5 Food Safety Tips to Stay Safe

Eating healthy means more than just eating foods high in nutritional value. It involves making sure the food you are eating won’t land you at a doctor’s clinic.

According to WHO (World Health Organization) statistics, food-borne and water-borne diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 2 million people worldwide, annually.

It is important to be consistent in practicing safe food handling at home. Stay safe by following these 5 food safety rules.

5 Tips for Food Safety:

1. Keep Clean:

Follow hygienic habits – clean your hands, work surfaces, and kitchen equipment before and after cooking. Keep separate chopping boards for vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods. And wash produce thoroughly just before cooking.

2. Separate Raw and Cooked Foods:

Keeping raw and cooked food separately cuts down the risk of cross-contamination. For example, if raw meat is stored above cooked food, blood and fluid may drip down the cooked food and contaminate it.  Also, use different knives and washcloths for raw and cooked food and store food in separate containers.

3. Cook Thoroughly:

Proper cooking kills almost all the bacteria. Cooking should be thorough and adequate, with the temperature reaching at least 70oC in the core of the food, to ensure adequate and equal heat penetration.

4. Keep Food at Safe Temperature:

It means maintaining the storing temperature at a level where the microbial count is reduced to a minimum or completely stopped. “Store vegetables in a cool place and milk should be stored at 5o to 6oC”.

5. Use Safe Raw Materials:

Using safe water, choosing food processed for safety like pasteurized milk, and not using packaged food beyond its expiry date are safe practices that will ensure you do not catch a bug.