Good food hygiene means knowing how to avoid the spread of bacteria when cooking, preparing, and storing food. Foods that aren’t cooked, stored and handled correctly can cause food poisoning and other conditions.
There are 4 basic steps to food safety at home, these are known as the four C’s:
The bacteria that cause food poisoning can be found in many places around your kitchen. Unless you take care to clean your hands, surfaces and utensils properly, this bacteria could end up in your food.
You should always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water:
There’s a right way and a wrong way to wash your hands. To do it correctly:
Wash worktops, utensils and chopping boards with warm, soapy water before and after food preparation to prevent bacteria from spreading. This is especially important if you’ve been preparing raw meat, raw eggs or unwashed vegetables.
If possible, use different utensils and chopping boards for raw and ready to eat foods, or wash them thoroughly between tasks.
As an extra precaution, you may wish to use a disinfectant to kill any harmful bacteria. Make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions to ensure you apply it to the surface for the specified time and if the product needs diluted before use.
As dirty and damp dishcloths are the perfect place for bacteria to breed, wash dishcloths and tea towels regularly and let them dry before use.
You should wash dishcloths and tea towels using the hot cycle of your washing machine.
Harmful bacteria are killed by cooking and reheating food at the right temperature for the correct length of time. Always follow the cooking instructions on the label and check the food is steaming hot in the middle.
Chicken, duck, pork and offal should always be cooked through until the core temperature reaches 75°C, there is no pink meat and the juices run clear. This will kill any harmful bacteria.
These type of meats should never be eaten pink or rare.
Beef and lamb steaks and whole joints (not rolled joints) can be served rare as long as the outside has been properly cooked (sealed), to kill any bacteria present on the surface.
Always cook burgers and sausages made from these meats all the way through. This will kill harmful bacteria – including E. coli O157 – that might have been present on the surface of the meat and then mixed through after mincing.
If possible, use a thermometer to ensure that the internal temperature reaches 75°C and make sure there’s no pink in the middle and the juices run clear.
If you have a food thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 75°C.
If you don’t have a food thermometer, the meat:
To check whole birds, pierce the thickest part of the leg. For thicker joints, pierce the centre.
Although most fish and some shellfish (oysters) can be eaten raw, cooking will kill any bacteria present. If you choose to eat raw fish, make sure that it’s been frozen first as the cold temperature will kill any parasites present.
Raw shellfish should always be cooked alive but never cook any shellfish if the shell doesn’t close.
Fish, shellfish and crustacea are cooked if:
Undercooked foods and cross-contamination are the greatest risks when using a barbeque. Cooking food in the oven before finishing on the barbecue is a great way to ensure food is cooked all the way through.
To ensure food is safe to eat:
You’ll know when your barbeque is at the right temperature for cooking when the coals are glowing red and have a powdery grey surface. Never cook food over flames as the outside will burn, but the inside will be raw and unsafe to eat.
When reheating food make sure that it’s steaming hot and heated all the way through to 75°C.
Use chilled food within 2 days of cooking. If the food has been cooked, frozen and then defrosted, reheat within 24 hours.
You should only ever reheat food once. The more times you cool and reheat food, the higher the risk of food poisoning.
Your fridge can help to keep foods fresh and safe to eat for longer as the cold temperature slows the growth of bacteria.
To keep your food safe:
Cooked dishes and foods labelled with a ‘use by’ or ‘keep refrigerated’ label can be stored in the fridge. This includes:
Eggs are best stored in the fridge as they are kept at a constant temperature. You can safely store a boiled egg in the fridge for a couple of days.
You can also freeze boiled and raw (unshelled) eggs.
Most types of foods can be frozen, however, the extreme cold can affect the quality of foods with a high water content – such as fresh fruit and salad vegetables (cucumber, tomatoes). These foods are still fine to cook with but are better eaten from the fridge.
As the cold air will cause foods to dry out, always store frozen foods in airtight containers or freezer bags.
You can freeze all types of meat, fish and poultry as long as:
Frozen meat and fish will keep and be safe to eat for a long time, however, you should try to eat these foods within 3 to 6 months as the quality can be affected. Adding a label and date to frozen meat and fish can help with this.
You should defrost meat and fish thoroughly before cooking as partially defrosted food may not cook evenly meaning harmful bacteria may survive. Defrost the food in a sealed container at the bottom of the fridge, to prevent it from becoming too warm or any liquid contaminating other foods in the fridge. If you intend to cook it as soon as it’s defrosted, then you can use the microwave on the defrost setting.
Once defrosted food needs to be eaten or thrown away within 24 hours.
Raw meat, fish and poultry can’t be frozen again after they’ve been defrosted.
Cooked meat, fish and poultry can be frozen as long as they’ve been cooled. You should only refreeze these foods once after cooking as the more times you cool and reheat food, the higher the risk of food poisoning.
Foods stored in the freezer, such as ice cream and frozen desserts, should not be returned to the freezer once they have thawed.
Cross-contamination is the spread of bacteria from one object to another, for example when raw food touches or drips onto cooked foods, utensils or surfaces. You can avoid it by:
As the environments that fruit and vegetables grown in can sometimes carry bacteria, when handling raw fruit or vegetables it’s important that you:
You should never wash raw meat or poultry before cooking as this can spread bacteria around your sink, work surface and utensils. Washing doesn’t get rid of harmful bacteria, but thoroughly cooking will kill any bacteria present.
Last updated:
04 January 2023