FOOD SECURITY

Safe food handling rules

Food handling goes through several phases which have to obey certain rules in order to avoid contamination.

The main phases are washing of the products, separation, production and conservation of food. A brief description of each phase follows.

Cleaning and washing

The washing of food products is the first phase to eliminate food threats. In order to be an effective washing, bare in mind some basic rules in order to remove most part of microorganisms. First of all, wash your hands carefully, with hot running water and antibacterial soap. Wash and disinfect cutting utensils and working place. You can find tests in the market that can easily and quickly be used to verify if the hygienization was correctly carried out. Vegetables should also be washed in running water and, whenever possible, disinfected with adequate products, giving some time to act.

SEPARATATING

This is another crucial phase to eliminate food poisoning: crossed contamination( this means, when some food contamination spreads to other foods) which has to be dealt with in a carefully way when food handling.

Therefore, food should be separated by “categories” for which different utensils and working places (boards) should be used, such as:

-- horticultural products;
-- fish;
-- seafish;
-- white meat (poultry);
-- red meat;
-- eggs;
-- cooked products.

Whenever this is not possible, redoubled care should be given to the washing and disinfection of the various instruments used.

COOKING

The development of microorganisms in food happens, as known, at a temperature between 5 to 60º C. As the biggest proliferation of those microorganisms happens precisely at room temperature, in order to eliminate them, food should be cooked by temperatures above 70ºC.

We would like to call your attention to poultry and pork meat, minced meat, sausages or kebab which should always be well done. Eggs should also be always consumed when well done (egg white and egg yolk).

Well done? You can verify it if the meat or sauce does not have a rosy colour and the eggs should have a hard egg white and egg yolk. When the piece of meat is bigger you can verify it inside the food item, using a special thermometer. The temperature inside should be higher than 70ºC.

Pre-cooked food should be boiled to destroy microorganisms or eventual existing spores.

This type of care is particularly important for specific risk groups such as seniors, infants, children, pregnant women or immunosuppressed.

CONSERVING

The conservation is the last phase to obtain or not safe food products. Baring in mind the ideal temperature for microbial growth (5- 60ºC), the conservation temperature should be inferior or superior to those values. Therefore, here are some good practices:

1. Do not leave perishable food items, ready to eat or leftovers, at room temperature for more than two hours (they should be refrigerated);

2. Conserve food in the refrigerator at 0 – 4º C, in freezers (if you get them already frozen) or in quick cooling chambers (if you want to freeze fresh or cooked food items) at temperatures below 18º C.

3. To serve hot cooked food, keep it at 65ºC or more (heater).

4. Leftovers should not be kept in the fridge for more than two days.

5. Food defrosting should occur slowly (in the fridge) or quickly (microwave), never at room temperature. These foods must not be refrozen.

(In “Revista Segurança”)