Aside from paying attention to concerns related to food production, healthy eating also entails preparing food to conserve nutrients and avoid disease. Food is considered safe if it does not include any dangerous, harmful, or disease-causing substances or bacteria that could endanger human health.
Here the tips for safe food preparation:
1. Select safely processed foods While some foods, like fruits and vegetables, are best consumed raw, there are some that can only be consumed after being prepared. For instance, always choose pasteurized milk over raw milk, and wherever possible, choose fresh or frozen poultry that has been exposed to ionizing radiation. When you go shopping, remember that food processing was developed to increase safety and extend shelf life. Some fresh foods, like lettuce, require careful cleaning.
2. Prepare meal completely Numerous raw foods, particularly birds, meats, eggs, and unpasteurized milk, may contain pathogens. The germs will be destroyed by thorough cooking, but keep in mind that the food must be thoroughly cooked to a minimum temperature of 70 °C. Put the chicken back in the oven to finish cooking if the cooked portion is still raw close to the bone. Prior to cooking, frozen meat, fish, and poultry must be completely thawed.
3. Avoid mixing raw and cooked meals together Even the smallest interaction with raw food can taint safely cooked meals. Direct contact between raw poultry flesh and cooked foods is one example of this cross-contamination. Additionally, it may be subtler. Don't, for instance, prepare a raw chicken and then carve the cooked chicken with the same unwashed cutting board and knife. The pathogens could be reintroduced by doing this.
4. Wash your hands repeatedly Before beginning to prepare food and after any interruption, especially if you need to change a baby or use the restroom, wash your hands thoroughly. Before handling other foods, wash once again after handling raw meat, fish, or poultry. Additionally, before making food, make sure to bandage or cover your hand if it has an illness. Additionally, keep in mind that common domestic pets, such as dogs, cats, birds, and particularly turtles, frequently harbor harmful infections that can spread from your hands into food.
5. Clean all kitchen surfaces thoroughly Foods are incredibly susceptible to contamination, thus any surface used for food preparation needs to be maintained immaculately clean. Consider each piece of food, crumb, or spot as a potential source of bacteria. Dish and utensil-touching cloths should be periodically changed and boiled before reusing. Additionally, separate floor-cleaning cloths must be washed frequently.
