Food safety and hygiene

1. Module Number: 15 Food safety and hygiene

2. Introduction • Food safety and hygiene is of paramount importance to ensure that food is stored, prepared and eaten in clean, safe environments. • Food poisoning can be easily prevented by taking the following four simple precautionary measures: • wash your hands properly and keep them clean; • cook food properly; • chill food properly; • avoid cross-contamination.

3. Shopping • Do not buy dented cans or damaged packets. • Do not buy food from counters where cooked and raw meat is not separated. • Get your food home and into the fridge / freezer / cupboard as quickly as possible – don’t hang around with your friends.

4. The kitchen • Ensure that all food utensils are clean before use. • Make sure that the kitchen area is clean before you cook. • Have separate chopping boards for raw meat and ready-to-eat food.

5. Keep clean • Ensure that you have good personal hygiene, e.g. wear an apron, wash hands, tie your hair back. • Empty all rubbish containers when full, remembering to wash your hands after. • Keep all work surfaces clean. • Wash kitchen cloths, sponges and tea towels regularly. • Clean as you go – use clean cloths and wipe spillages immediately (including floors to avoid slips and trips).

6. Storing food • Use foods within their date mark, i.e. use-by and best-before dates. • Check that all food being used is appropriately stored, i.e. at room temperate, in the fridge or freezer. • Ensure that all perishable foods are stored at a safe temperature, e.g. in the fridge. • Replace all perishable foods in the fridge after use. • Make sure that raw meat, fish and chicken is stored on the bottom shelf of the fridge. • Keep eggs in the fridge, away from strong odours.

7. Cooking and cooling • Wash fresh fruit and vegetables before you eat or use them to cook. • If cooked food is to be kept, cool it as quickly as possible (ideally within 1-2 hours) and then store it in the fridge. • Cooked food should not be re-heated more than once. Always heat it until it is piping hot all the way through. • Don’t eat rare minced meat – check there is no pinkness. • Check that chicken is cooked completely by piercing the thickest part of the leg with a clean knife – juices should run clear.

8. Serving food • Before serving, keep food covered whenever possible. • Avoid laying out perishable foods at room temperature too far in advance. • Keep hot foods hot, and cold foods cold. • Keep raw foods, especially meats, completely separate from cooked and ready-to-eat foods.

9. © British Nutrition Foundation 2005