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Friday, December 23, 2005
Extra care on food urged during holiday season
By Barbara Carla R. Quiero
PEOPLE should take extra care of food in the kitchen during the Yuletide season.
City Health Office (CHO) medical officer Edward B. Ladrido said many food can cause poisoning if not handled, stored or prepared properly and during this season where more cases of food poisoning are reported than at any other time of the year.
There is even greater risk of spreading harmful bacteria when larger quantities of cooked and uncooked food compete for space in the fridge, freezer or on the worktop.
According to Ladrido, food bacteria can spread easily from uncooked food, dirty hands and kitchenware, and where good hygiene practice is ignored when preparing food.
Taking extra care in planning food storage and cooking will help avoid food hazards and unnecessary safety risks.
Some of the key tips for good hygiene and safe food preparation are the washing of hands in warm soapy water while preparing food, especially between handling raw and cooked food. Your hands can easily spread bacteria around the kitchen and on food.
One should also keep raw meat or defrosted food at the bottom of a fridge to avoid it dripping on cooked or prepared food.
Cold food should also be stored inside the fridge when they are not being used.
Meat and poultry should always be thawed completely before cooking.
One must also clean worktops, chopping boards, dishes and utensils thoroughly after they have touched raw poultry.
Most importantly, food should be cooked thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria that cause poisoning.
Check that the juices run clear when cutting poultry meat to make sure it is cooked.
In storing food, allow food to cool properly before putting it in the refrigerator and one should not store food for more than two days.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (December 23, 2005 issue)
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