18
HELPFUL HINTS WHEN BUYING AND PREPARING FOOD
Care must be taken when handling foods in the
home. Always follow the basic rules of food hygiene
to prevent bacterial and microbial growth and cross
contamination when preparing, reheating, cooking,
cooling, defrosting and freezing foods:
1. Always ensure food you purchase is of good
quality and in prime condition. Shop at a reliable
source and buy the 'freshest' looking package -
avoid shopworn labels or produce covered in dust.
2. Avoid buying chilled or frozen products if you
cannot store them straight away. The use of an
insulated container when shopping is advisable.
3. Buy and consume foods prior to the 'Sell by' or
'Best Before' date.
4. When you arrive home, place perishable foods in
the refrigerator or freezer immediately.
Ensure they are well covered to prevent them
drying out and to prevent any possible cross
contamination with bacteria from raw to cooked
foods.
5. Follow the cooking instructions on packets of
prepacked and cook chill foods, but be prepared to
adjust cooking time and temperatures to suit your
particular oven. For example, the fan oven
generally requires 20-25
°
C lower temperature than
conventional ovens.
6. Always ensure that cook chill foods are thoroughly
re-heated until they are piping hot throughout.
7. It is preferable to defrost frozen foods slowly in the
refrigerator. Alternatively, a microwave cooker or
the defrost function on your oven may be used.
8. Always cook defrosted foods immediately after
thawing. Thawed food should never be refrozen.
9. Joints of meat and poultry should be thoroughly
defrosted before cooking.
10. Cook meat thoroughly - use a meat thermometer
if preferred, which penetrates the joint to check
that the centre temperature has reached the
required temperature (see table below).
MEAT
TEMPERATURES
Beef
Rare - 60
°
C
Medium - 70
°
C
Well Done - 80
°
C
Pork
Well Done - 80
°
C
Lamb
Medium - 70
°
C
Well Done - 80
°
C
11. If not eaten straightaway after cooking, food
should be cooled as quickly as possible (within
one hour) and then refrigerated or frozen as
required. (Do not put hot food into a Refrigerator
or Freezer).
12. In the kitchen keep work tops, chopping boards
and utensils clean with hot soapy water between
preparation stages. Ideally, keep one chopping
board for raw meat and another for other foods.
Keep your dish cloths and tea towels clean.
