Food Hygiene and Safety – Minimizing Risks

Food hygiene and safety - guide to minimizing risks

Safe food preparation is essential. Children are typically more vulnerable to food borne illnesses than adults so it's important to get into good habits in the kitchen. That way your children will also get used to seeing food prepared the right way, and will do the same when helping you in the kitchen and eventually making their own food.

Food Contaminants

Biological: bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins from other food
Chemical: pesticides, kitchen cleaning agents
Physical: dirt, glass, hair, pests

Potential Food Risks and Possible Solutions

The risk of you getting sick from that medium-rare steak or your fried egg with the perfectly runny yolk is very low. But if you're feeding your child it's best not to take any chances while their immune and digestive systems are still developing.

Type of Food	Risk	Solution
Dairy	Raw / un-pasteurized milk: Campylobacter, E. Coli, Listeria, Salmonella, S. aureus	Use pasteurized milk products
Meat / poultry	Raw / undercooked meat and poultry: E. Coli, Salmonella, Listeria, S. Aureus, Campylobacter, Toxoplasma gondii	Ensure food is fully cooked
Egg products	Raw / undercooked eggs or products that contain raw eggs (salad dressings, pastry, cakes, dips, drinks): Salmonella, S. Aureus	Use fully cooked eggs or avoid recipes requiring raw eggs
Fish / seafood	Raw seafood: Vibrio, Listeria	Ensure food is fully cooked
Fruit juices	Un-pasteurized fruit juices: E. coli	Buy pasteurized juices or boil and cool them before drinking
Sprouts	Raw sprouts (alfalfa, clover, radish, bean sprouts): E. coli, Salmonella	Sprouts should be fully cooked
Honey	In any form until the age of 1 year can cause botulism: C. botulinum	Wait for the child to be at least 1 year old

Guidelines for Kitchen Safety

Preparation

Avoid eating foods from damaged packages
Wash your hands before preparing food and after touching any raw meat, poultry, eggs or fish
Clean your work space
Use separate cutting boards and cooking utensils for meat/poultry vs. fruits/vegetables

Animal Products

Choose organic meat whenever possible – meat raised without antibiotics/hormones, raised on feed without pesticides
Defrost food in the fridge, not on the counter
Fully cook any meat, poultry, eggs and fish – keep all the medium-rare steak and sushi to yourself for now
Always choose pasteurized milk and dairy products
Cooked food should be left at room temperature for no more than 2 hours, in the fridge for no more than 2-3 days, otherwise freeze in an airtight container/ziplock bag
Reheat defrosted cooked food to at least 75ºC/165ºF

Fruit and Veg

Choose organic whenever possible – food grown without artificial fertilizers and/or pesticides
Wash all fruit and vegetables thoroughly in water, even if you're peeling them