Food Preparation Safety Guide

Kitchens can be a hotbed for bacteria and virus' that can lead to a range of health concerns for you and your family. Follow our basic food handling and storage tips to ensure your kitchen remains safe during and after meal preparation.

Keep it cold

• Keep the fridge below 4 degrees Celsius.
• Put any food that needs to be kept cold in the fridge straight away.
• Don't eat food that’s meant to be in the fridge if it’s been left out for 2 hours or more.
• Defrost and marinate foods – especially meats - in the fridge.
• Shop with a cooler bag and picnic with an esky.
  Keep it clean
• Wash and dry hands thoroughly before starting to prepare or eat any food, even a snack.
• Keep benches, kitchen equipment and tableware clean and dry.
• Don't let raw meat juices drip onto other foods.
• Separate raw and cooked food and use different cutting boards and knives for both.
• Avoid making food for others if sick with something like diarrhoea or vomiting.
  Keep it hot
• Cook food until they're steaming hot.
• Reheat food until they're steaming hot.
• Make sure there's no pink left in cooked meats such as mince or sausages.
• Look for clear juices before serving chicken or pork.
• Heat to boiling all marinades containing raw meat juices before serving.

  Check the label
• Don’t eat food past a 'use-by' date
• Note the 'best before' date
• Follow storage and cooking instructions
• Be allergy aware
• Ask for information about unpackaged foods