It’s World Health Day today, the anniversary of the World Health Organization. This year, the theme is Food safety and WHO has released a slogan “from farm to plate, make food safe”. Food safety is not just the burden of the government and industries. You as an individual need to make sure that the food you eat is safe and free from diseases. We bring you 11 tips to keep your food safe at home
Don’t Consume Raw Baking Ingredients
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Well, the taste of cookie dough and cake batter tastes great, doesn’t it? When you are baking, do not eat foods containing raw eggs like cookie dough or cake batter. You never know raw eggs may contain harmful bacteria that can lead to food poisoning. So, no matter how tempting the batter or the dough looks, wait till it is fully baked into a delicious bakery item. It isn’t too hard, is it?
Consume Fruits & Veggies As soon as You Cut Them
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Have you seen the colour of apples or potatoes when you cut them and leave it out for too long? It gets a brownish tinge doesn’t it? Well, you must eat them as soon as you cut them instead of waiting for the colour of your fruits or vegetables to change. Fruits and vegetables that cut and stored for a little longer lose 10 to 25% of Vitamin C.
Don’t overcook or overheat Food
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You are preparing your favourite food item and end up overcooking it. Does it taste good? We are sure it doesn’t. You hate it, don’t you? Not only does overcooked or overheated food taste bad but it also loses most of its nutritious content in the process. So, the next time you are cooking food make sure you do it right.
Fry or bake at the right temperature
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To keep your food safe and full of nutrients. You need to make sure to fry it or bake it at the right temperature. To make sure it happens the right way, you could buy a food thermometer and ensure that your food is not robbed off of its nutrient content. While baking, ensure that you set the right temperature for best results.
Wash Fruits n veggies properly
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Well, this is obviously a no-brainer. Who doesn’t wash foods and vegetables properly before consuming them or using them in a dish? Well, you obviously don’t want to see a dead insect travelling in your curry, do you? It is quite an important step and you need to ensure that you do it right. You never know how many places those veggies and fruits have travelled before reaching your basket.
Keep raw food frozen and away from cooked food
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Your set of raw meat and raw eggs definitely need to be kept away from the cooked food inside the refrigerator. You obviously do not want the smell of raw meat to enter in your food and spoil it completely. The juices of the raw meat may end up leaking and cause cross contamination.
Don’t consume 4 days old Food
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You cook your food and eat it. You store the leftovers in a refrigerator, reheat it and eat it again. What if there was too much food and you couldn’t finish it all? You do not store it again. Instead, you make sure that next time you cook, it is enough to last for only a day. It is not healthy and safe to consume food which is 4 days old.
Store Food Properly
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Storing food is the right thing to do, but an even better thing to do would be to store it right. Whether you are putting food in the refrigerator, the freezer or the cupboard, you have to make sure that you store them right to prevent foodborne illnesses. It is important to store your food properly to make sure that it is safe.
Wash your Hands Before Cooking
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Isn’t that common sense? Well, as they say common sense isn’t that common anymore. Well, you need to make sure that before you cook, you wash your hands properly. You may have touched the door knob, or even the refrigerator handle when you were taking out the veggies. They contain way more germs than you think. Keep a hand wash and a clean towel handy in your kitchen.
Don’t cook for others when you are not well
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You are down with fever and have a running nose. Someone in the family asks you to cook their favourite food item. What do you do? You do not cook food. Do you know that you are not serving them a great meal but a bowl of infections? You can simply sit back and relax. Let their taste buds wait.
Do Not Let Too Many Guests in your kitchen
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We are sure you know about those annoying guests who simply love taking a stroll inside your kitchen. You don’t know where their shoes have been and you also don’t know how fit are they. Make sure you do not let a lot of guests inside your kitchen. You can use a curtain as a barrier for others to not enter your favourite spot in the house.
Starting today, make sure you follow the above steps for good health and a happier you.
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