|
|
 |
|
 |
Consumers Guide to Safe Food Consumption
Improving the health of the public can be achieved by
empowering the consumers in the many choices they make
every day and that affect their health.
Selective helpful tips:
A. When
shopping:
-
Look for certification and inspection labels.
-
Look for production and expiration dates.
-
Read safe handling labels on packaged foods.
-
Shop for refrigerated and frozen foods last.
-
Don’t buy leaky, swollen or torn packages.
-
Bag household cleaners separately.
-
Bag raw meats, poultry and seafood separately.
-
Go directly home and place perishable foods in the
refrigerator or freezer.
B. When
refrigerating food:
-
Don’t overfill the refrigerator. Cool air must
circulate to help keep food safe.
-
Refrigerate or freeze perishables, prepared food,
and leftovers within 2 hours of purchase or
preparation or within 1 hour if the temperature is
above 32°C.
-
That frozen food overnight in refrigerators. For
quick thawing, use microwave or cook the food
immediately (DO NOT DEFROST UNDER HOT WATER!).
-
When transporting food, place cold food in a cooler
with a cold source such as ice. Keep the cooler in
the coolest part of your car, rather than a hot
trunk.
C. When
preparing Food:
-
Wash hands with soap and hot water before and after
handling food, and after using the bathroom,
changing diapers; or handling pets.
-
Use hot, soapy water and paper towels or clean
clothes to wipe up kitchen surfaces or spills.
-
Wash cloths often in the hot cycle of your washing
machine.
-
Wash cutting boards, dishes, and counter tops with
hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and
before you go on to the next item.
A solution of 1 teaspoon of a chlorine solution in 1
quart or 1 liter (1 US quart = 946.35295
milliliters) of water may be used to sanitize
surfaces and utensils.
-
Cutting boards:
-
Always use a clean cutting board.
-
If
possible, use one cutting board for fresh produce
and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and
seafood.
-
Once cutting boards become excessively worn or
develop hard-to-clean grooves, you should replace
them.
D. When
cooking food:
It is important to cook foods thoroughly to kill
disease producing bacteria. Meats should be cooked until
the juices are clear. If you use a meat thermometer,
beef should be cooked to a minimum of 65.5°C, pork 71°C,
and poultry 74°C.
E. When serving food:
Use sanitized plates, bowls, glasses and utensils.
-
Never place cooked food back on the same plate or
cutting board that previously held raw food.
-
Serve the food when it will be consumed – Do not
prepare a plate and let it set in the microwave or on
the table for a few hours waiting for a member of the
family who worked late or stayed after school for an
athletic event.
When storing leftovers:
-
Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within 2 hours or
sooner in clean, shallow, covered containers to
prevent harmful bacteria from multiplying.
-
Rules for leftovers
-
2
hours from oven to refrigerator. Refrigerate or
freeze leftovers within 2 hours of cooking the food.
Otherwise throw it away.
-
5
cm thick to cool it quick. Store food at shallow
depth (about 5 cm) to speed chilling.
-
4
days in the refrigerator – otherwise freeze it. Use
leftovers from the refrigerator within 4 days.
When heating leftovers:
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
