This post will cover the basic principles you should integrate to promote safe and quality foods in the household.Put differently, we will assess the critical measures you require to ensure less likelihood of food spoilage and food infections.
Why is food safety important?
Consuming safe and quality food is important as you reduce the possibility of acquiring food infections and you are able to consume foods that are palatable, fresh, and that contain adequate nutrients.
What are the basic principles for quality and safe foods?
They include:
- Proper hygiene and sanitation
To begin, you must incorporate proper hygiene and sanitation measures whenever handling food. In our previous posts, when dealing with common pathogenic micro-organisms , we noted that most of these organisms can be prevented by promoting good hygiene. Therefore, it is imperative that you incorporate practices such as frequent hand washing , thorough cleaning of foods, and the use of clean kitchen equipment to achieve this.
- Avoid cross-contamination
In addition, the significance of cross-contamination to food safety should also be prioritized. Ensure that raw foods such as vegetables, fruits and meats use different equipment when being prepared.For example, let’s say you’re making a meal that constitutes meat and some vegetables, the knife and chopping board you use when cutting meat should not be the one you use for your vegetables, unless you thoroughly clean it after use before cutting the vegetables.
- Facilitate proper storage
Proper storage is another important element to ensure safe and quality foods. Different foods require different storage directions.Normally, food products purchased in food stores tend to indicate the storage instructions on their labels, which you can use as guidelines for proper storage.
However, even for those without precise storage instructions,there is usually a general set of guidelines on how to store them. Determining this can assist you to store them well. Others may require refrigeration e.g. meats, others may need to be stored away from sunlight and others in cool places e.g certain vegetables like broccoli and celery.
In the case of foods , that require refrigeration, ensure the use of correct temperatures for each of them. Moreover, be aware of foods you can thaw and refreeze and those which you are not recommended to do so (Refer to post on foods you should not thaw and refreeze).Thawing foods poorly then refreezing them can cause food spoilage resulting from bacterial growth.This is especially when accurate temperatures are not used.
- Cook at correct temperatures
Cooking at correct temperatures especially for foods such as meats and shellfish is important. Heating usually destroys most micro-organisms. Cooking well ensures that the internal portions of a food cook properly to reduce the probability of consuming under-cooked foods, which are usually associated with food infections.
In general , to attain food safety -safe and quality foods, ensure you cook foods at the right temperatures, store them well, avoid cross-contamination and ensure proper hygiene when handling.