Healthy Food Storage

Its great if you all have been trying out our recipes at home. Well now i am just adding a little bit of additional food storage information for your own benefit. As many people are not aware of this, which is very vital for healthy living.

Food poisoning is frequently caused by bacteria from food that has been poorly stored, handled or cooked. Food contaminated with food poisoning bacteria may look, smell and taste normal. If food is not stored properly, the bacteria in it can multiply to dangerous levels.
Food poisoning bacteria grow and multiply fastest in the temperature danger zone between 5°C and 60°C. It is important to keep high risk food away from this temperature zone. 



High risk foods include:

•          Meat
  
•          Poultry such as chicken and turkey
  
•          Dairy products
  
•          Eggs
  
•          Small goods such as salami and ham
  
•          Seafood
  
•          Cooked rice
  
•          Cooked pasta
  
•          Prepared salads such as coleslaw, pasta salads and rice salads
  
•          Prepared fruit salads.
• 
  

Storing food in the fridge

Your fridge temperature should be below 5°C. The freezer temperature should be below -15°C. Use a fridge thermometer to check the temperature in your fridge.

Freezing food safely

When shopping, buy chilled and frozen foods at the end of your trip and take them home to store as quickly as possible. On hot days or for trips longer than 30 minutes, try to take an insulated cooler bag or icepack to keep frozen foods cold. Keep hot and cold foods separate while you take them home.

Storing cooked food safely

When you have cooked food and want to store it:Put hot food into shallow dishes or smaller portions to help cool the food as quickly as possible. Don’t put very hot food into the refrigerator. Wait until steam has stopped rising from the food before putting it in the fridge.

Avoid refreezing thawed food

Food poisoning bacteria can grow in frozen food while it is thawing, so avoid thawing frozen food in the temperature danger zone. Keep defrosted food in the fridge until it is ready to be cooked. If defrosting using a microwave oven, cook the food immediately after defrosting.

Store raw food separately from cooked food

Raw food and cooked food should be stored separately in the fridge. Bacteria from raw food can contaminate cold cooked food, and the bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels if the food is not cooked again.

Always store raw food in sealed or covered containers at the bottom of the fridge. Keep raw foods below cooked foods, to avoid liquid such as meat juices dripping down and contaminating the cooked food.

Choose strong, non-toxic food storage containers

Make sure your food storage containers are clean and in good condition, and only use them for storing food. Cover them with tight-fitting lids, foil or plastic film to prevent the food drying out and to prevent anything from falling in. Do not store food in opened cans. 

Please take this seriously guys! and put it in practice!

From the food team

S.K