Festive Food Safety Advice

Their festive message comes with a food safety warning in a bid to prevent food poisoning outbreaks – a common occurrence when large quantities of food are stored.

“Normal hygiene precautions are often forgotten in the panic of buying, storing and cooking large quantities of food over the festive season,” said Environmental Health Manager, Philip Mepham.

“People are cooking for large numbers and trying to store more food than normal.  But if they follow our ten point guide we might be able to reduce some of the food poisoning cases experienced at this time of the year.”

He said the following tips should be followed;

• Use the fridge to store food – and don’t overfill with drinks that can be kept cold in the garage or shed
• Make a menu plan and stick to it – don’t overbuy and check use by dates
• Keep raw meat and poultry or defrosting food at the bottom of the fridge but prevent juices dripping into the salad tray
• Keep raw and cooked foods separate in the fridge
• Don’t leave foods that should be refrigerated at room temperature
• Keep the fridge temperature between 0 and 5 degrees
• Put food with the nearest use by dates at the front of the fridge and put opened food in sealed containers, remembering the use by date
• Refrigerate cooked food as soon as it is cold – cool hot food within 90 minutes of cooking
• Eat leftovers within three days and only take the amount you want to serve out of the fridge
• Only reheat food once and ensure it is piping hot