What should food handlers do before preparing food?

Before preparing food, it’s essential for food handlers to ensure that personal items are out of the kitchen. This practice helps maintain a safe and hygienic environment, minimizing the risk of contaminants entering food preparation areas. Personal items, such as bags, coats, or other non-food-related items, can harbor bacteria or other harmful substances that could be transferred to food.

By keeping personal belongings out of the kitchen, food handlers uphold food safety protocols and protect the health of customers. This practice aligns with critical sanitation standards, ensuring that only necessary equipment and ingredients are present in areas where food is prepared.

Focusing on the other options, checking for food allergies in customers is important for serving meals safely but is not a prerequisite for food preparation itself. Preparing all food items at once might compromise food safety and quality, especially if different ingredients require different handling. Listening to kitchen music, while it can improve morale, does not pertain to food safety practices and shouldn’t be prioritized over maintaining a clean workspace.