safefood
Food Safety Factsheet - July 2008
safefood Food Safety Advice
Whether you are doing a small
top-up shop or a regular weekly or monthly shop, it is important
to handle food carefully to keep it safe. safefood has produced
this simple guide to help us all when buying, handling, cooking
and storing food.
In the shop...
• Buy foods from reputable, clean and hygienic sources
• Avoid buying food with
damaged or torn packaging, bulging or dented cans, and dirty or
cracked eggs. These foods could be spoiled or could leak onto other
foods
• Check ‘use by’
and ‘best before’ dates to make sure that you can keep
the food until you intend to eat it. You will find 'use by' dates
on foods that are very perishable, such as cooked meat products,
prepared foods and salads. Foods should not be eaten after the end
of the 'use by' date as this could be a health risk. 'Best before'
dates are used for less perishable foods and give an indication
of when food will be of the best quality rather that indicating
its safety. So when the best before date runs out it doesn't mean
that the food will be harmful, but it might begin to lose its flavour
and texture. The exception to this is with eggs that should not
be eaten after the 'best before' date
• When out shopping,
leave your food shopping until last. Also plan your journey in the
shop, ideally buying chilled and frozen foods just before the checkout
and then take them straight home to the refrigerator and freezer.
Never leave food in a hot car
• Buy products labelled
“keep refrigerated” only if they are stored in the refrigerator
and feel cold to the touch. Only buy frozen foods if they are frozen
solid. Frozen foods like corn, peas and berries should feel loose
in the package. If they are one big lump, they may have been thawed
and refrozen. Their quality will be poor
• Pack your food items
carefully. Pack raw foods such as raw meat, poultry and seafood
separately from ready to eat foods such as prepared salads and bakery
products. You can ask the shop attendant to place raw foods in plastic
bags to protect other foods from drips and leaks
Travelling home...
• Don’t buy chilled or frozen food during your lunch
hour unless you can keep it in a fridge or freezer until you go
home
• Use a coolbag or coolbox
to keep your groceries cold during transport, particularly in warm
weather or if you have a long journey home
In the home...
It’s important that you unpack your groceries as soon as you
get home to make sure that chilled and frozen foods do not warm
up, which could raise the temperature enough for harmful bacteria
to grow, especially in warm weather.
safefood also has ten simple
steps to help keep your food and your kitchen safe:
1. Wash hands regularly
Always wash your hands before and after handling any food, particularly
raw meat. Wash with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds,
creating a lather all over and dry thoroughly.
2. Keep the fridge cold
Maintain a temperature of no more than 5°C in the fridge. If
your fridge is too warm, it might not keep food safe. Ideally, keep
a fridge thermometer inside your fridge and check the temperature
regularly. Don’t use a mercury thermometer because it could
break and contaminate food. Aim to keep the coldest part of your
fridge (usually the bottom shelf above the salad bin) at 5°C
or below.
3. Refrigerate perishable food
as soon as possible
Take chilled and frozen food home as quickly as possible and put
it in the fridge or freezer straight away. Remember, that ‘use
by’ and 'best before' dates will only be accurate if the food
is stored according to the instructions on the label, such as 'store
in a cool dry place' or 'keep in the fridge once opened'.
4. Keep raw meat and poultry
separate from other foods
Store raw meat and poultry in sealable containers at the bottom
of the fridge, so they don’t touch, or drip onto other foods.
This is to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading.
5. Defrost frozen food thoroughly
The safest way to defrost food is in the fridge. Allow at least
24 hours for every 2-2.5 kg (4-5 lbs).
When defrosting raw meat or poultry, put it on the bottom shelf
of the fridge on a plate or tray and make sure it cannot drip onto
other food. This is to help prevent harmful bacteria from spreading.
NEVER re-freeze thawed food.
6. Regularly disinfect and
replace kitchen sponges and dishcloths
Your kitchen sponge or dishcloth is the perfect place for bacteria
to grow - including the ones that cause foodborne illness. If you
have used a dishcloth or sponge to mop up juices from raw meat,
never use it to wipe other kitchen areas without replacing it with
a clean cloth or cleaning it thoroughly by scalding it with boiling
water or steeping it in a bleach solution.
7. Scrub that chopping board
Always wash chopping boards and other utensils with hot soapy water
after preparing raw meat or use separate chopping boards to prevent
the spread of dangerous bacteria to other foods
8. Don't see red
Poultry, pork and meat that has been minced, skewered or rolled
such as burgers, sausages and kebabs should be cooked thoroughly
and never served rare or pink in the middle. When meat is chopped
or minced, any bacteria present are moved around and into the centre
of the food. These meats must be cooked thoroughly until piping
hot all the way through, the juices run clear and until there is
no pink meat left to kill any bacteria that could cause food poisoning
9. Cool cooked foods
When you have cooked food and you are not going to eat it straight
away, cool it as quickly as possible (within two hours), cover it
and put it in the fridge. It is important that leftover cooked rice
is quickly cooled and then refrigerated. Dividing food into smaller
portions and putting it in a shallow dish can help to make it cool
more quickly. Remember to use clean dishes and utensils for cooked
food.
10. Reheat food thoroughly
Refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within three days and always
reheated until they are piping hot all the way through and NEVER
reheat food more than once. Soups, sauces and gravies should be
reheated until they start to boil. Keep stirring to make sure they
reheat evenly.
For more information on food
safety call safefood 0800 085 1683 or visit www.safefood.eu
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