Karma_YW August-2018 Dummy

22 wellness
focus
food preparation and 43% and more
are contaminated with raw meat
bacteria. According to the guidelines
of www.safefood.eu, a European
implementation body set up to
promote awareness and knowledge
of food safety and nutrition issues,
“Harmful bacteria such as E. coli can
last on your food packaging for up
to 24 hours, so you should be careful
when handling packaging. These
bacteria can be transferred quite easily
from contaminated packaging to other
kitchen surfaces and also lead to crosscontamination
of hands and other
kitchen surfaces such as worktops and
press handles.”
The report recommends
that you
• Pack your raw meat and poultry
separately from your ready-to-eat
foods.
• Keep one bag for raw meats only if
you use reusable bags.
• Store your raw meat and poultry
on the bottom shelf of your fridge
below ready to eat foods.
• Remove your raw meat and poultry
from their packaging and directly
place on to your cutting board
or baking tray, and throw the
packaging straight in to the bin.
• After you have finished preparing
your raw meat or poultry, wash
down all surfaces with hot soapy
water.
• Always wash thoroughly the knife
that was used in preparing raw
chicken before reusing it to cut
anything else.
Store milk right
Once opened, milk is safe to
consume for up to 3 days. Always buy
smaller quantities more often rather
than keeping larger containers open in
the refrigerator for too long. Here are
some other things to consider:
• Remember to open new milk
containers in the order in which
you bought them: First in the fridge,
first out. Leave milk in its original
container to safeguard its flavour
and nutritional value.
• Keep milk containers closed and
stored away from strong-smelling
food items in the fridge or they can
pick up these odours.
• Store milk on refrigerator shelves
where it is cooler, rather than in the
refrigerator doors.
• Don’t return unused milk from
a serving pitcher to the original
container.
Keep salad greens safe
• When shopping, pack fresh salad
greens in plastic bags so they are
kept separate from other groceries,
especially raw meats and poultry.
• Refrigerate salad greens by storing
in a plastic bag within two hours of
buying.
• Always wash hands before preparing
salads and make sure you are
working with a clean cutting board.
• Wash the greens just before
using by running cold water over
leaves. Leaves can be difficult to
clean so separating the leaves
and immersing them in a bowl of
cold water for a few minutes helps
loosen sand and dirt. A bowl is a
much better choice than a sink,
which can harbor bacteria and
be difficult to clean. Remove any
damaged or spoiled leaves.
• Because lettuce and other salad
greens are very perishable, they
should be used within one week
after purchase.
• Avoid ready-to-eat, bagged
salads because of the increased
likelihood of contamination with
microorganisms.
yourwellness.com • Volume VII • Issue III • August 2018