Safe food handling is crucial to protecting the health and well being of consumers, especially infants, young children, pregrant women, the elderly and people with chronic illnesses or immuno-disorders. These people are more susceptible to food poisoning than normal healthy adults.
By taking some simple actions when handling food, we can prevent food from becoming contaminated, as well as prevent bacterial growth and multiplication in our food:
Wash and keep clean
Wash your hands frequently
Thorough hand-washing with warm soapy water before, during and after food handling, prevents bacteria from being transferred from our hands to our food.
- Wash your hands after you have handled raw food like meat, seafood and poultry, and before you handle cooked or ready-to-eat food.
- Wash your hands if you engaged in other tasks in the midst of preparing food.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap after using the toilet.
Keep your kitchen and utensils clean
A dirty kitchen attracts pests such as cockroaches that can carry harmful bacteria.
- Clean all kitchen surfaces like countertops with soap and hot water.
- Cutting boards can harbour bacteria. Wash cutting boards with soap and hot water. Use a brush to scrub stubborn food and dirt particles. Sanitise plastic cutting boards with chlorine solution.
- A smelly dishcloth or towel is a sure sign of bacterial growth. Wash these often in hot water.
- Kitchen sponges can harbour millions of bacteria. Disinfect kitchen sponges in chlorine bleach solution.
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Food safety when preparing food
Handling frozen food
- Do not thaw food at room temperature. It is safer to thaw food by defrosting overnight in the refrigerator, or by using the microwave oven.
- Do not hold marinated food at room temperature. Keep marinated food in a covered bowl in the refrigerator.
Handling dairy products
- Do not leave dairy products sitting at room temperature. Take only what you need to consume and return the unused portion to the refrigerator.
Handling vegetables
- Rinse all fruits and vegetables thoroughly in a basin of tap water to remove any dirt, bacteria or chemical residues.
- Soak the vegetables in a basin of fresh tap water for 15 minutes.
- Before cutting and cooking, rinse the vegetables once more in a basin of fresh tap water. Special detergents or washes for fruits and vegetables are not needed.
- Do not store ripe fruit with vegetables as ripe fruits produce ethylene gas that can cause green leafy vegetables to turn yellow.
Don't cross-contaminate
Cross-contamination occurs in food when raw food comes into contact with cooked food, for example when the juices of raw meat, poultry or seafood come into contact with ready-to-eat food.
Cross-contamination is the most common cause of food poisoning. To prevent this:
- Do not mix raw food with food that has already been cooked.
- Store raw meat, poultry and seafood at the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so that their juices do not drip onto other food. Ensure that they are tightly wrapped in plastic or are placed individually on separate plates.
- Use different cutting boards and utensils for raw and cooked food. If you only have one cutting board, always wash thoroughly with soap and hot water between uses.
- After cutting raw meat, seafood and poultry, wash the knives thoroughly before cutting other food.
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Food safety when cooking
Cook your food well
The family meal should not only be enjoyable but safe to eat. Cooking at high temperatures (above 75oC) will destroy most bacteria.
- Cook meat and poultry thoroughly. There should be no pink meat and the juices should run clear when the meat is pricked or sliced.
- Do not cook food partially as this increases the risk of bacterial growth.
- Cook seafood (like fish and cockles) thoroughly, especially when cooking for young children, people with illnesses, pregnant women and older folks.
- Keep hot food hot. Serve food immediately after cooking. Food to be served hot should be held at 60oC or above to prevent bacterial growth.
- Reheat stored cooked food at temperatures of 75oC and above to kill bacteria.
Using the Microwave
If you use a microwave oven to cook, ensure that the food is evenly cooked. Otherwise bacteria may survive and cause food poisoning:
- Watch out for 'cold spots' in the food. Stir the food midway while cooking to ensure that the whole dish is evenly cooked.
- Use a covered dish. Arrange the food uniformly and add a little water. Under a cover, the steam formed will help kill bacteria and ensure even cooking.
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Food safety when storing food
Keep cold food cold
Keep food outside of the temperature danger zone (between 5oC to 60oC), where bacteria multiply quickly.
- Keep cold food cold in the refrigerator, or on a bed of ice until it is time to serve.
Store dried food in a cool, dry place
Dried and preserved food should be stored in a cool and dry place, or kept in the refrigerator to prolong the shelf life. Warm and humid conditions can cause dried food to turn mouldy and rancid at a faster rate.
- Nuts can keep better and longer in airtight containers when stored in a cool, dry place away from light. It is best to keep them in an enclosed cupboard or in the fridge.
- Mouldy food should be discarded as it may contain harmful mycotoxins.
- Transfer dried foods that are bought loose or unused contents of opened packages of dried and preserved foods to airtight containers.
- Dried and preserved foods that will be kept for extended periods should be stored in packaging that does not allow entry of air or water vapor into the package to prevent rancidity or mouldy growth of food.
Handling Cooked Food
- Always try to cook just enough for the current meal.
- If you are cooking for more than one meal, apportion and keep the extra food in clean covered containers.
- Cooked food should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer once it is cooled.
- Do not eat cooked food directly out of the container. Always spoon out the portion you want to consume onto a separate dish to prevent contamination of the remainder.
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