Food Safety and Safe food practices
Food borne illnesses are major public health concern and can also be fatal. Food Safety as an important part of preventing food borne illnesses. It involves proper handling, preparation, storage and consumption of food. Food can become contaminated at any point during harvesting or slaughtering process, storage, distributing, transportation and preparation. Lack of adequate food hygiene can lead to food borne diseases.
Diarrhoea diseases are the most common illnesses resulting from the consumption of contaminated food. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. Food borne diseases are also a huge financial burden to the family, therefore it is important to safeguard ourselves from them. Most instances of food poisoning can be avoided by following simple guidelines. From the time the food is purchased to the minute it is consumed, the safety of the food should be ensured. In this section we will learn how to handle food safely, thus making it safe to eat ad preventing it from spoiling. What we learn here is applicable to a wide range of environments like purchase/procurement and proper storage of food.
There are five steps to safer food
Keep Clean:
As we have discussed previously, hands should be washed thoroughly, otherwise germs from dirty hands can contaminate the food.
- Wash your hands with soap and clean water thoroughly before handling food and often during food preparation.
- Wash your hands after going to the toilet.
- Wash and clean all surfaces and equpments used for food preparation.
- Protect kitchen areas and food from insects, pests and other animals.
Separate raw and cooked foods:
- Separate raw meat, poultry and fishes/seafood from other food items.
- Use separate equipment and utensils such as knives fir handling raw foods.
- Store food in closed containers to avoid contact between raw and prepared foods.
Cook thoroughly:
- Cook food thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood
- Boil foods like dals, curries, soups, etc. For meat and poultry, make sure that juices are clear, not pink
- It consuming leftover food, reheat the cooked food thoroughly
Keep food at safe temperature:
- Do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more then two hours
- If using a refrigerator, refrigerate all cooked and perishable foods
- Keep cooked food hot prior to serving
- Do not store food too long after cooking (even in the refrigerator)
Use clean water and wholesome foods:
- Use clean water. Treat the unclean water to make it safe by either boiling it or by putting chlorine tables.
- Use ladles with long handle in your house- to fetch water from the water container or use a container with a tap
- The water container should be kept in a clean and dry place, preferably on a higher platform
- Select fresh and wholesome foods
- Wash fruits and vegetables properly before cooking or consumption (if eaten raw)
- If using packaged foods, do not use food beyond its expiry date
Dos and Don’ts while handling food:
Apart from the points mentioned above, let us learn some more Dos and Don’t for safe handling of food
Do’s
- Keep nails short and clean and avoid nail polish if your are cooking. Dirt from nails or harmful dyes from nail polish might contaminate the food.
- Whenever you are handling any kind of food, ensure that any cuts, wounds or scratches on your hands, are covered or bandaged properly, to prevent contaminating the food.
- Make sure your hair is neatly combed and tied and your head is covered with a scarf/dupatta/pallu while cooking. There should be no stray hair because they might fall into the food while cooking. Do not comb hair into the kitchen.
- Properly tuck your pallus, dupattas or any loose flowing cloths while working in the kitchen.
- Make sure you wear clean and preferably cotton cloths while cooking.
Don’ts
- Do not sneeze or cough on to the food while preparing it, or at least cover your mouth and the wash your hands immediately after sneezing/or coughing, to avoid spreading infection.
- Do not whip hands on your clothes or hair while cooking. Use a clean cloth to whip hands and wash this cloth regularly. Dry with a clean and dry towel/cloth.
- Try to avoid handing of food if you have jaundice, diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, sore throat, skin rashes, cough, cold, itching or discharge from ears, eyes or nose, or any kind of infection, otherwise your infection can spread to those who eat the food.
- Do not smoke or eat pan, gutkha, betelnuts, etc. while preparing food. Our saliva contains lots of germs, which can spoil the food.
- Do not taste food to check if it is contaminated. Even a small amount of spoiled food can cause health problems. When in doubt, throw it out.
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