How to Avoid Food Poisoning -
8 Essential Tips
Food poisoning is a disease that everyone would surely want to avoid. Although most cases of food poisoning are temporary, they can also lead to severe and long-term health issues. The most common cause of poisoning is careless food handling, underscoring the significance of food hygiene in reducing the risk of food poisoning. In this blog post, we share eight tips to help you avoid food poisoning and promote food hygiene.
The 8 essential tips are as follows:
1. Cool Food Properly
2. Heat Food Carefully
3. Use Clean and High-Quality Ingredients in Cooking
4. Maintain the Cold Chain
5. Maintain Good Hygiene
6. Handle Meat with Extra Care
7. Get a Hygiene Passport
8. Reinforce Your Expertise in Hygiene Training
1. Cool Food Properly
After cooking and eating, there is often some food left over. It's not advisable to leave leftover food at room temperature for an extended period. To prevent food poisoning, it is critical to cool food promptly. The food should reach +6 degrees Celsius within four hours. Food should not be left at room temperature for more than four hours.
2. Heat Food Carefully
The ideal temperature range for microorganisms that cause food poisoning to proliferate is between +6 degrees Celsius and +60 degrees Celsius. This temperature range can be considered a danger zone, and leaving food in it for an extended period increases the risk of food poisoning. Therefore, most foods should be heated to over +70 degrees Celsius, and meats should be heated to over +75 degrees Celsius when cooking. When reheating food in a microwave, ensure that it is heated uniformly throughout.
3. Use Clean and High-Quality Ingredients in Cooking
When preparing food, make sure that the ingredients you use are clean and of high quality. Not all microbes are visible to the naked eye, so it's essential to always clean all vegetables, especially before use. Also, wash raw, edible roots before and after peeling.
4. Maintain the Cold Chain
Store food at the correct temperatures during all stages of preparation and transportation. If you purchase frozen products on a hot summer day, ensure that they remain cold during the journey home. It's particularly important to ensure that vacuum-sealed and gas-protected packaged fish and meat products stay cold.
5. Maintain Good Hygiene
Remember to wash your hands before cooking and between different cooking stages. Keep your hair secured and avoid touching your face during food preparation.
6. Handle Meat with Extra Care
Always keep raw meat separate from other food items, such as vegetables or ready-made meals. Never taste raw ground meat. Use utensils and cutting boards dedicated to meat handling, and do not use them for other food items. Always wash your hands after handling raw meat.
7. Get a Hygiene Passport
One of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of food poisoning is to acquire expertise in food hygiene, which is proven by obtaining a hygiene passport. The hygiene passport certifies your ability to handle food safely and hygienically. In home kitchens, a hygiene passport can provide knowledge that reduces the risk of food poisoning. In professional kitchens, the situation is different: a hygiene passport is essential for positions that involve handling unpackaged, perishable food items.
8. Reinforce Your Expertise in Hygiene Training
Avoiding food poisoning requires diligence and awareness of food hygiene. Learn more about food hygiene under the guidance of food industry professionals. Hygienepassport.fi offers hygiene training in Finnish, English, and Arabic. Enroll in our two- to four-hour online courses here!
Would you like to learn more about food hygiene?