Bacteria multiply rapidly in lukewarm or raw foods, and bacteria and viruses can easily pass through our bodies to food, and you can reduce your family’s risk of foodborne illness by choosing foods in good condition and following a few simple rules for handling, storing, and preparing food, according to the website. healthychildren“.
Basic rules to avoid the breeding of bacteria
Wash your hands frequently and encourage your children to do the same.
Never put the spoon used for tasting food into food without washing it.
Keep raw foods and cooked foods separate.
Wash knives, cutting boards, and other utensils used to prepare food before reusing them for other food.
buy food
Do not buy damaged boxes or packages.
Ensure that frozen foods are solid, with no ice or water marks indicating that the product has been thawed and refrozen..
Make sure that the foods in the fridge box are cold when you buy them.
Check the eggs and discard any dirty or cracked eggs.
Meat in separate bags from fresh produce.
Avoid unpasteurized or raw juices, as well as cheese made from unpasteurized or raw milk.
food storage
Store foods at appropriate temperatures.
Storage at inappropriate temperatures is the most common cause of foodborne disease outbreaks. Cool or freeze foods as soon as they come out of their packages.
Wrap raw meat, poultry, and fish so that they do not come into contact with other foods, especially foods eaten raw.
Keep refrigerated produce in the vegetable drawer.
Keep fruits and other vegetables at cool room temperature.
Protect potatoes from light (a paper shopping bag works well) to prevent the formation of toxic solanine compounds, which are indicated by the green colour.
Get rid of potatoes that have turned green and sprouted.
– storing cereals in cupboards or in opaque containers; Its vitamin content deteriorates when exposed to light. Likewise, store oils away from light to prevent them from getting rancid.
food preparation
Wash your hands for at least 10 to 20 seconds with soap and warm water before preparing food, and wash your hands again periodically as necessary.
– If children are helping, ask them to wash If you are wearing rubber gloves, wash your hands with gloves.
Follow the safe handling labels on raw meat and prepackaged poultry.
Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or under cold running water, not in a bowl of room-temperature water.
Use separate cutting boards to prepare raw meat and raw products.
After using a cutting board or knife for raw meat, fish, or poultry, wash it with soap and hot water.
Rinse the cutting board with a solution of mild bleach (½ cup of bleach per gallon of water) before reusing it for any food.
Wash plastic cutting boards in the dishwasher if you have one.
Cook meat to the recommended temperature and use a meat thermometer if you have difficulty judging when meat is done.