How to Prepare Food the Healthy Way

Preparing

Don't handle food if you have stomach problems, such as diarrhoea or vomiting or if you're sneezing or coughing regularly. Make sure you check food labels before you decide what to use. Shop-bought foods may come with two dates: a use-by date and a best before date. Don’t use any foods that have passed their use-by date, even if you think they look fine, as they may not be safe to eat. Keep anything that should be refrigerated out of the fridge for as short a time as possible, especially if the temperature is high or the room is very warm. Always use different chopping boards and utensils to prepare raw meat or fish. This is because they contain harmful bacteria that can spread to anything they touch, so it’s important to keep these away from other foods. The bacteria are removed during cooking, but it’s important not to let them come into contact with any food that you’re not going to cook before eating.

Cooking

If you cook food at temperatures over 70°C, it will kill off any bacteria. If food isn't cooked at a high enough temperature, bacteria can still survive. Here are some more tips for cooking food properly.

• Follow the recipe or packet instructions for cooking time, temperature and make sure you pre-heat your oven properly.

• Food should be piping hot and you should be able to see steam coming out before you serve it. You can use a food thermometer to check that food is cooked to the right temperature.

• Cook meat all the way through. Unless you’re cooking steak or lamb and beef joints rare, it shouldn’t be pink in the middle. Use a clean skewer to pierce the meat. If it’s cooked properly, the juices will run clear. If you’re cooking meat rare, make sure that it’s properly sealed (browned) on the outside.

• Alway...

... middle of paper ...

...nd then discarded. Eating or smoking can contaminate hands. If hands are not properly washed afterward, viruses and bacteria can be transferred to food. Chewing tobacco and gum can contaminate food as well, so have food handlers do this only while on break. Don’t forget to remove aprons when leaving the kitchen area and not to wear aprons when handling garbage or cleaning work surfaces.

While safe hands, covering cuts and controlling bad habits do much to minimize the risk of food contamination, having healthy food handlers in the operation will have a much larger impact on food safety. Viruses are the leading cause of foodborne illness, which it is easily transferred from ill food handlers to food. Don’t allow food handlers to work while sick. Remind food handlers to report symptoms of sore throat with fever, vomiting, diarrhoea and jaundice caused by an infectious