May 2003

Are you safe?

What should you do before you cook?

How would you know if the ingredients are safe to use?

Why should you wash your hands?

Why should you tie back long hair?

What clothing should your wear?

When is it important to wash your hands?

Washing hands

Always wash hands before cooking and after:

• going to the toilet;• handling raw food, e.g. meat;• touching hair, the mouth, spots or cuts;• coughing or sneezing into your hands;• blowing your nose;• going out of the kitchen, e.g. to put the rubbish out.

How would you know how long these foods last?

All packaged food has a date mark.

A date mark:• tells us by when a food is safe to eat;• is in 2 formats:

• ‘use by’ or• ‘best before’

Is it safe to eat?

‘Use by’ dates are used for perishable foods, e.g. cheese, milk and bacon.

‘Best before’ dates are used for less perishable foods, e.g. canned baked beans, jar of jam and frozen fish fingers.

Where should these foods be stored?

Different foods are stored in a variety of ways to keep them safe to eat for longer.

Dry cupboard Refrigerator Freezer

Raw and cooked foodsRaw meat and poultry should be stored on the bottom shelf of the fridge to prevent cross-contamination.

Fruit and vegetablesAlways wash fruit and vegetables before you eat or use them to cook.

This removes dirt and otherand other particles.

Preparing food

Are the kitchen, work surfaces and equipment clean?

Are you clean and tidy while cooking?

Microbes

Microbes are everywhere, but when theymultiply they may cause food poisoning.

Microbes multiply when they have:• food;• warmth;• moisture;• time.

Hot food should be kept piping hot and eaten straight away.

Food poisoning

Food poisoning can make people very ill.

It is usually caused by a large number of food poisoning bacteria in a food.

Food poisoning can be avoided with good hygienic practices and by cooking food properly.

Re-heating food

Eating re-heated food is a common cause of food poisoning if the food does not get hot enough.

Re-heat food so it is piping hot.Never re-heat food more than once.

Enjoy your food!