Food safety in the home

If you want to store leftovers in the fridge, cool them as quickly as possible, ideally within 90 minutes. Cover them, get them in the fridge and then eat them within two days. Make sure your fridge is operating at the correct temperature, it should be below 5°C.

You can freeze your leftovers. You need to cool them first to reduce temperature fluctuation in your freezer. You can store them indefinitely, but the quality will deteriorate gradually with time. It is best to eat them within three months.

Eat leftovers within 24 hours of defrosting and do not refreeze them again. The only exception to this is if you are defrosting raw food, such as meat or poultry, which you can refreeze once you have cooked it.

Cook leftovers until steaming hot throughout. When cleaning:

  • keep yourself and your kitchen clean. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly before preparing food, after touching raw food (especially meat) and after going to the toilet 
  • keep worktops, chopping boards and utensils clean. If you have put raw meat, poultry or eggs on them, wash them thoroughly 
  • change dish cloths and tea towels regularly. They may look clean, but they're the perfect place for germs to breed

When cooking:

  • make sure meat and poultry is thoroughly defrosted 
  • make sure poultry, pork, burgers and sausages are cooked all the way through 
  • take extra care to reheat food so it is cooked all the way through
  • don't reheat food more than once

When chilling:

  • avoid keeping meat, poultry and dairy produce at room temperature
  • keep your fridge between 0 - 5° 
  • remember to turn your fridge to a colder setting if you are stocking it more than usual
  • wait for food to cool before putting it in the fridge

To avoid cross-contamination:

  • keep raw and cooked foods separate
  • never use the same chopping board or knife for raw meat and ready to eat food without washing thoroughly inbetween
  • don't wash meat or poultry before cooking it. Washing does not get rid of harmful germs - only cooking it will
  • don't let raw meat drip onto other foods - keep it in sealed containers at the bottom of the fridge
     
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