12 electrolux
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
Because o
of c
consumer d
demand, p
preservatives h
have b
been rremoved ffrom m
many
pre-p
prepared ffoods. T
This ttogether w
with tthe c
changes iin sshopping h
habits tto a
a
once-a
a-w
week sshop, m
mean tthat ssafe h
handling a
and sstorage o
of ffood iis e
even m
more
important tthan e
ever. T
The ffollowing ttips sshould h
help yyou tto e
ensure tthat tthe ffood
in yyour h
home iis iin a
as p
perfect c
condition a
as p
possible.
•
Keep the time between buying
chilled food and placing it in your
fridge as short as possible. Tests
showed that the temperature of 1
litre of orange juice rose to 22°C in
an hour between the supermarket
and home. It then took 11 hours to
get down to 7°C in the refrigerator.
• Keep the freezer door closed as
much as possible.
• Do not push food together too
much, try to allow air to circulate
around each item.
• Cool cooked food as quickly as
possible but do NOT place in the
refrigerator until cool. (Leave food
in a place as cool as possible in
order that it can then be placed in
the refrigerator as soon as
possible).
• Do not store food uncovered.
• The best way to defrost food is to put
it in the refrigerator to thaw slowly.
• Ensure that food placed in the
freezer is dated and labelled and
used in date order to ensure that
food is consumed at its best.
• It is important that food is used
before its “best before” date.
• Always wash your hands with
soapy water and dry them with a
clean towel before handling food.
• Keep work surfaces clean and
avoid cross contamination by not
using the same work surface or
knife, without washing them
thoroughly in between.
• The foods to be frozen must be
fresh and of the best quality.
• The size of each pack should be
small enough to ensure that it is
used in one go . Small packs freeze
more quickly and uniformly and give
better results.
• Frozen food, once thawed, must
not be refrozen. Lean food keeps
better and longer than fatty food,
salt reduces the storage time.
• Wrap the food in polythene or
aluminium freezing bags or foil so
that they adhere to the food and
provide an airtight seal .
• Packaging which is swollen or has
traces of refrozen water droplets on
the pack could indicate that the
product has not been kept at a
suitable temperature and that it
may have lost its original quality.
Partially thawed food must not be
refrozen, it must be consumed
within 24 hours. Never exceed the
storage times indicated by the
manufacturer.
• Never place hot food, bottles or
cans of fizzy drink in the freezer as
they may explode. Containers with
a lid must not be filled to the brim.
• Do not open the door or place
extra fresh food in the freezer next
