A survey has revealed that more than 80 per cent consumers have at least one poor kitchen habit which puts them at risk of food poisoning.
While many people do not wash their hands, chicken or veggies prior to cooking/eating many never read the expiry dates and continue using expired sauces and jams. In fact the poll for the Food Standards Agency found:
- 43% would eat food after “use by” date
- 29% would eat food which was dropped on the floor
- 21% said they do not wash their hands properly before preparing food.
- 36% wash chicken and splash infected/dirty water in and around the sink. They do not bother disinfecting or cleaning the sink later.
Here are a few hygienic safety tips everyone must follow:
Expiry dates: The stored food has an expiry date for a reason. The preservatives can react, the food can make you ill or taste revolting. In fact many sauces, masalas, namkeens, biscuits which are on the buy one get one sale at the departmental store have a very small shelf life left. Hence, the discounted prices.
Eat within day or two of opening: Most Indian ‘Bengali’ sweets have this instruction on the packet. But we seldom follow it. Most Indian sweets are milk or milk product based. The longer you keep them the more illnesses it will spread.
Leftovers rules: Re-using leftover food is a great way to decrease wastage but Indian weather conditions don’t allow storing or using of leftovers after a day. Also cool leftovers properly before putting them in the fridge. Never reheat leftovers more than once as this decreases the nutritional value and spoils the food.
Chopping and cutting: Many people often forget to wash knives and this can contaminate food. Also it makes sense to use a separate chopping board for meat and veggies.
Wash and disinfect: Keep a disinfecting liquid soap in the kitchen and change the towel you wipe your hands with every time you cook a meal. Also buy a disinfectant (like the new Dettol) to wipe kitchen surfaces and sink.
The study was done to mark Food Safety Week.
