Food Safety in the Home
Purchasing Stage
The following are a few 'safety tips' for you to use while shopping:
- Pick up hot foods toward the end of the shopping trip. Try to keep these separate from frozen foods in the shopping trolley.
- Pick up cold, frozen or refrigerated foods at the end of the shopping trip, to minimise its non-refrigeration time.
- Do not leave frozen or refrigerated food in the boot or interior of your car, as even with air-conditioning, the temperature in your car is in the 5-60 șC 'danger zone' for bacterial growth. It is a good idea to keep a chilled cooler in your car to put the frozen and refrigerated food in when shopping. This will help to keep it cool in hot weather.
- Ask the packing person to pack the raw meats separately from the rest of the fresh, un-packaged food.
- Do not buy 'swollen' or 'blown' cans. This may indicate the presence of bacteria. Also, do not buy cans with fractures, rust, dents (especially around the rim) or those that are leaky.
- When using self-service salad bars, do not touch the food with your hands, or taste the food using your fingers.
- At the deli, ensure that staff use food safety precautions such as separate tongs for raw and 'ready to eat' foods.
Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination can also occur when raw food, such as raw meat is prepared on a bench which is then used for cutting other raw and cooked foods.
How do I prevent it? - Cover Food
- All food should be well covered or placed in a sealable container, not placed directly onto shelving.
- Raw foods, especially meat, should be separated from each other.
- Raw food should always be stored below cooked foods in the refrigerator to prevent it from dripping onto other foods.
- Use separate utensils and cutting boards when preparing fresh, 'ready to eat' foods (eg. salads) and foods to be cooked (eg. raw meats).
- Do not place cooked foods onto plates or boards that have had raw foods placed on them, without washing them thoroughly first.
Personal Hygiene
Washing your hands thoroughly is a good way to reduce the chance of contaminating food with bacteria.
You must wash your hands before handling food and after:
- Going to the toilet
- Handling raw food
- Blowing your nose
- Handling garbage
- Touching any parts of your body
- Smoking
- Every break
- Handling animals
Wash your hands with soap and warm water and don't forget the backs of your hands, wrists, between fingers and under fingernails.
Storage, Thawing and Cooking
Why is correct food storage important?
Storage
Frozen food should be kept at -15 to -18 șC.
Thawing
Freezer Storage (for best quality)
Food can deteriorate over time. To ensure the quality and safety of food, it should only be stored for a certain time. The following tables contain household food items and their recommended storage times.
| Product | Recommended Maximum |
|---|---|
| Bacon (unsmoked) | 2 months |
| Beef | 6 months |
| Bread (baked) | 2 months |
| Chicken | 6 months |
| Cooked spiced dishes | 2 months |
| Crab | 3 months |
| Crayfish | 3 months |
| Fish | 3-4 months |
| French fried potatoes | 6 months |
| Green vegetables | 6 months |
| Ice cream | 2 months |
| Lamb | 6 months |
| Meat pies | 4 months |
| Prawns | 3 months |
| Turkey | 6 months |
| Veal | 6 months |
| Food | Storage Temp (șC) | Shelf Life |
|---|---|---|
| Seafood | 0-3 | 3 days |
| Meat | 0-3 | 3-5 days |
| Minced meat & offal | 0-3 | 2-3 days |
| Cured meat | 0-3 | 3 days |
| Poultry | 0-3 | 3 days |
| Fruit juices | 0-4 | 3 days |
| Milk | 1-4 | 5-7 days |
| Cream | 1-4 | 5 days |
| Cheese | 0-4 | Variable (1-3 months) |
| Oil, fat & margarine | 2-4 | Variable (up to 6 months) |
| Butter | 0-4 | 8 weeks |
In the supermarket, always make sure you check the 'best-before' or 'use by' date marked on products - particularly high risk foods, such as dairy products.
Cooking
Food should be cooked thoroughly to kill any harmful bacteria, especially foods such as minces, sausages, hamburgers and rolled roasts. These foods have a higher level of contamination.
Cooked food should be cooled until it stops steaming and placed in the refrigerator/freezer within one hour.
Previously cooked food should be reheated until it is piping hot. Microwaves are a good way to reheat food quickly and minimise bacterial growth.
Reheating of foods should occur only once.
Thawing in the microwave is safe and effective when set to the defrost cycle. It should only occur when the food is to be used immediately.
Ensure your refrigerator is not overcrowded. Air will not circulate properly and temperature may increase allowing bacteria to grow.
Reviewed: 23 July 2008
[ Up: Food Premises | Forward: Information For Food Retailers ]