by Jim Chan
Cooking, Grilling and BBQ
Food poisoning can happen at home
There are many party crashers in your home that love your food and drinks, but you won't see them and likely won't even know they are at your table because they are invisible. Who are are these invisible guests? They are pathogens, infectious agents that cause diseases or illnesses to human for eating contaminated food. Common pathogens such as bacteria are a common cause of food poisoning, examples including Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Staphylococcus auteus and more. These bacteria can cause serious illness and sometimes even death if victims are young children, elderly or sick. Common causes of food poisoning including poor hygiene, careless food handling, improper food storage.
If pathogens can talk
Food safety tips
Here are some food safety tips on how to keep your family and friends safe from food poisoning:
1. Food safety starts with the shopping list
- Choose a "clean" shopping cart, but surfaces such as the handle, baskets can also be contaminated with pathogens so always carry some hand wipes or towels to clean your hands after.
- Put raw meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and shellfish separate from ready-to-eat food, fruits and produces to prevent cross-contamination in the shopping cart.
- Do not buy meat or poultry that has a tear in the package or is leaking.
- Pick up refrigerated and frozen items at the end of the shopping trip, this will keep them cold longer.
- Avoid keeping food in warm temperature for a long time, try to take them home soon. If you have a long trip home, consider using a cooler or insulated shopping bag for perishable foods and the frozen products can act as ice packs to keep food cold. Never keep food in the car trunk for long period of time, especially in the summer as food such as meat, dairy products, seafood etc. can spoil fast.
- Avoid buying food past the "best before", "use by" or "expiry" dates (Best before or expiry dates on food packages).
- Avoid buying canned foods if the cans are dented, leaking, bulging or rusting.
2. Keep food safe in the refrigerator
- Always keep raw food such as meat or seafood in sealed containers or wrapped securely and store below ready-to-eat food to prevent cross-contamination.
- Keep temperature at 4°C /40° F, or colder and freezer at -18°C /0°F.
- Do not buy meat or poultry that has a tear in the package or is leaking.
- Pick up refrigerated and frozen items at the end of the shopping trip, this will keep them cold longer.
- Avoid keeping food in warm temperature for a long time, try to take them home soon. If you have a long trip home, consider using a cooler or insulated shopping bag for perishable foods and the frozen products can act as ice packs to keep food cold.
- Avoid buying food past the "best before", "use by" or "expiry" dates (Best before or expiry dates on food packages).
- Avoid buying canned foods if the cans are dented, leaking, bulging or rusting.
- When thawing or defrosting food in the refrigerator, always keep food in it's original packaging and on a plate or in a container (Tip: Plastic food containers such as those for salad or baked goods can be reused many times - see photo). Avoid leaving defrost food at room temperature because bacteria can grow rapidly on food surface and increases food poisoning risk.
3. Hand washing
- Proper hand washing is an extremely important step to prevent contamination of food and to minimize food poisoning risk.
- Always wash hands with soap under warm water before handling food, especially raw poultry or meat. After handling, wash hands again before touching anything else.
More tips on hand hygiene, see Hand hygiene for food handlers
4. Preparing food
- Make sure all the work surfaces are clean as to prevent contamination of food.
- Use a separate cutting board for raw poultry and meat to minimize cross-contamination, always wash and disinfect the board after eat use.
- After food preparation is done, wash all surfaces, cutting boards, knives and other utensils with hot soapy water and disinfect with a bleach solution (1 teaspoon bleach to 3 cups of water).
Example of cleaning and disinfecting utensils (Note: The 3-compartment-sink method is for commercial food business, at home, combine the process in sinks 1 and 2).
Food safety tips on handling
and cooking turkey
Play it safe when cooking a turkey, here are some additional food safety tips:
- A frozen turkey can take up to one week to thaw completely in the refrigerator. Allow four to five hours per pounds (500 grams) thawing time.
- Make sure the refrigerator tempertaure is at least 4°C (40° F). Keep the turkey in its original plastic wrap and put it in a pan or container deep enough to contain any drips.
- Cook the turkey until the internal temperature is at least 82°C (180° F) and check by inserting a food thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh and breast.
- It is preferable to cook the stuffing separately to avoid growth of bacteria, the cooked stuffing can be added to the turkey's cavity when it is done. If you want to cook stuffing witht the turkey, stuff it just before cooking as this can reduce the risk of excessive bacteria growth.
Follow the four food safety steps
(Food safety video - Dr. Justin Beaver)
Related links:
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