11
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
Because of consumer demand, preservatives have been
removed from many pre-prepared foods. This together
with the changes in shopping habits to a once-a-week
shop, mean that safe handling and storage of food is
even more important than ever.
The following tips should help you to ensure that the
food in your home is in as perfect condition as possible.
“
Keep the time between buying chilled food and
placing it in your fridge as short as possible. Tests
showed that the temperature of 1 litre of orange
juice rose to 22
°
C in an hour between the
supermarket and home. It then took 11 hours to
get down to 7
°
C in the refrigerator.
“
Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as
possible. Remember that warm air is flowing in as
you are deciding what to have for tea!
“
Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air to circulate around each item.
“
Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do
NOT place in the refrigerator or freezer until
cool. (Leave food in a place as cool as possible in
order that it can then be placed in the
refrigerator or freezer as soon as possible).
“
Do NOT mix raw and cooked meat, they must be
in separate containers. Take care not to let the
meat juices drip onto other food. If the meat does
drip, remove everything and clean thoroughly.
“
Do not store food uncovered.
“
The best way to defrost food is to put it in the
refrigerator to thaw slowly.
“
Remove suspect food from your refrigerator and
clean the interior with a solution of bicarbonate of
soda in warm water (5ml to 0.5 litre of water).
“
Never allow spillages to dry and harden.
“
Ensure that food placed in the freezer is dated
and labelled and used in date order to ensure that
food is consumed at its best.
“
It is important that food is used before its “best
before” date.
“
Store eggs in the egg rack provided in the
refrigerator door. Discard any broken or chipped
eggs.
“
Regularly check the refrigerator door seal to
ensure that it is clean and free from bits and
pieces.
“
Always wash your hands with soapy water and
dry them with a clean towel before handling food.
“
Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross
contamination by not using the same work
surface or knife, without washing them
thoroughly in between.
“
Use kitchen roll wherever possible for cleaning
up food. If you use a dishcloth, be sure to boil it
frequently.
“
The fresh foods to be frozen must be fresh and of
the best quality.
“
The size of each pack should be small enough to
ensure that it is used in one go. Small packs
freeze more quickly and uniformly and give
better results.
“
Frozen food, once thawed, must not be refrozen.
Lean food keeps better and longer than fatty
food, salt reduces the storage time.
“
Wrap the food in polythene or aluminium freezing
bags or foil so that they adhere to the food and
provide an airtight seal.
“
Packaging which is swollen or has traces of
refrozen water droplets on the pack could
indicate that the product has not been kept at a
suitable temperature and that it may have lost its
original quality. Partially thawed food must not
be refrozen, it must be consumed within 24 hours.
Never exceed the storage times indicated.
“
Never place hot food, bottles or cans of fizzy drink
in the freezer as they may explode. Containers
with a lid must not be filled to the brim.
“
Do not open the door or place extra fresh food in
the freezer next to food which is already frozen as
this could cause the temperature of the frozen
food to rise and its quality and storage life to
reduce.
