Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) in Preparing Home-Made Dishes: A Guide for Rural Households in East Herzegovina

Home-made dishes — cheese and kajmak, Herzegovinian prosciutto, sarma, stuffed vine leaves, savoury pies, honey, fig and wild-fruit preserves, rakija served with meze — are the heart of what every rural household in East Herzegovina offers. That very authenticity is what draws guests, but it also carries responsibility: the food you prepare and serve must be safe to eat. Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) is a set of simple, everyday procedures through which a host prevents food from becoming a cause of illness — from salmonella or staphylococcal-toxin poisoning to the spoilage of expensively prepared ingredients.

GHP is not paperwork invented for large factories. It is a logical system of habits that any household can apply in its own kitchen, without costly equipment. Together with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and standard operating procedures, GHP forms the so-called prerequisite programmes — the foundation on which every HACCP system rests. For a small host this means, in practice: if you master hygiene, temperature control, and the separation of raw from cooked, you have already put in place the largest part of guest protection.

Key message: food safety does not depend on expensive equipment, but on consistent habits — clean hands, a cold fridge, thorough cooking, and strict separation of raw from cooked. Those four rules prevent most problems.

What GHP is and why it matters for a rural household

When a guest sits down at your table, they are trusting you. A single case of intestinal infection after a meal can destroy a reputation you have built over years, and in serious cases it carries legal liability. The Law on Food of Republika Srpska and the Regulation on Food Hygiene, published in the Official Gazette of BiH, place an obligation on anyone who places food on the market — including rural households that feed guests — to ensure that it is safe. Oversight is carried out by the sanitary and market inspectorate within the Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs, while technical guidance is published by the Food Safety Agency of BiH, which has also issued a dedicated guide to safe food handling in the hospitality sector.

The good news is that the principles are the same whether you are cooking for your family or for guests — only the consistency must be raised to a higher level, because you are serving people whose health status and sensitivities you do not know (children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with allergies).

Personal hygiene

Hands are the most common carrier of microorganisms onto food. Proper and frequent hand-washing is the cheapest and most effective measure you have.

• Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds: before starting work, after every visit to the toilet, after touching raw meat, eggs or unwashed vegetables, after coughing, wiping your nose or touching your face, and after handling waste.
• Keep nails short and clean, with no varnish. Remove rings, watches and bracelets — dirt collects beneath them.
• Work clothing (an apron) should be clean and used only for the kitchen; tie back hair or wear a headscarf/cap.
• Cover cuts and wounds with a waterproof, preferably coloured plaster and a glove, so they are easy to spot if they come off.
• Anyone with diarrhoea, vomiting, fever or purulent skin infections must not work with food until recovered. Staff who prepare food are advised to have a sanitary (hygiene) medical check and a health booklet.

Cleaning and disinfection

Cleaning and disinfection are two separate steps that are often confused. Cleaning removes visible dirt and grease (water + detergent); disinfection, only afterwards, destroys the remaining microorganisms. Disinfectant does not work on a greasy surface.

The correct sequence

1. Remove food residues and coarse dirt.
2. Wash with warm water and detergent.
3. Rinse with clean water.
4. Disinfect with a suitable agent (e.g. a diluted sodium-hypochlorite/bleach solution for surfaces, or a commercial product, according to the manufacturer's instructions).
5. Let it air-dry or wipe with single-use paper — not a dirty cloth.

What to watch for

• Clean worktops, cutting boards, knives and sinks after each use, and especially between raw and ready-to-eat food.
• Cloths and sponges are breeding grounds for bacteria — wash them at high temperature and replace them regularly; do not use a sponge used for raw meat on your dishes.
• Keep cleaning and disinfecting agents clearly labelled and physically separated from food, out of the reach of children.

Temperature control

Most bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply fastest in the so-called danger zone, indicatively between 5 °C and 60 °C. The aim of temperature control is for food to pass through that zone as briefly as possible.

• Cold storage: keep the fridge at around 5 °C or below and the freezer at around –18 °C. Check regularly with a thermometer — a poorly sealing door or an overfilled fridge raises the temperature.
• Cooking: cook food, especially poultry, minced meat, eggs and stuffed dishes, until the centre reaches a sufficiently high temperature (as a rule around 75 °C in the middle of the piece). Meat juices should run clear, and the meat should not be pink near the bone.
• Hot holding: if you keep a dish hot until serving (e.g. on the grill or a hotplate), keep it piping hot, indicatively above 63 °C.
• Cooling and reheating: cool cooked food you are keeping as fast as possible (divide it into shallow containers) and refrigerate it within two hours. Reheat only once, and to boiling/steaming hot in the centre.
• Thawing: thaw meat and fish in the fridge or under cold running water, never at room temperature. Once thawed, do not refreeze.

Preventing cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful microorganisms or allergens from one food (usually raw) to another (usually ready-to-eat), directly or via hands, boards, knives and cloths. It is one of the most common causes of poisoning in home kitchens.

• Use separate boards and knives for raw meat and fish, and separate ones for vegetables, bread and finished dishes. Colour-coded boards are a practical solution.
• In the fridge, keep raw meat and fish at the bottom, in closed containers, so juices do not drip onto food that is eaten raw.
• Never put cooked meat on a plate that held raw meat without washing it first.
• Take allergens into account (gluten, milk, eggs, tree nuts, and honey for very young children). On request, tell the guest exactly what a dish contains, and avoid touching one dish with utensils used for another.

Correct food storage

• Apply the "first in, first out" (FIFO) rule: use older stock before new, and track expiry dates.
• Store food in clean, closed containers, raised off the floor, away from walls and sources of moisture. Keep dry goods (flour, pasta) in a cool, dry place, protected from rodents and insects.
• For home products you make yourself — preserves, cheeses, cured meats — conserve them properly (enough salt, acid, sugar, or adequate heat treatment and sealing) and clearly label them with the date of preparation.
• Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly before use, especially if they are eaten raw.
• Use water for drinking and food preparation from a controlled source; if you use a well or spring, test the water's safety periodically.

Records, training and inspection

For a small household, simple, tidy records are enough: fridge temperatures, a cleaning schedule, and purchasing from known suppliers. This is not just a formality — it is your proof of good practice when an inspector arrives, and a tool for you to spot a lapse before it becomes a problem. Registration of a rural household and hospitality provider is handled through APIF, with approval from the competent authorities (the RS Ministry of Trade and Tourism for the hospitality activity, subject to veterinary and sanitary conditions). It is recommended that at least one person in the household completes basic food-hygiene training.

Practical checklist — steps before and during work

1. Wash your hands and put on a clean apron before starting.
2. Check the fridge (around 5 °C) and freezer (around –18 °C) temperatures.
3. Prepare separate boards and knives for raw and for ready-to-eat.
4. Keep raw meat and fish low and closed; wash vegetables.
5. Cook food until the centre is piping hot; check that poultry is not pink.
6. Keep hot food hot and cold food cold until serving.
7. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate them within two hours.
8. Clean, then disinfect, all worktops and utensils.
9. Replace cloths and sponges; take out the waste.
10. Record temperatures and any notes in your log.

Over time, good hygiene practice becomes a routine you no longer notice — and that is precisely when it works best. Your guests remember the taste of a home-cooked meal and the warmth of the host; your job is to make sure they never remember anything bad after the meal. For detailed guidance, see the materials of the Food Safety Agency of BiH (fsa.gov.ba) and the regulations of Republika Srpska (vladars.net).