Food Safety Matters

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How to keep food safe

• Contamination
• Preventing food poisoning
• The following simple rules prevents most food poisoning
• Keep hands clean
• Keep the kitchen clean
• Handle food safely
• Cook high-risk foods thoroughly
• Keep hot food hot
• Keep cold food cold
• Summary and more information

Contamination

We can become sick if we eat contaminated food. Food can be contaminated by:

• chemicals, eg. cleaning chemicals and pesticides
• natural toxins produced by plants, animals and micro-organisms
• foreign matter, eg. glass, insects
• organisms particularly micro-organisms including viruses, bacteria, parasites and moulds.

Viruses and bacteria are the main causes of food poisoning in Australia.

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Preventing food poisoning

We must handle food in ways that ensure:

• it does not become contaminated
• micro-organisms are killed or their growth is stopped or slowed down.

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The following simple rules prevents most food poisoning

	1. Keep hands clean: wash hands and nails thoroughly with warm running water and soap dry hands thoroughly cover cuts and infections on hands.
	2. Keep the kitchen clean: keep clean all surfaces and equipment that come in contact with food prevent pests and animals coming into the kitchen.
	3. Handle food safely: avoid handling food when sick keep uncooked food separate from cooked food and food to be eaten raw use clean equipment and clothing wash fruit and vegetables to be eaten raw under running water.
	4. Cook high-risk foods thoroughly:  Cook thoroughly foods such as: mince burger patties sausages rolled roasts stuffed meats rabbit seafood poultry
	5. Keep hot food hot: keep food when cooked at 60°c or above until served, or chill quickly refrigerate or freeze food that is to be prepared well in advance reheat food as quickly as possible until steaming hot cook or reheat packaged food according to label directions view diagram (as pictured here) for reference
	6. Keep cold food cold: refrigerate chilled and frozen foods soon after purchase keep cold food at 5°c or less (ie. in the refrigerator) as much as possible thaw frozen food in the refrigerator or microwave - not on the kitchen bench
	Summary and more information  Preventing food poisoning - a summary  More information - see Student guide

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