Food Safety Week advice
Residents in the Welshpool area are being reminded about the importance of good food hygiene in the home, especially in the summer months when levels of food poisoning soar.
Powys County Council's Environmental Health Team has issued the reminder to mark the Food Standards Agency's Food Safety Week (June 6-12). As part of the week, the team will have displays at the main council's buildings where food safety tips and quiz sheets will be available.
Lunch box size cool bags, supplied by the FSA, will also be available which members of the public can help themselves to whilst stocks last.
Cllr Geraint Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Environment and Regulation, said: "Food poisoning is a miserable experience but can be so easily avoided. Just storing, handling and cooking food properly will minimise the risk."
The FSA advises the following principles that will help people keep food safe:
- Proper cooking will kill food bugs. It's especially important to make sure poultry, pork, burgers and sausages are cooked all the way through. If there's any pink meat or the juices have any pink or red in them, germs could be lurking. Check your food is steaming hot all the way through before serving.
- Avoiding cross-contamination is also extremely important. Make sure you store raw meat covered and at the bottom of the fridge, below and away from ready-to-eat food. Never use the same chopping board for raw meat and ready-to-eat foods without washing the board and knife thoroughly first.
- Clean hands in the kitchen are vital in the fight against food poisoning while food must be kept at the right temperature. Food that needs to be chilled should be kept in the fridge and check that it's running at the right temperature (between 0oC and 5oC). Storage above this range can allow bacteria to grow or harmful toxins to form. Also, on a picnic, don't take food out until the last minute and use a cool bag to keep it chilled until ready to eat.
For more advice on food safety visit www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/Homehygienehub.aspx
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