15
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
Because of consumer demand, preservatives have been
removed from many pre-prepared food. This together with
the changes in shopping habits to a once-a-week shop,
mean that safe handling and storage of food is even
more important than ever.
The following tips should help you to ensure that the
food in your home is in as perfect condition as possible.
ª
Keep the time between buying chilled food and
placing it in your freezer 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.
ª
Keep the freezer door closed as much as possible.
Remember that warm air is flowing in as you are
deciding what to have for tea!
ª
Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air circulate around each item.
ª
Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do
NOT place in the freezer until cool. (Leave food in
a place as cool as possible in order that it can then
be placed in the freezer as soon as possible).
ª
Do not store food uncovered.
ª
The best way to defrost food is to put it in the
refrigerator to thaw slowly.
ª
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.
ª
It is important that food is used before its “best
before” date.
ª
Always wash your hands with soapy water and
dry them with a clean towel before handling food.
ª
Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross
contamination by not using the same work
surface or knife, without washing them
thoroughly in between.
ª
Use kitchen roll wherever possible for cleaning
up food. If you use a dishcloth, be sure to boil it
frequently.
