Preparing Food that is Safe
Food is usually at the centre of most celebrations. Be it a birthday, Christmas or another special event, it’s pretty much guaranteed that at some point food will play a part. That is because good food has a special quality, a quality that brings people together. This is why so many people enjoy cooking and creating dishes, but one thing that can bring things crashing down is when the food isn’t safe and either inedible or can even lead to illness.
Preparing the food you are going to cook is one of the most important times when getting ready to cook a meal, and errors made here can have consequences later. Important things to remember about food preparation are to keep your hands clean, ensure all of the food you are preparing is within its use-by date and to separate raw meats and fish from any food that is ready to eat. Raw meat and fish contain harmful bacteria and this can spread very quickly around the kitchen so make sure all knives and boards are well separated and cleaned at every opportunity.
When it comes to raw fish and meat things really can go wrong if you aren’t diligent in your preparation. Keep all knives and other utensils that come into contact with the raw meat separate from the ones being used to prepare other foods. Any contact can be enough to spread harmful bacteria so take care and take your time – rushing at this stage can spoil an entire meal.
Undercooked food is one of those things that always pops into people’s minds when they think of food safety. Undercooked chicken or other birds cannot be served any less than cooked all the way through. Beef and lamb are meats that can be served rare, this is due to the fact that they only have harmful bacteria on the outside, unlike say for example, chicken which will have such bacteria all the way through.
When the party has finished and there is still a lot of food left – it is then time for left over’s! Left over’s can be great the day after as long as they are stored correctly – this should be in a fridge and it is advisable to make sure all leftovers are consumed within two days. Conversely, when re-heating leftovers ensure they are steaming hot all the way through, simply warming them up will not make them safe to eat.
Shieldyourself are food safety training experts and consultants and work with comapnies throughout the UK.
