When looking for a healthy family for the whole family in summer, we must not forget the basic hygiene standards to ensure that the food we prepare is safe and that we minimize the risks of food infection.
These food infections (toxiinfections) are diseases that manifest themselves mainly with gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, fever ..., and that occur when a person consumes a food contaminated by bacteria, such as salmonella, E coli ...
To prevent infections and poisonings it is important to respect some hygiene standards during the preparation and preservation of meals, which help ensure that food is safe.
Four basic rules for cooking safely
Clean. Our own house can be a focus of diseases. Animals, garbage, ourselves ... we can disperse bacteria that contaminate food. Therefore, before handling any food you have to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, as well as keep the surface on which we prepare food clean, cook ... especially if it is raw foods such as meat, fish, eggs ... Fruits and vegetables have to be protected from insects and, as they come from direct contact with nature, they are foods that must be washed very well, especially if we eat them raw.
Pull apart. Raw foods may contain bacteria that contaminate other foods. You have to use different kitchen utensils to handle raw and cooked foods (or clean them very well between one use and another). Also in the refrigerator they will be stored in separate containers, hermetically protected. The eggshell can contain bacteria, so they must be separated from the rest of the food in the fridge.
Cook. Raw meat or fish may contain bacteria: veal, chicken, pork, hake, salmon ... must be well cooked (at least 75 degrees inside the piece). Eggs must be well set when cooking, so that risk of infection is avoided.
Cool. This advice is especially important in summer. It is recommended to cook as soon as possible before eating, and when this is not possible you must store food in the refrigerator. Keep in mind that some bacteria multiply very quickly if the food is stored at room temperature. Below five degrees or above 65, the growth of bacteria is delayed or stopped. Defrosting food must be done in the refrigerator a day before or in the microwave just before cooking.
Now that experimenting with food and cooking with children is so fashionable, let's not forget to educate them on these basic hygiene standards. Cooking with them is very fun, but you have to do it safely and more if the "practices" are in times of high temperatures.
We leave you with this illustrative animation video, prepared by the Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya (ASPCAT), which helps us to know better the four hygiene standards to prevent food poisoning.
