Food Safety at home

Food is essential for life and a good and healthy food is very much important for a healthy living. The best and safest of foods is the one prepared and served hot at home. Unfortunately there might be actions and inactions concerning food preparation and storage at home that might make our foods less safe for consumption. Let’s look at four simple steps to food safety at home.






Cleaning

1. Keep the kitchen clean. At best the kitchen should be the cleanest place in the entire household. Wash and clean surfaces (kitchen counter and sink) after each use with hot soapy water.
2. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and under running before handling food. Do well to wash in-between your fingers, back of your hand and nails.
3. Wash fruits and vegetables preferably with salty solution even if you intend to peel them as bacteria can be transferred from outside to inside during peeling or cutting 

Separation

1. Keep fresh meat and eggs separate from fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator and when shopping
2. Use separate cutting boards, knives and utensils for raw meat, fish and eggs and for raw and uncooked produce such as fruits and vegetables
3. When you need to use same cutting surfaces and utensils, do well to wash and clean with hot soapy water before usage.

Cooking

1. Make sure foods are well cooked. Do not overcook as this destroys important nutrients in the food.
2. Always serve and eat food when hot

Refrigeration

1. Leftover foods should be refrigerated quickly. At best within two hours or less.
2. Pack food into neat shallow plastic containers as this will chill the food faster
3. Meat, fish, eggs and milk do spoil quickly and hence should be kept refrigerated
4. Do well to thaw food in the refrigerator and not on the kitchen counter or the sink
5. Immediately take out and properly dispose of food upon signs of spoilage or when expired.

Image Credit: Fairfax County

About contributor

Ernest Amoah Ampah holds a BSc Biochemistry from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana and a Master of Public Health  from the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Ernest specialises in occupational health & safety, environmental health, epidemiology, health policy & management and biostatistics.  

Posted in: Food Safety, Wellbeing