The key to healthy eating is basing your diet on starchy carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, cereals and potatoes and eating at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

However, the healthiest diet in the world is still not going to protect you from food poisoning if your kitchen would make Kim and Aggie blush. To keep safe, make sure you follow the 4 Cs (if only your tutors made things this easy to remember):

Cleaning -Wash your hands properly with soap and hot water after going to the toilet or before touching food.

Chilling - Keep food that belongs in the fridge, in the fridge! When you are stocking your fridge, keep raw meats on a lower shelf than cooked meats to prevent our next C...

Cross-contamination - Don't allow raw meat, poultry and unwashed raw vegetables to come into contact with each other. Cross contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning so keep raw and cooked foods separate and remember that germs can spread if you use the same knives or chopping boards even if there is no direct contact.

Cooking - Cooking your food properly so it's piping hot all the way through will not only make it taste better but, more importantly, will kill any germs. This is true for re-heating leftovers as well as cooking things for the first time.

Hungry for more?

General web advice about healthy eating and food safety - www.eatwell.gov.uk

Healthy Nosh for Less Dosh Leaflet - www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2005/may/healthynoshwales

More information from the Food Standards Agency Wales

www.food.gov.uk/wales
wales@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
Phone 029 2067 8999

Photo © Food and Drink Federation - www.foodlink.org.uk

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