Medihub - Medical Information - Lifestyle & General Wellness

Health Tips- Preventing Food Poisoning

1. Washing your hands before cooking

A food safety study found that contamination occurs when you switch between foods during preparation without washing your hands in between. Even though you may have washed them before cooking, it is still important to wash throughout the food handling process.

To effectively eradicate any germs, it is necessary to wash vigorously for up to 20s with soap and water. Simply rinsing is not sufficient to remove any bacteria.

2. Washing food produce just before cooking

While it may reduce the hassle of preparation, washing your vegetables and fruits right after you return from the market and storing them in the refrigerator may not be a good idea as the moisture would encourage mould and other microbes to grow. Instead, it is better to clean them just as you are about to cook.

Also, remove and bin the outer layer of lettuce and cabbage as they may contain a high level of pesticides or contaminants.

3. Washing all fruits

Regardless of whether the fruit has edible or inedible skins, it is important to wash them all carefully. Bacteria present on the surface of inedible skin can still be transported into the flesh of the fruit by a cutting knife.

Use a scrub brush to remove any dirt and undesirables from the surface while rinsing with water. Remove any stems from tomatoes, grapes and other produce for additional prevention.

4. Dish towels

Dish towels are able to retain and spread nasty bacteria if used too frequently for all purposes. It should only be used to remove moisture from cleaned hands. Disposable kitchen towels and antibacterial wipes should be used to wipe down kitchen counter and cutting boards.

5. Do not leave meals warming on the stove or oven

Bacteria can survive in a wide range of temperatures. Even those the food may still be warm to the touch, it can still spoil and cause digestive problems. You should stow any foods in the refrigerator if it is more than 2 hours.

Shallow containers are helpful in getting foods to cool quickly, thus restricting bacterial growth.

6. Setting the right temperature for your refrigerator

The ideal temperature range for a refrigerator to be effective against bacteria growth is between 1-5 ^oC, while the freezer should be at 0^oF.

7. Cooking meat

The colour of the meat while cooking does not indicate that it is sufficiently cooked. For meats to be cooked, it should reach a temperature of 62^oC. Thawed meat can turn brown quickly leading you to falsely assume that it is done, while some lean meats might still look pink when they are actually cooked.

Get a meat thermometer and stick it into the middle of the meat to ensure that the desired temperature is achieved.