Food Hygiene in the Home

Food and cooking hygiene includes a number of routines which should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards. Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

Bacteria are all around us, and also on and in our bodies. Most of them are helpful or harmless. But some cause disease. Among these are food-poisoning bacteria. To prevent food-poisoning at home, we need to understand how to control these bacteria.

The most obvious way to do this is to wash our hands and all raw food, and keep food covered as much as possible. The most heavily contaminated food is likely to be raw meat. Make sure that raw meat never touches, or drips onto, any other foods, as bacteria could get transferred across (this is cross-contamination). Bacteria can get transferred between foods via utensils and chopping boards as well! So these need to be thoroughly washed in very hot water after raw meat has touched them.

We need to be aware that bacteria are present on our hands, and on the surfaces of all raw foods.
For bacteria to make us ill, they usually need to grow in the food.

All bacteria are destroyed by thorough cooking. So make sure that meat is cooked all the way through, that re-heated foods get piping hot, and always follow the manufacturer's instructions for bought foods. But some bacteria produce toxins when they grow, and these aren't all destroyed by cooking. So thorough cooking will not compensate for sloppy hygiene at the earlier stages!

Controlling bacteria in food:

-18ºC (0º F):
The temperature that freezers should be running at. Freezing does not destroy bacteria, pathogens or their toxins and spores. In a freezer bacteria are merely in a state of suspended animation or a hibernation state. They will not multiply, but nor will they die.

0ºC to 4ºC (32º to 39ºF):
The temperature that refrigerators/chillers should be running at. Chilling food does not destroy bacteria, pathogens or their toxins and spores. In a chiller bacteria merely slow down their rate of reproduction to a virtual stop, they will however continue to multiply, all be it very slowly

65ºC (149ºF):
Most bacteria will start to die at this temperature

75ºC (158ºF):
The internal temperature of foods should reach this to ensure any bacteria has been destroyed. To achieve this solid foods such as roast meats and steaks need to be thoroughly cooked until the juices run clear (no signs of blood). Liquid style foods such as sauces, soups and stews etc should be brought to a boil (while stirring) and simmered for a minimum of three minutes.

NEVER reheat foods more than once or the bacteria in the food will not only multiply as the food is cooled down and stored, but they will also become heat resistant. Bacteria are capable of producing spores; this heat resistant shell will resist the most ardent cooking temperatures and food poisoning is inevitable.