Since college cafeteria food isn't exactly four-star restaurant quality, many college students choose to make their own grub in their dorm rooms. This is a perfectly reasonable option—as long as aspiring student chefs are careful. Here are a few common sense safety tips to keep in mind before attempting to cook in a dorm room
Fire Safety and Dorm Cooking
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 70% of dorm fires are the result of cooking mishaps! [1] This is especially troublesome because many dorms are in older buildings that do not contain sprinkler systems and other fire safety features. Moreover, with dozens or even hundreds of students living in a densely populated space, fire safety is a serious concern in dorms.
Here are important tips to keep in mind when cooking in a dormitory:
- Follow the rules. Many schools forbid the use of hot plates, microwaves, and other cooking equipment in rooms if this is seen as too much of a hazard. These are rules that should not be ignored.
- Do not leave cooking unattended.
- Unplug cooking equipment when it is not in use.
- Follow the safety instructions on all cooking equipment (along with common sense).
- Clean cooking surfaces thoroughly.
- Keep cooking materials away from curtains or other loose material that could catch on fire.
- In case of a fire, keep baking soda or a small fire extinguisher handy.
Food Safety and Dorm Cooking
For most dorm room residents, this is their first opportunity to live away from their parents, and the first opportunity they have to responsible for all their own food. This means that students aren't always knowledgeable about how to handle and store food safely in a dorm room. Unfortunately, food poisoning can be a serious and potentially even fatal problem, so it's important to be aware of some basic tips for handling food.
Here are some important tips for dorm room cooks to keep in mind:
- Make sure dorm refrigerators are cold enough. Follow the manufacturer temperature suggestions.
- Always wash hands when preparing food.
- Always refrigerate leftovers immediately.
- If food is spoiled, or seems like it might be spoiled, don't eat it.
- Toss any questionable leftovers.
- If cooking meat, use a meat thermometer to make sure it is fully cooked.
- Clean up thoroughly to avoid spreading bacteria.
Safety First With Dorm Cooking
Believe it or not, there are worse things than eating that gray meat loaf and icy cold mashed potatoes in the dorm cafeteria. Although cooking in a dorm room may be a terrific alternative, a fire or food poisoning may lead students to wish they had chosen the meatloaf. When cooking in a dorm, always remember basic fire safety and food safety rules.
Source
[1] Medical News Today. (August 22, 2007). Increase in college dorm fires prompts officials to issue warning.
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