Food poisoning incidents are frequent, and in order to reduce the occurrence of such incidents, many people choose to buy groceries and cook at home. Teach you how to develop good food preparation and preservation habits to reduce food safety risks.
The peak of food poisoning in May and October is ushered in in the summer
The peak period of food poisoning is from May to October each year, and there are seven main causes of food poisoning: improper storage of food, cross-contamination of raw and cooked foods, insufficient heating of food, failure to clean food preparation utensils, excessive storage of prepared food for too long, poor hygiene practices of cooking staff, and contaminated water sources.
In order to avoid eating the food in doubt, the Food and Drug Administration has put forward the "Five Principles", which include: "Wash hands", "Fresh", "Separate" raw and cooked food, "Need" to heat thoroughly, and "Must" pay attention to the storage temperature. When handling ingredients, it is important not only to ensure that the ingredients are fresh, but also to pay attention to the cleanliness of the water. After taking fresh food home, it should be refrigerated as soon as possible, and multiple sets of cutting boards, knives and other utensils should be prepared to avoid cross-contamination of raw and cooked food. Be sure to wash your hands before preparing food, bandage and wear gloves if there is a wound.
Wrong habits! Don't throw all the food in the fridge to be safe
As the weather gets hotter, it is also necessary to increase the time of food preservation, the temperature between 7-60°C is the danger zone for the rapid growth of bacteria, ensure that the temperature exceeds 70°C when heating food, keep it below 7°C when storing at low temperatures, and keep the temperature of cooked food above 60°C.
Therefore, food should not be stored at room temperature for too long, and should be consumed as soon as possible after cooking, and if there is unfinished food, it should also be put in the refrigerator as soon as possible, and it must be completely reheated if it is eaten again.
The refrigerator does not have a sterilization function!
Many people think that "it is safe to put all the uneaten food in the refrigerator", but in fact, the function of the refrigerator is only to extend the shelf life of food, and it does not have the function of sterilization. It is not uncommon for people to put food until it expires. Here are some tips for keeping food in your fridge:
• The refrigerator should only be filled for 6-7 minutes: The items in the refrigerator should be spaced apart, and the food should be stored to avoid blocking the air outlet, and the space should not exceed 7 minutes full, so that the air conditioning can be effectively circulated and the ingredients can be cooled.
• Partitioning of raw and cooked food: The food in the refrigerator with the expiration date or date of purchase should be properly sealed and stored in accordance with the partition of raw and cooked food to reduce the risk of cross-contamination, and it is best to develop the habit of labeling the expiration date or purchase date to maintain the first-in, first-out principle to ensure the freshness of the food.
• Check the refrigerator temperature regularly: Make sure the temperature in the refrigerator is maintained at 0-7 degrees Celsius and the temperature in the freezer compartment is kept below -18 degrees Celsius.
• Refrigerate uneaten cooked food as soon as possible: Avoid letting food cool before refrigerating it, as it is easy to drop the food to a dangerous temperature zone of 7-60°C, which can lead to bacterial growth. It is recommended to cool cooked food to about 60°C, which is slightly warm but not hot, before being refrigerated.
If there are too many portions to be eaten at one time, it is recommended to freeze them after aliquoting and reheat only the required portions to avoid repeated reheating and refreezing. Finally, it is important to keep the above points in mind and pay attention to the five principles of food, so that you can eat safely and healthily while enjoying your food. In particular, family members who have "gastrointestinal symptoms" or are infected with "norovirus" should also avoid food conditioning to avoid the transmission of viral gastroenteritis at home.