Food safety is closely related to the well-being of everyone. Remember the five key points of food safety and enjoy healthy eating every day!
1. Keep Clean
- Hand Hygiene: Wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet; also wash your hands before and during cooking, especially when handling both raw and cooked food or after answering the phone. Use running and safe water to wash your hands, then dry them with paper towels or a clean cloth.
- Utensil Cleanliness: Regularly clean and disinfect items such as chopstick holders, knives, cutting boards, and especially cloths, to prevent them from becoming sources of contamination in the kitchen.
- Environmental Cleanliness: Maintain good ventilation in the kitchen and keep the floor, sink, refrigerator (inside and outside), and other kitchen areas clean.
2. Separate Raw and Cooked Food
- Separate raw and cooked food: “Raw” refers to food ingredients that still need processing, such as raw meat and seafood. “Cooked” refers to food that can be eaten directly.
- Use separate utensils for handling raw and cooked food.
3. Cook Thoroughly
- Cook fresh ingredients thoroughly: Proper cooking methods and temperatures can kill almost all harmful microorganisms. Therefore, when processing meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and other foods, ensure they are fully cooked, especially grilled meat, meat fillings, large pieces of meat, and whole chickens.
- Reheat leftovers thoroughly: Do not consume cold cooked food directly from the refrigerator, especially leftover meals. Always reheat them thoroughly by steaming, boiling, or other methods. Avoid reheating leftovers more than once.
4. Store Food at Safe Temperatures
- Room temperature for no more than 2 hours: Most microorganisms thrive at room temperature. They are difficult to survive above 70°C or below 4°C. In summer, cooked food should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Refrigerator storage for no more than 1 month: Remember, “the refrigerator is not a safe deposit box.” Neither refrigerated nor frozen food should be stored for too long. Prolonged storage or damaged packaging can lead to cross-contamination or spoilage, losing the best eating quality. Homemade food should not be stored in the freezer for more than 1 month. Pre-packaged food, even within its shelf life, is best not kept for more than 3 months.
5. Use Safe Water and Food Ingredients
- Use fresh food ingredients: Use fresh ingredients, wash and peel them appropriately to reduce risks. Avoid using moldy staple foods, beans, peanuts, etc.
- Use safe water: Use safe water throughout the entire food preparation process. Avoid using untreated river water, rainwater, or snow water to prevent foodborne or waterborne diarrhea caused by environmental pollution.
