Strategies for making your kitchen more allergy-friendly
Strategies for making your kitchen more allergy-friendly
For many of us, allergies are all too familiar, from avoiding pollen clouds during the summer to dealing with the inevitable dander left by our four-legged friends.
However, it’s difficult to find someone who doesn’t find their allergy somewhat bothersome, whether you or a loved one must endure such seasonal or ongoing annoyances, or completely avoid particular foods and materials.
My Beautiful Kitchen wanted to share some helpful tips you can use to make your kitchen allergy-free for both friends and family, because allergy searches, like those about pollen count, average up to 33,000 searches per month, and searches for allergy cleaning have increased by 200% from last year.
Food Allergies – Why allergy-proofing your kitchen is important?
Not all allergies are created equal, especially those related to food, even if many of them may be regarded as bothersome but treatable. Peanuts, seafood, and even sesame seeds can all trigger severe allergic reactions or even induce anaphylactic shock in those who are exposed to them.
Naturally, in order to avoid accidents and prevent allergic reactions, it is essential to handle and store these allergens properly and wash your hands frequently. However, an allergic reaction is not limited to food allergies. Your body’s reaction may occasionally be triggered by specific household cleaning chemicals, as well as by airborne pollutants like dust and mould, which many people with allergies are particularly sensitive to.
What can you do then, to limit the possibility of allergy exposure in your kitchen?
The top 5 tips you can do to make a kitchen allergy-free
Are you ready to eliminate allergies from your kitchen? Here are the top 5 tips we found for avoiding cross-contamination and staying on top of allergens when preparing and storing food that is related to allergies:
#1. Keep your food in a safe place
First and foremost, when it comes to keeping potentially harmful allergenic foods, it is essential that they are stored safely and securely, apart from other allergy-free food, to prevent allergic reactions. Clear labelling can help avoid unintentional usage, and sealed containers may be kept out of children’s reach by being placed in other drawers or on higher shelves.
Also, we suggest giving a portion of your pantry or refrigerator to foods that are particular to your diet, such as dairy or gluten, if you or a family member is avoiding these foods. This will guarantee that there is little chance of cross-contamination.
Regarding how to incorporate these areas into your kitchen, we advise either setting up a specific cabinet for dietary or allergy items or allocating the top shelf of your pantry to them, making sure they are far from other foods in your house.
#2. Reduce the possibility of cross-contamination
Along with proper storage, we emphasise that the other major cause of allergy responses in the kitchen is cross-contamination, which occurs when allergens are mistakenly combined with other foods through utensils or direct handling, or are left lingering on countertops or other exposed surfaces.
Therefore, keeping your kitchen spotless is essential if you want to avoid cross-contamination. This applies to both your worktops and any kitchenware you use to prepare food.
You can reduce cross-contamination by being careful about how you handle food allergens and using separate cutting boards. This includes labelling which kitchen tools should be used for which foods. Anyone using the kitchen should wash their hands thoroughly between cooking allergen and non-allergen foods, using separate kitchen tools for allergen foods, and consider wearing disposable gloves while preparing certain foods.
#3. Maintain your cleaning routine
It goes without saying that keeping your kitchen clean is essential when aiming to eliminate allergens, and this includes immediately washing all of your used utensils and worktops with hot, soapy water after use or after handling meals that contain allergens. If any allergens have come into contact with chopping boards, they should be properly cleaned to clear their grooves.
Moreover, appliances with many nooks and crannies, such as toasters and blenders, should be cleaned regularly to prevent allergens from being stuck in hard-to-clean areas, ensuring safe food preparation.
In general, if keeping allergens out of your kitchen is a key priority for you, you should clean your kitchen immediately after handling allergens to avoid them being missed or resting on your kitchen surfaces.
#4. Plan carefully how you use your kitchen
Creating allergy-free areas in your kitchen can be a great method to stop cross-contamination and stray allergens from getting into places they shouldn’t be. This is similar to how you keep your dietary and allergen goods.
Professional kitchens have strict processes in place, so if you have the space, it’s a good idea to keep your allergen-free utensils and tools in one area. This allows you to prepare any allergens elsewhere and helps minimise the possibility of them mistakenly being added to meals.
If you have to deal with allergy foods during the cooking process, it is better to do it towards the end or as late as possible to minimise the risk of a mix-up. Again, this will help to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
My Beautiful Kitchen recommends maintaining your allergen-free zone on the opposite side of your kitchen from where you intend to prepare allergen foods, and allergen food zones near your basin so that you can instantly clean this area after use.
In terms of allergen-free environments, areas such as kitchen islands should be avoided because their open-plan design makes it too easy for allergens to enter accidentally.
#5. How to protect yourself from allergies that are not related to food in the kitchen
Finally, what can you do to protect your kitchen against non-food allergens that can be carried in by a pet or a simple outdoor breeze?
For example, if someone has hay fever, they should avoid bringing in pollen-rich flowers or other high-allergen products. This means choosing tulips and roses instead of flowers like sunflowers and lilies.
Because some ferns and grasses may contain mould spores that could be released into the air, it is also important to take caution when keeping plants in the kitchen. HEPA air purifiers, on the other hand, may quickly eliminate these and other airborne allergies.
In addition, a dehumidifier can be quite effective at eliminating moisture from the air and fighting dust and mould. Lastly, even though it may be hot outside, you may reduce the amount of pollen that enters your kitchen by keeping your windows closed during pollen season.
Upgrade to an allergy-friendly kitchen today
Those are our top 5 tips for handling allergies in the kitchen and ensuring that your food is safe to eat while being prepared and cooked. If you think that updating your kitchen could make this easier, then you should talk to our kitchen specialists right now! Hopefully, you’ll have a lot better idea of how to avoid these in the future.
My Beautiful Kitchen would be more than pleased to guide you through each stage of the process to help you achieve your ideal kitchen that prioritizes safe food preparation!