How safe is your food?

Cases of food-borne illnesses and food poisoning can happen anywhere-at home, in a restaurant or at the office during lunch hour.  Here’s how to prepare, store, and serve food to lessen the risks of making yourself and others sick.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly and often for about 20 seconds, especially when you’re handling raw meat (particularly chicken and other poultry), to avoid contaminating other foods, utensils, and other areas of the kitchen with salmonella and other bacteria.
2. Separate raw meat from other foods.  Cross-contamination can transfer harmful bacteria to food that’s otherwise safe to eat.  When shopping, separate raw foods from other items n your grocery cart or basket.  At home, bag the raw meats and place them at the bottom of the freezer or fridge to prevent their juices from dripping onto other items.  Use different chopping boards and knives for raw meat and for other foods.
3. Use a clean plate. Never place cooked food on the same plate where it came from when it was still raw.
4. Throw out old food.  Check expiration dates on food labels.  Regularly check your fridge for items you may have forgotten about or have begun to smell and grow fuzzy.  At the office, encourage everyone to check the stuff they leave in the fridge.  Otherwise, suggest that the office take charge of throwing out-long staying food items on a weekly basis.
5. Thaw properly.  Never thaw meats at room temperature, which lets bacteria grow.  Instead, take frozen items out of the freezer the night before and thaw inside the refrigerator.  Or thaw under running water (never dunk it in a pan of water and leave it to thaw at room temperature).  You can also thaw frozen items in the microwave.
6. Wash utensils and surfaces properly.  Experts recommend washing with hot soapy water to ensure that any bacteria to kitchen equipment and surfaces (including the faucets) die.
7. Keep cold food cold, hot food hot.  Pack lunch in insulated bags then chuck into the fridge as soon as you arrive at work never leave perishables at room temperature (even in an airconditioned environment) for over two hours.  Refrigerator temperature should be at 4 deg. C.  Heat pack lunch in the microwave.
8. Store leftovers properly.  If you’re taking home a doggy bag, make sure you’re heading straight home so you can place your leftovers in the refrigerator immediately.  Just had food delivered?  Store leftovers in shallow containers and cover.  Discard anything that’s been standing at room temperature for at least two hours.  Throw out leftover pizza and other take-out-food that have been in the fridge for three to five days.  While freezing delays spoilage, food will also eventually rot.  Get rid of pizza that’s been in the freezer for over a month (don’t bother tasting it!).  Same with luncheon meats.  Cooked meat and poultry stored in the freezer for about 2 to 6 months should be thrown out as well.
9. Check the resto out.  Inspect the kitchen if you can, when you eat out.  Also take a peek into their washrooms, examine the utensils, and food servers.  If you’re not quite happy with the cleanliness, eat somewhere else.
10. Demand proper cooking.  The food and piping hot when it arrives at your table.  Undercooked foods may not be safe to eat.  Send your meal back, if that’s the case.