When it comes to preparing food, not only do you want to do so in such a way that makes it tastes great, you also want to get it ready safely. Failing to take precautions against contaminating your food can result in serious illness for you and your family.

Even if you know exactly what you're doing while cooking, it is easy to slip up with one thing. While it may not seem like a big deal, it can lead to the spread of bacteria that can result in things like food poisoning.

Here are the steps you should take to keep your family happy and healthy when cooking:

Cook in a clean area

Your worktops should be completely clean and clutter free when cooking, as should any other surface you're using.

Even if they look clean, you should give them a wipe down with a clean cloth to get rid of any dirt or germs that could be lingering. You should also wipe them down after you've finished cooking to reduce the risk of contamination.

Wash your hands

You should also wash your hands before starting to cook, as well as after preparing any food, handling dirty pans etc. This will stop bacteria from spreading from your hands to the food you're preparing or the utensils you're using.

It is important to use an antibacterial soap - especially after using the toilet or touching the bin - and to dry your hands on a separate towel to the one you use to dry dishes.

Store food correctly

Not only should your food be stored in the correct containers, it should also be put in the right place in your fridge and freezer.

It is important to store any raw, uncooked food away from any ready-to-eat foods. This means that foods that need to be cooked should be stored where juices won't drip on other food.

You should remember this when packing food into bags at the supermarket, as well as when you get home to your kitchen.

Don't wash raw meat

There's always been some contention over whether you should rinse raw meat or not. However, washing meat won't be enough to get rid of any potentially harmful bacteria.

Bacteria will be killed in raw meat when it is cooked through thoroughly, which makes washing it when raw redundant.

Washing your meat also risks bacteria splashing around your kitchen, causing contamination. This is why you should simply ensure your meat is cooked, which you can do with a meat thermometer.

Use different chopping boards

You should ensure that you have certain chopping boards for different things in your house. Ideally, you should have a board for raw meat and fish, one for cooked meat and another for vegetables.

This will reduce the chances of contamination. A great way to tell the difference between your boards is to use different coloured ones for certain things. This way you'll know that you haven't accidentally used your vegetable board for raw meat.

Always wash vegetables

Unless the pack of vegetables you've bought states that it is ready to eat, you should wash them before eating or preparing them. This will get rid of any bacteria - which can get onto your vegetables from other shoppers hands or during the process they went through before packing.

It can also leave your vegetables tasting better, as it will get rid of any traces of chemicals like pesticides, which can leave your food tasting odd.

Wash tea towels regularly

It is important that any hand towels of tea towels that are used in your kitchen get washed on a very regular basis.

Tea towels tend to get used a lot, which not only leaves them looking a bit grubby, but also covered in bacteria. There is little point in drying pans and plates with a dirty towel or using one to dry your hands.

Failing to wash your tea towels every few days could result in bacteria getting spread around your kitchen, even if you follow every other tip.

Hopefully, ensuring you do all of these things should help you avoid illness due to food and keep your kitchen looking clean.