Fortnightly features' series: Keeping foods safe

Keeping foods safe

 

While picking and eating the right foods are essential to our health, storing, handling and preparing foods are also integral to keeping us healthy by keeping harmful bacteria and other toxic substances at bay. Here are some tips to help you understand how to properly store and handle foods to maintain them at the optimal consumption quality.

 

Grocery Shopping

 

Always make sure that the supermarket is your last stop before heading home to prevent foods from going bad, especially if the weather is hot and humid. Try to pick up the refrigerated and frozen items after you are done with the rest of your groceries so that they do not lose their cold or start thawing.

 

Storage durations of foods

 

Here is a general guideline for the storage duration of certain foods. While freezing is a good way to extend the storage life of many products, they cannot be stored indefinitely. Always check if a food texture, smell or colour has changed, it may be time to throw it away.

 

Type of food	Refrigerated	Frozen
Uncooked meat	1-2 days	3-4 months
Cooked meat	1-2 days	3-4 months
Fresh poultry	1-2 days	6-12 months
Fresh prawns and seafood	1-2 days	3-6 months
Fresh fish	1-2 days	6 months
Leafy vegetables	1-2 days	10-12 months

 

Preventing bacteria contamination

 

Bacteria contamination can often cause sickness with undesirable effects such as vomiting and diarrhoea. Follow these tips to prevent foods from spoiling or being contaminated:

 

• Keep cold foods below 4^oC and hot foods above 60^oC.
• Store meat, seafood and diary products in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• Reheat or refrigerate foods that have been prepared for more than 2 hours.
• Never keep perishable foods at room temperature for longer than 2 hours.
• Always wash your hands, utensils, preparation areas and cooking surfaces before or after handling raw and cooked foods.

Diary products

 

Milk- Even though milk is pasteurized, it must remain refrigerated to prevent bacteria growth. Throw it away if it smells sour or is curdled.

 

Eggs- While most egg compartments are located at the door of the refrigerator, it may be better to store eggs inside the refrigerator where it is less prone to temperature fluctuations that may cause spoilage. Eggs contain salmonella bacteria which can cause nasty food poisoning. It is important to wash your hands, utensils and all preparation surfaces thoroughly after handling raw eggs.

 

Meats

 

Timing is important to maintaining the freshness of meat and poultry. All meats should be refrigerated or frozen immediately from the supermarket. Meats should be thawed overnight in the refrigerator rather than letting it sit out in room temperature before cooking.

 

Meats should be cooked to a minimum of 72^oC and poultry 74^oC before serving in order to eradicate all bacteria.

 

Fruits and Vegetables

 

Wash and disinfect knives and other shared kitchen tools before cutting and preparing produce to prevent cross contamination from other raw meat or poultry.

 

Do not wash the fruits and vegetables before storage as the excess moisture may encourage the growth of moulds and cause the produce to rot quickly.

 

It is good to wash fruits and vegetables with water and a vegetable brush before cooking or serving. However, some produce such as apples, may contain a think layer of safe and edible wax to preserve its moisture.

 

Blanching or partially cooking vegetables then freezing them is a good way of extending their storage life.

 

Seafood

 

Examine fish for discolouration and texture. Slimy, off-colour or dull looking seafood is not fresh. Certain seafood such as clams, mussels, crab or lobster should be bought while still alive. Give them a tap if they are open. If they close or move their shells, they are still alive.

 

Frozen fish should be packed in moisture proof containers and always check that canned items are undamaged and consumed by the expiry date.

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