Food Handling Basics
Published: 24 July 2019
Published: 24 July 2019
Each year, there are an estimated 4.1 million cases of food poisoning in Australia (HealthyWA 2019).
These cases are largely preventable. It only takes a few simple steps to reduce the chance of contracting food poisoning (HealthyWA 2019).
The preventative measures of food poisoning are: observing basic personal hygiene techniques, careful food preparation, storage and display.
Keep the following at the forefront of your mind when handling food:
Wash your hands (vigorously and for at least 20 seconds) and dry your hands:
Avoid handling food for at least 48 hours after your symptoms disappear if you’ve experienced infection, diarrhoea or vomiting.
Wipe down benches before and after use with a cloth and spray.
Keep utensils and cutting boards used for raw and ready-to-eat foods apart and wash with warm, soapy water in between use.
(Healthdirect 2019; Food Safety Information Channel 2019; Sydney Children’s Hospital Network 2019)
As a general guideline, food that has to be kept cold should be stored at or below 5°C to prevent the growth of bacteria that leads to food poisoning. Frozen food should be kept at -18°C or colder. Use a thermometer to check these temperatures.
(Healthdirect 2019; Food Safety Information Channel 2019; Sydney Children’s Hospital Network 2019)
Make sure meat is thoroughly cooked and that the centre of cooked food is at least 75°C. Avoid leaving cooked food out for over an hour – refrigerate after this amount of time has passed.
(Health Direct 2019; Food Safety Information Channel 2019; Sydney Children’s Hospital Network 2019)
Bear in mind that raw meat, fish, poultry and raw vegetables can contain large numbers of bacteria. For this reason, protective measures have to be taken to prevent bacteria from spreading.
(Health Direct 2019; Food Safety Information Channel 2019; Sydney Children’s Hospital Network 2019)
(The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network 2019)
The ‘temperature danger zone’ for food safety is between 5°C - 60°C. Outside of this zone, bacteria doesn’t grow easily.
The best way to defrost frozen food is in the fridge, leaving food on the bench to defrost leaves it vulnerable to bacteria growth as the outer part of the food will thaw faster than the middle.
The smell or appearance of food are not accurate indicators of its state – bacteria is the catalyst of food poisoning and not spotted easily.
Cooked rice poses more risks than other food. Rice is home to a particularly tough type of bacteria which is difficult to eliminate when cooking.
Food poisoning can take one to three days to develop, so you shouldn’t assume your upset stomach is from the last thing you ate.
Food poisoning can be more severe than an upset stomach. It can be much more serious, in some cases, deadly (Health WA).
Nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, flu-like symptoms, fever and diarrhoea are common symptoms of food poisoning. If experiencing any of these, a person may have contracted food poisoning. (NT.Gov.Au)
Different bacteria and viruses can have different effects on the body:
Salmonella
Gastro and flu-like symptoms which can appear between eight and 72 hours (typically 12-36 hours) after eating spoiled food and may last for two to five days.
Gastro symptoms present in two to five days, and last for two to ten days.
Gastro or flu-like symptoms occur within three weeks, but it can take up to 70 days.
Severe gastro or flu-like symptoms usually begin 24 to 48 hours after eating and last one or two days (norovirus) or up to six days (rotavirus).
Gastro symptoms may appear within three to four days and generally last about one week.
(Health Direct 2019)
For mild cases of food poisoning, you can recommend ice chips, replacing lost fluids and electrolytes, and easing back into a normal diet and routine when ready (Health Direct 2019).
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