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Care must be taken when handling foods in the
home. Always follow the basic rules of food hygiene
to prevent bacterial and microbial growth and cross
contamination when preparing, reheating, cooking,
cooling, defrosting and freezing foods:-
1. Always ensure food you purchase is of good
quality and in prime condition. Shop at a reliable
source and buy the 'freshest' looking package -
avoid shop-worn labels or produce covered in
dust.
2. Avoid buying chilled or frozen products if you
cannot store them straight away. The use of an
insulated container when shopping is advisable.
3. Buy and consume foods prior to the 'Sell by' or
'Best Before' date.
4. When you arrive home, place perishable foods in
the refrigerator or freezer immediately. Ensure
they are well covered to prevent them drying out
and to prevent any possible cross contamination
with bacteria from raw to cooked foods.
5. Follow the cooking instructions on packets of
prepacked and cook chill foods, but be prepared
to adjust cooking time and temperatures to suit
your particular oven. For example, the fan oven
generally requires 20-25°C lower temperature
than conventional ovens.
6. Always ensure that cook chill foods are
thoroughly re-heated until they are piping hot
throughout.
7. It is preferable to defrost frozen foods slowly in
the refrigerator. Alternatively, a microwave
cooker or the Defrost function on your oven may
be used.
8. Always cook defrosted foods immediately after
thawing. Thawed food should never be refrozen.
9. Joints of meat and poultry should be thoroughly
defrosted before cooking.
10. Cook meat thoroughly - use a meat thermometer
if preferred, which penetrates the joint to check
that the centre temperature has reached the
required temperature (see table below).
MEAT TEMPERATURES
Beef Rare - 60°C
Medium -70°C
Well Done - 80°C
Pork Well Done - 80°C
Lamb Medium - 70°C
Well Done - 80°C
11. If not eaten straightaway after cooking, food
should be cooled as quickly as possible (within
one hour) and then refrigerated or frozen as
required. (Do not put hot food into a Refrigerator
or Freezer).
12. In the kitchen keep work tops, chopping boards
and utensils clean with hot soapy water between
preparation stages. Ideally, keep one chopping
board for raw meat and another for other foods.
Keep your dish cloths and tea towels clean.
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HELPFUL HINTS WHEN BUYING AND PREPARING FOOD