8 Simple ways to prevent food poisoning

How to prevent food poisoning

Food poisoning can have adverse health effects, most commonly diarrhea and vomiting. This problem is prone to occur in children and adults whose immune systems are weak so that eating a little contaminated food can be fatal.

Food poisoning can be prevented through a few simple things. As reported by the CDC, here are some ways to prevent food poisoning.

1. Wash hands

Hand washing is one of the most important habits as well as the simplest way to prevent food poisoning. Hands are the member of the body that is most susceptible to being exposed to germs because all day long you will be doing activities with your hands touching various items.

Therefore, washing hands is very important before and after eating. Wash your hands with an antiseptic soap and running water for 20 seconds. Rub your palms and between your fingers to make sure all areas of your hands are completely clean.

Wash your hands especially before and after eating, after using the bathroom, after cleaning animal waste, and after taking out the trash.

2. Clean the kitchen table

Source: The Homemakers Dish

After preparing food ingredients, especially raw meat and eggs, always try to clean the kitchen table. This aims to eliminate bacteria in food ingredients that stick to the kitchen table.

If you don't want these bacteria to enter the body, then clean your kitchen table with warm water and a clean cloth. This method can prevent you from getting food poisoning.

3. Using clean cooking utensils

Always try to use clean cooking utensils, whether it's a knife, cutting board, spoon, or spatula. The use of cutting boards should also be distinguished for raw meat from vegetables or other ready-to-eat foods.

This is an effective way to prevent food poisoning due to cross contamination between foods. If you use the same tools, the bacteria on the cutting board that has just been used to cut raw food can transfer to cooked food that will be cut afterwards.

In addition, keeping dishwashing sponges clean is highly recommended, considering that sponges are responsible for wiping bacteria on dirty cooking and eating utensils. Try changing the sponge once a week or soaking it in disinfecting water to kill bacteria.

4. Keep raw food ingredients separate

In addition to using a different cutting board, you also need to separate the storage location for raw food ingredients from other ready-to-eat foods as an effort to prevent food poisoning.

Here are some tips for storing raw food ingredients, such as raw meat and eggs.

Store raw meat and chicken in clean, closed containers.
Place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
Observe storage instructions and do not cook expired raw food

5. Cook until it reaches correct temperature

When you cook, make sure the food is thoroughly cooked. Especially if you are cooking meat, chicken or sausages. Look at the color of the meat you are cooking. If the meat is no longer pink, it means the food is cooked.

If necessary, cook the food at a suitable temperature. This needs to be considered so that the bacteria in the food die.

For example, fresh beef should be cooked at an internal temperature of 65 degrees Celsius, while chicken should be cooked at an internal temperature of 73 degrees Celsius. To find out, you can use a special food thermometer.

6. Maintain the refrigerator temperature

Not only does it make sure food ingredients don't contain bacteria, you can prevent food poisoning by keeping the refrigerator temperature in check.

If the refrigerator temperature is not set properly, bacteria can multiply quickly. Try to set the temperature of your refrigerator below 5 ° C.

We recommend that you do not fill the refrigerator too full so that the air circulation in the refrigerator is still good and does not affect the temperature of the refrigerator.

7. Be careful when shopping for groceries

The next, no less important way to help avoid the risk of poisoning is to be careful when choosing what to buy.

Make sure you double check the expiration date. Expired food is one of the causes of food poisoning. That is why, checking the expiration date must be done, including before you start processing food.

Even if the appearance and aroma remain unchanged and appear normal, avoid eating out-of-date ingredients.

In addition, certain types of food can also cause poisoning, especially for people who are more vulnerable, such as pregnant women and the elderly. Therefore, you should avoid buying unpasteurized milk or cheese.

In fact, the main way to prevent food poisoning is to maintain cleanliness. Whether it's the cleanliness of foodstuffs, the kitchen, and yourself. That way, you can avoid food poisoning.