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Care must be taken when handling foods in the
home. Always follow the basic rules of hygiene to
prevent bacterial and microbial growth and cross
contamination when, 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, lace 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 bacterial from raw to cooked foods.
5. Follow the cooking instructions on packets of
prepacked and cooked chilled 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 cooked chilled 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 oven
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 straight away after cooling, 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.
HELEPFUL HINTS WHEN BUYING AND PREPARING FOOD