Wasting tons of spoiled and rotten food is becoming a daunting problem in the entire world. Every year, millions of people get sick because of the poor quality of food. The prominent reason for consuming rotten food lies in its storage. All food items are fragile and have a limited shelf life. You are reducing the shelf life if you are not storing the item appropriately. Food illness is a high-intensity cause of almost all health problems. What you all need are proper guidelines to preserve the food in your homes and commercial places. In supermarkets, you need lockable fridges that can help you save food items. Keeping at a low temperature can decrease the growth of bacteria. Other than storing, there are many rules that you need to follow religiously. Below we are listing down the five essential rules backed up by WHO. Make sure you follow these rules whether you are handling food at home or any other commercial place.
1. Hygiene and cleanliness
The first rule of handling food is to wash your hands. Touching the food with dirty hands can speed up the process of bacteria growth. Besides cleaning your hands, it is also essential to clean the surface where you put your veggies, fruits, and other items. After cleaning the surface, you need to clean the food items in freshwater. Run the food items under the tap and rinse them off. Make sure to cut any rotten part of the food. This way, it cannot further affect the other parts of the food item. For canned items, it is crucial to clean the lid before you open it.
2. Prevent cross-contamination
One of the highest risks of putting all the veggies, raw meat, fruits, and other items together is cross-contamination. You need to prevent any incident of contamination if you want clean and healthy food. Make sure that you put the contaminated veggies in another place. One more thing is that clean the surface after cutting veggies, fruits, and raw meat. Using the surface without cleaning can also make the veggies rotten. Know that transferring bacteria from one food item to the other can result in harmful consequences.
3. Cooking temperatures
All food items demand diverse cooking temperatures. Cooking the food at a low or high flame is not suitable. Besides, you need to make sure that you cook the food thoroughly. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the food.
4. Appropriate storage places
You need to follow a proper safe place for the storage of your food. Make sure you are using appropriate utensils and bags to preserve the food. You can keep the food in the fridge or freezer within two hours of cooking.
5. Reheating the cooked food
The way you heat the cooked food also participated in making the food eatable or not. Make sure the food is reheating on high flame to kill all the bacteria.