Food safety – tips for summer

1. Buy and eat food that is safe

Check the ‘use by’ date to make sure food is fresh when you buy it.

• If it's past its use-by date, say goodbye – eating this food could make you sick.
• A best-before date relates to the food's quality and if it looks and smells okay, it probably is. Check it, sniff it, taste it – don't waste it.

2. Gathered food

Always wash food that you or others have gathered, such as pūha or watercress. If you gather kai moana or seafood, check that the place you are collecting from is clean and free of pollution.

3. Keep hands and surfaces clean

Wash your hands before and after you handle raw foods. Make sure benchtops, cooking tools and barbecues are clean before you use them. When you prepare the meal, use separate utensils, plates and other tools to handle raw and cooked foods. After the meal, clean your benchtops and cooking tools well.

4. Rinse all fruits and veg

Rinse all of your fruit and vegetables under cold running water and then dry them with a clean cloth to help remove dirt and bacteria.

5. Handle chicken safely

Raw or undercooked chicken is the main offender for spreading serious illness from the bacteria Campylobacter. Chicken needs careful handling when it's raw.  Avoid washing chicken in your kitchen sink as this can lead to contamination of your work surfaces, cloths and cooking utensils. If you want to remove raw chicken juices, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and throw the paper towel straight into a waste bin. Keep a special chopping board for preparing chicken and don't use that board for chopping up fruit and vegetables. Don't use the same knife to cut up chicken and other foods until it's been well washed. Read more about handling chicken safely(external link) to keep yourself and your whānau safe.

Image credit: Healthify He Puna Waiora

6. Keep cold foods cold

Set your fridge temperature between 2°C and 4°C. Most harmful bacteria can't grow at low temperatures.

Keep cold dishes such as salads and puddings in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them. Store raw meats and seafood in the fridge until right before you cook them. Cover them and place them on the fridge’s bottom shelf so their juices can’t drip onto other food. Keep meat products away from ready-to-eat food such as fruit and vegetables. Other meat and seafood (kai moana) are sources of bacterial contamination, not just chicken.

If you’re eating outdoors, use an icepack or chilly bin to keep food cold.

7. Be food safe on the BBQ

Barbecuing and serving food outside in the warm summer months gives bacteria the ideal opportunity to multiply and cause food poisoning. 

Make sure raw meat doesn’t touch cooked food or ready-to-eat foods (eg, salads). Keep raw and cooked meat separate on the grill. This is especially important for chicken meat.

Cook chicken, minced meat products and sausages right through until the juices run clear. Use a meat thermometer to check that your meat has been cooked to a safe temperature – at least 75°C in the thickest part of the meat. Don't assume that meat charred on the outside is cooked thoroughly on the inside.

8. Cover and refrigerate leftovers

Cover any dishes that are sitting out on the benchtop, barbecue or table to protect your food from flies, ants and other bugs. Don’t leave food out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. Instead, refrigerate or freeze leftover food after it's cooked, sealed in an airtight container.

If you think that food has been left out of the fridge for more than a couple of hours, it's better to throw it out than risk getting sick. If in doubt, don't eat it!

Reheat leftovers until they are steaming hot (over 75°C) stirring well so they heat all the way through.

9. Have a plan for your ham

You can take a vacuum-packed cooked ham straight from the fridge to the table. But if you like to glaze your ham and serve it hot, cook it at 160°C for 20 minutes per kilogram. You want the inside to reach at least 60°C – use a meat thermometer to check the temperature.

You can keep a cooked cured ham in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Cover it with a clean damp tea towel and change the towel every day.

Eating cold ham of any kind when you are pregnant can come with the risk of a serious infection called listeria, which is harmful to the baby. Instead, cook or reheat ham until it’s piping hot (over 70°C) and eat it straight away. 

10. Food safety in pregnancy

When you're pregnant (hapū) you have lower immunity which puts you at greater risk of food-related illnesses such as listeriosis and toxoplasmosis. These can be dangerous for you and your child. To be safe:

• wash and dry your hands carefully before handling food
• clean, cook and chill foods
• store leftover food in the fridge and don't eat them after 2 days
• avoid high-risk foods(external link). 

Learn more about how to eat safely when you're pregnant. 

11. Most importantly

If you've been unwell or have any symptoms of sickness, leave the food preparation and serving to others. Don't risk passing on your germs to your whānau.