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Because of consumer demand, preservatives have been removed from many pre-prepared foods. This
together with the changes in shopping habits to a once-a-week shop, mean that safe handling and
storage of food is even more important than ever.
The following tips should help you to ensure that the food in your home is in as perfect condition as
possible.
■ Keep the freezer door closed as much as
possible.
■ Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air to circulate around each item.
■ Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do
NOT place in the freezer until cool. (Leave food in
a cool place in order that it can then be placed in
the refrigerator as soon as possible).
■ Do not store food uncovered.
■ The best way to defrost food is to put it in the
refrigerator to thaw slowly.
■ Ensure that food placed in the freezer is dated
and labelled and used in date order to ensure that
food is consumed at its best.
■ It is important that food is used before its “best
before” date.
■ Always wash your hands with soapy water and
dry them with a clean towel before handling food.
■ Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross
contamination by not using the same work
surface or knife, without washing them thoroughly
in between.
■ The foods to be frozen must be fresh and of the
best quality.
■ The size of each pack should be small enough to
ensure that it is used in one go. Small packs
freeze more quickly and uniformly and give better
results.
■ Frozen food, once thawed, must not be refrozen.
Lean food keeps better and longer than fatty food,
salt reduces the storage time.
■ Wrap the food in polythene or aluminium freezing
bags or foil so that they adhere to the food and
provide an airtight seal.
■ Packaging which is swollen or has traces of
refrozen water droplets on the pack could indicate
that the product has not been kept at a suitable
temperature and that it may have lost its original
quality. Partially thawed food must not be
refrozen, it must be consumed within 24 hours.
Never exceed the storage time indicated.
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
7
■ Never place hot food, bottles or cans of fizzy drink
in the freezer as they may explode. Containers
with a lid must not be filled to the brim.
■ Do not open the door or place extra fresh food in
the freezer next to food which is already frozen as
this could cause the temperature of the frozen
food to rise and its quality and storage life to
reduce.