Safer food

LOCAL residents are being asked to keep food safety “front and mind”  all the time but especially when preparing food for summer get-togethers and upcoming Christmas parties.
Southern Downs Regional Council acting manager environmental services Brooke McKenzie said council’s message came in the lead-up to Australian Food Safety Week 9-16 November 2014.
“The theme for Australian Food Safety Week 2014 is the Temperature Danger Zone – keeping hot food hot and cold food cold,” she said.
“Food poisoning bacteria can survive and grow rapidly if food is left out in temperatures above 5°C and under 60°C. These bacteria can potentially produce toxins that aren’tdestroyed by further cooking.
“Council has an important role in regulating food safety in local commercial businesses, sothis is perfect time to remind everyone about the importance of food safety everywhere,including in people’s own homes as well,” she said.
Here are some simple tips for avoiding the Temperature Danger Zone:
• Keep your fridge at or below 5°C. Use a fridge thermometer to check that thetemperature stays around 4 to 5°C.
• Make sure you have enough fridge space as fridges won’t work properly when theyare overloaded or when food is packed tightly because the cold air cannot circulate.
• If you are running out of room in your fridge, remove foods that are not potentiallyhazardous, such as alcoholic or soft drinks. The temperature of these foods is notcritical and they can be kept cool in insulated containers with ice or cold packs.
• Freshly cooked food, not for immediate consumption, should have the temperaturereduced as quickly as possible. Divide into small portions and place in containers inthe fridge or freezer as soon as it stops steaming.
• Hot food needs to be kept and served at 60°C or hotter. If you are keeping it warm forsomeone put it in the oven at 60°C or at 100°C if that is as low as your oven will go. Ifyou think the food will dry out, cool the plate or container until the steam stops rising,cover and put it into the fridge.