Chef Combo's Fantastic Adventures

Kitchen & Food Safety

Encouraging children to taste new foods is the key to building a healthy diet.

Ages 4 and 5 are the perfect time to begin teaching safety habits. Be sure to review basic kitchen safety with children first.

General Kitchen Safety Tips

1. Never leave children unsupervised when cooking or eating.
2. Make safety habits a routine for all activities.
3. Limit children's involvement to developmentally appropriate tasks.

   Here are the tasks that 4- and 5- year-olds can do:

• Grease pans
• Knead and shape dough
• Measure ingredients
• Open packages
• Peel bananas
• Place toppings on food
• Pour
• Separate broccoli or cauliflower florets
• Sift flour
• Slice soft foods
• Spread jelly, peanut butter, etc.
• Stir
• Tear lettuce
• Wash fruits and vegetables
• Wash work areas
4. Demonstrate and explain how to use equipment before children begin.
5. Color-code utensils and equipment. Use one color for items adults can use and another color for items children can use.
6. Turn off and unplug each appliance immediately after use.
7. Wipe up spills right away to avoid slippery floors.
8. Take your time. Accidents happen when we are in a hurry.
9. Have children use plastic serrated knives for spreading or slicing soft foods such as bananas.

Working With Blenders
Some of the recipes used in Chef Combo's® Fantastic Adventures require a blender. Follow these guidelines when using a blender with children:

1. Only allow an adult to remove food from the blender.
2. Allow children to put food into the blender container and push the buttons under adult supervision only.

Working With Ovens and Stoves
Four- and five-year-olds should not handle hot appliances, pots or pans. Handling these is an adult responsibility. Whenever preparing cooked recipes with children around, follow these guidelines:

1. Turn utensil handles toward the center of the stove, away from children.
2. Remind children that burners and utensils, such as cookie sheets remain hot even after being turned off or removed from the oven.
3. Teach children how to tell if the oven or stove is turned off by first looking at the position of the dial and then at whether a red light glows.
4. Tape a safety line behind the stove/oven for children to stand behind.

Food Safety
General Food safety Tips
Working with food provides the opportunity to teach children about germs.

1. Disinfect the food preparation area with a solution approved by state licensing guidelines.
2. Wash hands with soap and warm water before working with food. Wash for at least 20 seconds or the amount of time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" twice.
3. Wear aprons or cover-ups.
4. Instruct students to keep their fingers and cooking utensils out of their mouths.
5. Instruct students to keep their fingers out of the food being prepared.
6. Wash all utensils with very high-temperature, soapy water after use and rinse well.

Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness

1. Throw away food that has been left out for more then 2 hours.
2. Refrigerate foods such as milk and meat until you are ready to use them. Keep foods that require refrigeration at 40¡ F or less.