The Food Standards Agency estimates the number of food poisoning cases in the UK to be around five million people each year.
Food poisoning varies from mild stomachache to extremely severe illness requiring hospital treatment.
Young children and babies are most at risk from food poisoning because it doesn’t take much for them to lose a high percentage of body fluid and become dehydrated.
Food poisoning in the home can be kept at bay with stringent food hygiene practices.
Many busy mums prepare food in advance, and often raise questions concerning the safety of cooling, storing and heating ready prepared meals.
This article will address some of those questions and future articles will deal with raw food preparation and hygiene.
Cooling Food
The strains of a demanding family/work life can be alleviated by time-saving practices, and making food in advance for youngsters eating early or older late arrivals is commonplace. Below are some useful points to consider:
Why Can’t I Put Hot Food Straight into the Fridge or Freezer? – Hot food will warm other foods and could raise the temperature of the fridge.
How Long Should I Leave Food to Cool Down Before Freezing or Refrigerating it? – Food should be cooled as quickly as possible and should certainly not be left longer than one to two hours before being placed in the fridge or freezer.
Can Food be Cooled Down More Quickly? – There is no easy way to speed up cooling, but you can try the following:
- Divide food into smaller portions.
- Place in well-sealed containers and run under cold water.
- Place in a well-sealed container and stand it in a shallow tray of cold water.
Storing Food
It’s also important to answer some questions relating to the storage of our prepared food:
If I Cook too Much Food, How Long Can I Keep it? – Store it in a sealed container in the fridge and use it within 48 hours, but preferably 24 hours.
Extra portions of baby food cooked from fresh ingredients should be treated in the same way but used within 24 hours.
Can I Use Cling Film With High Fat Foods? – Some cling film is not suitable for wrapping high fat foods.
This will include dishes you’ve prepared with fried meats or cheese etc. Always check the manufacturer’s instructions.
Why Can’t I Use Aluminium Foil for Certain Foods? Acid foods, such as rhubarb, cabbage, soft fruits, can acquire an aluminium taint, which can affect the taste.
What is the Best Way to Store my Meals in the Fridge or Freezer? – Purpose-made sealable containers or bags are fine. Make sure they are well sealed, air tight and leakproof.
Check the manufacturer’s instructions to ascertain their suitability for the fridge or freezer and for all types of food.
Why Should I Store Food in the Fridge? – Bacteria thrive in warm temperatures, but have difficulty surviving or spreading at very cold or hot temperatures.
Refrigeration slows but does not prevent the growth of bacteria, which is why your chilled meals should be used within 24 to 48 hours
Reheating leftover food
When you reheat any leftovers, remember that the magic number is 165°F (74°C). Not only is that the temperature to instantly kill most bacteria, but more importantly, it is the temperature at which most bacterially-created toxins that we mentioned above will be destroyed.
Food safety requires that all leftovers be reheated to 165°F for at least 15 seconds. Reheat all foods rapidly. The total time the temperature of the food is between 41°F and 165°F should not exceed two hours.
Food that has been reheated should be served immediately! Reheat only what you plan on eating, because re-cooling leftovers after they’ve been reheated is not recommended. (not only from a safety standpoint but from a food-quality standpoint, too!)