Your Guide to Eating Safely

Buying Food

Storing Food

Preparing Food

Cooking Food

Left Over Food

Reheating Food

General Advice

Barbeques

Tips When Catering for Large Parties

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By following these simple guidelines you can ensure that the risk of food poisoning is kept to a minimum.

Buying Food:

• Check use-by and best before dates on the packaging.
• Buy perishable foods which have been kept in refrigerated cabinets
• Avoid cans with dents or leaks.
• Select frozen and chilled food last on your shopping list to shorten its time out of temperature control.
• Once food is purchased ensure that it is taken home as quickly as possible.
• Consider the use of a cool box/bag, particularly during the summer months.

Storing Food:

• Keep all perishable foods in the refrigerator.
• Aim to keep the coldest part of the fridge between 0-5°C.
• Keep raw and ready-to-eat foods separate by storing cooked foods ABOVE raw food.
• Don’t overload your fridge or freezer.
• Do not put hot food straight into the fridge.
• Check food labels for storage instructions.
• Check the label to ensure that food is not used beyond its use-by date.
• Decant the contents of canned food into a covered bowl prior to storing in the fridge.
• Open packets of food should be kept in plastic sealable containers.

Preparing Food:

• Wash hands thoroughly, before and during any food preparation, after going to the toilet and after handling pets.
• Ensure work surfaces and utensils are washed thoroughly, using a detergent and disinfectant.
• Prepare raw and read-to-eat food separately.
• Always follow manufacturers instructions.

Cooking Food:

• Ensure food is thoroughly cooked by following the manufacturers instructions and/or monitor the temperature of the food with a temperature probe to above 75°C.

Left Over Food:

• Once food is cooked it should be eaten straight away or kept piping hot above 63°C until required.
• Prepared food to be eaten cold or reheated later should be cooled down as rapidly as possible and placed in a refrigerator below 8°C. 
• Ideally, food should be cooled as quickly as possible and placed into the fridge within 1.5 hours.  This may be achieved by:
  • Portioning/reducing the volume of food being cooled.
  • Transferring food into shallow trays.
  • Restricting joint size to less than 6lbs.
  • Use of an ice/cold water bath

Reheating Food:

• Make sure food is thoroughly reheated to a temperature of above 75°C.
• Do not reheat leftovers more than once.

General Advice:

• Do not used damaged or worn utensils as these may not be capable of being easily cleaned.
• Remove the rubbish from food areas on a regular basis.
• Do not handle food if you are/have suffered from food poisoning symptoms.
• Cover any cuts or grazes on exposed areas with a waterproof dressing.
• Keep pets away from food, utensil and worktops.

Barbeques:

It is important to ensure that barbequed food is properly cooked.  Provided the correct steps are taken in food preparation and cooking you can help to prevent your family and friends becoming ill.

• Do not be tempted to start cooking before the charcoal on the barbeque is glowing red.
• It is advisable not to cook frozen meat as this takes much longer for the heat to penetrate to the centre.
• Allow frozen meat to defrost preferably by leaving it in the refrigerator overnight or according to the manufacturers instructions.
• It is advisable to pre-cook food and use the barbeque to finish the cooking process and brown the outside of the food.
• When cooking the food on the barbeque turn the food regularly and move it around to ensure an even cook.
• Check the food is piping hot all the way through.
• Use separate utensil/crockery for raw and cooked meat.
• Avoid placing raw meat products next to cooked or partially cooked meat on the barbeque.
• Marinades/sauces used for the raw meat should not be added to cooked food.
• Wash hands on a regular basis.

Tips When Catering for Large Parties:

Careful Planning:

• Don’t make foods too far in advance.
• Don’t take chances – make sure you have adequate fridge and freezer capacity needed to keep food cool and safe.  Alternatively adequate ovens to ensure food can be cooked thoroughly and kept hot until required.
• Don’t leave food on display at room temperature for too long before it is eaten.
• Dispose of all left overs which have been displayed at room temperature for more than a couple hours.
• Consider the types of foods you are providing, e.g. don’t use raw eggs in uncooked foods such as cake icing.

Temperature Control:

• Do ensure perishable foods are kept chilled, e.g. dairy and meat based products.
• Make sure the fridges are operating between 0-5°C.  Use a thermometer to check this.
• Raw foods must be stored below cooked foods in the fridge and ensure it is not overloaded as this may affect its efficiency.
• Check the dates on all foods.  Do not use food beyond its use-by or best before date.
• Ensure food is cooked thoroughly.  Use a food probe thermometer to ensure the centre temperature reaches at least 75°C.  Then serve the food straight away or keep it hot until required.
• If cooling foods down, cool them down quickly and refrigerate as soon as possible.

Cross Contamination:

• Ensure you have adequate space for the preparation of food.  Prepare raw and cooked foods separately.
• Keep things clean – use correct chemicals i.e. detergent and disinfectant.
• Keep dishcloths clean, and change tea towels and hand towels frequently.

Personal Hygiene:

• People who have been ill with diarrhoea or vomiting must not prepare food or even enter the kitchen.
• Wash your hands thoroughly at all times, particularly before handling cooked foods and after handling raw foods

Take extra care if vulnerable groups are attending the function, i.e. pregnant women, the elderly or young children, as food poisoning bacteria can make them very ill.