food poisoning is a common problem -- but it’s also one that can often be prevented.
Many cases are mild and you get better without treatment. But some cases may be so severe that you need to go to a hospital for treatment. To avoid getting a food-borne illness in the first place, there are some general guidelines to follow.
Eggs and dairy: You’ll want to be sure that your family is safe when enjoying eggs and dairy products. Some tips:
- Don’t drink unpasteurized milk. Pasteurized foods are heated before being sold to kill bacteria.
- Avoid soft cheeses such as feta, brie, camembert, blue-veined, and Mexican-style cheese-- or other unpasteurized cheeses. Hard cheeses, processed cheeses, cream cheese, and cottage cheese are safe.
- Check the expiration dates on eggs before purchasing and again before preparing.
Vegetables: These can also be the source of food poisoning, particularly sprouts of all kinds (alfalfa, mung, clover, and radish). This is because sprouting requires warmer temperatures, which are ideal for bacterial growth. Avoid raw sprouts if you are preganant or have a weakened immune system
A couple of other food-related tips:
- Don’t set out eggs, meats, poultry, seafood, or milk at room temperature for long. Refrigerate leftovers right after you eat.
- Drink only pasteurized juice or cider.
Wash your hands
Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water, and dry them before handling food, after handling raw foods – including meat, fish, eggs and vegetables – and after touching the bin, going to the toilet, blowing your nose, or touching animals, including pets.Wash worktops
Wash worktops before and after preparing food, particularly after they've been touched by raw meat, including poultry, raw eggs, fish and vegetables. You don't need to use antibacterial sprays: hot, soapy water is fine.Wash dishcloths
Wash dishcloths and tea towels regularly and let them dry before you use them again. Dirty, damp cloths are the perfect place for germs to breed.Use separate chopping boards
Use separate chopping boards for raw food and ready-to-eat food. Raw foods can contain harmful bacteria that spreads very easily to anything they touch, including other foods, worktops, chopping boards and knives.Keep raw meat separate
It's especially important to keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, fruit and bread. This is because these foods won't be cooked before you eat them, so any bacteria that gets on to the foods won't be killed.Store raw meat on the bottom shelf
Always cover raw meat and store it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where it can't touch other foods or drip onto them.Cook food thoroughly
Cook food thoroughly and check that it's steaming hot all the way through. Make sure poultry, pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs are cooked until steaming hot, with no pink meat inside. before cooking, as this risks spreading bacteria around your kitchen.Freezing raw chicken reduces levels of Campylobacter but does not eliminate it completely. The safest way to kill all traces of Campylobacter is by cooking chicken thoroughly.Cooking
It's important to cook food thoroughly, particularly meat and most types of seafood, to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.Make sure the food is cooked thoroughly and is steaming hot in the middle. To check that meat is cooked, insert a knife into the thickest or deepest part. It is fully cooked if the juices are clear and there is no pink or red meat. Some meat, such as steaks and joints of beef or lamb, can be served rare (not cooked in the middle), as long as the outside has been cooked properly.When reheating food, make sure it is steaming hot all the way through. Don't reheat food more than once.Chilling
Certain foods need to be kept at the correct temperature to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and multiplying. Always check the storage instructions on the label.If food has to be refrigerated, make sure your fridge is set to 0–5C (32–41F).If food that needs to be chilled is left at room temperature, bacteria can grow and multiply to dangerous levels.Cooked leftovers should be cooled quickly, ideally within a couple of hours, and put in your fridge or freezer.Cross-contamination
Cross-contamination is when bacteria are transferred from foods (usually raw foods) to other foods.This can occur when one food touches or drips onto another food, or when bacteria on your hands, work surfaces, equipment or utensils are spread to food.To prevent cross-contamination:- always wash your hands after handling raw food
- store raw and ready-to-eat foods separately
- store raw meat in sealable containers at the bottom of your fridge so that it cannot drip onto other foods
- use a different chopping board for raw food and ready-to-eat food, or wash it thoroughly in between preparing different types of food
- clean knives and other utensils thoroughly after using them with raw food
