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 shop
worn 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 cooked chilled foods, but be
prepared adjust cooking times and temperatures to
suit your particular oven. For example, the Fan
Oven generally requires 20-25°C lower temperature
than Conventional Oven.
6. Always ensure that cooked chilled foods are
thoroughly reheated until they are piping hot
throughout.
7. It is preferable to defrost frozen foods slowly in the
refrigerator. Alternatively, a microwave oven 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 straight away 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 worktops, 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.
HELPFUL HINTS WHEN BUYING AND PREPARING FOOD
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