Today is World Food Safety Day or Vishwa Khadya Suraksha Divas. This day is marked by the World Health Organisation (WHO). World Food Safety Day was established on June 7, 2018, to raise awareness of vital food safety issues.
Significantly, we are celebrating the fifth World Food Safety Day this year.
Why is World Food Safety Day essential?
Food Safety Day aims to assist, avoid, detect, and control foodborne risks and promote values and practices to help food stay healthy. World Food Safety Day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of food safety. By following the simple measures dictated by food safety authorities, we can lead a healthy life free of the risk of food contamination.
India is one of the 189 members that support and observe World Food Safety Day. In 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare virtually attended the Food Safety Day celebrations organized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has created five parameters to measure the performance of states on food safety:
- Human Resources & Institutional Arrangements
- Compliance
- Food Testing Infrastructure & Surveillance
- Training, and Capacity Building
- Consumer Empowerment
Food safety is important as it helps prevent food from becoming contaminated and causing poisoning. You can use the cleaning and sanitizing method for all utensils, maintaining hygiene, and storing, chilling, and heating food properly.
When we are preparing meals, it is vital to follow important food safety measures in your kitchen to reduce contamination and prevent the risk of foodborne disease.
Let's see how we can follow some simple and important food safety tips.
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Cleaning before Preparing Food
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- Germs that can make you sick can survive in many places around your kitchen, including your food, hands, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops.
- Use plain soap and water—skip the antibacterial soap—and scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.
- Rinse hands, then dry with a clean towel.
- Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water, especially after they’ve held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
- Wash dishcloths often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water without soap, bleach, or commercial produce washes.
- Rinse fruits and vegetables before peeling, removing the skin, or cutting away any damaged or bruised areas.
- Scrub firm products like melons or cucumbers with a clean produce brush.
- Dry produce with a paper towel or clean cloth towel.
- Don’t wash meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood to avoid spreading harmful germs around your kitchen.
- Produce labeled as "pre-washed" does not need to be washed again.
Separating Food Items
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- Use one cutting board for fresh produce or other foods that won’t be cooked before they’re eaten, and another for raw meat, poultry, or seafood. Replace them when they are worn.
- Use separate plates and utensils for cooked and raw foods.
- Use hot, soapy water to thoroughly wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that have touched raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or flour.
- In the fridge, keep eggs in their original carton and store them in the main compartment—not in the door.
Cooking Food
- Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature is high enough to kill germs that can make you sick.
- Cooking at the right temperature kills harmful bacteria. It is recommended that one use a food thermometer to ensure that the food is cooked from the inside.
- When barbecuing, cook the meat all the way through.
- Chicken or other nonvegetarian items should be properly cooked too, as undercooked food can cause diarrhea.
Chilled and frozen Food
- Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickest between 40°F and 140°F.
- Your refrigerator should be set to 40°F or below and your freezer to 0°F or below. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure.
- Leftovers should be placed in shallow containers and refrigerated promptly to allow quick cooling.
- Freezing does not destroy harmful germs, but it does keep food safe until you can cook it.
- Make sure you throw food out before harmful bacteria grow.
Additional important things to keep in mind
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- Always use clean water while preparing food.
- Do not consume stale food, as it contains harmful bacteria and fungi.
- While reheating the food in the microwave, the food temperature should be above 150 degrees F.
- Before consuming leftover food, reheat it all the way through.
What are the 5 Food Safety Rules?
The five food safety rules are:
- Keeping kitchen countertops clean,
- separating raw food from cooked food,
- cooking food properly,
- storing food at a safe temperature, and
- using clean water for cooking.
