basic fridge hygiene are important for preventing food contamination. Start by explaining that different foods need to be kept in different places and at different temperatures. For example, dry foods like rice belong in a cupboard, milk and cheese should be stored in the fridge, and frozen vegetables go in the freezer.⁵

Ask them to draw a picture of vegetables, a picture of meat, and a picture of dairy products like milk or cheese. Use this activity to explain that raw meat should always be kept on the bottom shelf, vegetables in the salad drawers, and dairy products on the upper shelves.⁵ Stick the drawings on the front of the fridge to help them remember. 

Making food storage visual and hands-on is a fun way to introduce food hygiene for kids - just be careful not to reveal where the grown-ups hide their secret snacks!

10. Knowing when food has gone off

An important part of kitchen safety for kids is teaching them when food is no longer safe to eat. Explain that many foods have use-by or best-before dates on the packaging, and that these dates help tell us how long food can be eaten safely.⁶ Show them where to find these dates and why food should not be eaten once it has passed its use-by date.

You can also help them learn some simple signs that food may have gone off, such as changes in colour, an unusual smell, or a slimy or mouldy texture.⁶ Encourage them to always check with an adult if they are unsure. This helps children understand that when something doesn’t look or smell right, it’s better to stop and ask rather than risk eating unsafe food.

Top tips to make your kitchen safe for kids

Cooking with kids should feel fun, not stressful - even if it does mean wiping flour off the walls afterwards. A few of these simple steps can help keep everyone safe while they learn their way around the kitchen. Here are some tips to make your kitchen safe for kids:

• Always have an adult nearby: Little hands are curious hands. Having an adult present means you can step in quickly if something hot, sharp, or spill-prone is involved.
• Invest in child-sized utensils: Child-sized whisks, plastic knives, and plastic mixing bowls make it easier (and safer) for kids to join in. When tools fit their hands, they’re more confident - and less likely to drop, spill, or touch something they shouldn’t.
• Label cupboards and the fridge: Pictures or simple labels help kids learn where food belongs. It’s a great way to teach them that raw meat lives at the bottom of the fridge, snacks go in one place, and cleaning products don’t belong anywhere near food.
• Keep dangerous items out of reach: Sharp knives, hot pans, and heavy appliances should have a clear ‘grown-ups only’ zone. A simple rule about what kids can and can’t touch makes the kitchen feel safer for everyone.
• Expect mess...and plan for it: Aprons, a couple sheets of kitchen towel, and a clear workspace can turn chaos into manageable chaos. When kids know mess is okay (and cleaning up is part of cooking), they relax and learn more.
• Teach good habits early on: Habits stick best when they’re learned young. What starts as a reminder soon becomes second nature. So don’t be afraid to get your kids involved early!

Cooking is an important skill for all boys and girls to learn but making sure they understand basic food hygiene rules is just as crucial. Once they’ve mastered basic food hygiene for kids, you can enjoy their masterful creations with the peace of mind that they’re safe to eat. Next step: teach them how to make you breakfast in bed…

Now you've got your little chef trained in the art of kitchen hygiene, check out our guide on how to make recycling fun for kids, and they'll be recycling as well as cleaning up after themselves in no time!

References

• 1

  FSIS, Cutting boards

• 2

  USDA, Guide to washing fresh produce

• 3

  Food Standards Agency, Cooking your food

• 4

  Food Standards Agency, Why is cleaning important

• 5

  Food Standards Scotland, Safe food storage

• 6

  Food Standards Agency, Home food fact checker