Health and Safety Guidelines

Because of consumer demand, preservatives have been removed from many pre-prepared foods.

This together with the changes in shopping habits to a once-a-week shop, mean that safe handling and storage of food is even more important than ever.

The following tips should help you to ensure that the food in your home is in as perfect condition as possible.

■Keep the time between buying chilled food and placing it in your fridge as short as possible. Tests showed that the temperature of 1 litre of orange juice rose to 22°C in an hour between the supermarket and home. It then took 11 hours to get down to 7°C in the refrigerator.

■Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as possible.

■Do not push food together too much, try to allow air to circulate around each item.

■Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do NOT place in the refrigerator until cool. (Leave food in a cool place in order that it can then be placed in the refrigerator as soon as possible).

■Do NOT mix raw and cooked meat, they must be in separate containers. Take care not to let the meat juices drip onto other food. If the meat does drip, remove everything and clean thoroughly.

■Do not store food uncovered.

■Remove suspect food from your refrigerator and clean the interior (see “Maintenance and Cleaning”).

■Never allow spillages to dry and harden.

■Store eggs in the egg rack provided in the refrigerator door. Discard any broken or chipped eggs.

■Regularly check the refrigerator door seal to ensure that it is clean and free from debris.

■Always wash your hands with soapy water and dry them with a clean towel before handling food.

■Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross contamination by not using the same work surface or knife, without washing them thoroughly in between.