Principle 1 – Choose safe food
In today's market, there are many types of food as well as businesses and trading establishments. Choosing for yourself establishments that sell safe and quality food is extremely necessary. More importantly, we should also learn how to choose meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, prepackaged foods such as:
- Fresh meats need to be carefully observed for color, cut and dryness.
- Processed meats should pay attention to clear origin, trading establishments, ...
- For convenient canned foods, you should pay attention to the expiry date, origin, ingredients, preservatives, and additives in the processed product.
- In addition to visually inspecting fresh vegetables and fruits to see if they are fresh, have stems intact, and are not wilted, before processing, they should be soaked in salt water to remove any remaining pesticides or fertilizers.
Principle 2 – Cook food thoroughly
Depending on the type of food, eating it raw or cooked has advantages and disadvantages. Many people think that raw food retains more nutrients, but in fact, cooking helps kill bacteria, increases the absorption of certain antioxidants and softens food. Therefore, choosing the right cooking method will ensure both nutrition and health safety.
Rule 3 – Eat food as soon as it is cooked
Cooked food should only be left outside for a short period of time, from 1 to 2 hours, in weather conditions that are not too hot. Because after this time, bacteria can easily penetrate and grow rapidly, thereby producing substances that are harmful to the digestive tract. To ensure safety and best health, we should eat food immediately after it is cooked.
Principle 4 – Store cooked food carefully
To safely preserve cooked food, the following principles must be followed:
- Temperature: Keep food at high (above 60℃) or low (below 10℃) temperature.
- Time: Do not leave food at room temperature for more than 4-5 hours.
- Pack: Seal food in containers or wrap tightly before placing in the refrigerator.
- Arrange: Avoid putting too much food in the refrigerator.
- Cool: Let food cool before putting it in the refrigerator.
Just cooked food should not be put in the refrigerator immediately because the food is still hot, when put in the refrigerator it will easily spoil and the food will spoil faster.
Principle 5 – Reheat food thoroughly before eating
Cooked food after cooling is very susceptible to bacteria invasion and rapid growth, causing harm to health. Cooked food in the refrigerator when taken out must still be cooked again, because the temperature in the refrigerator only inhibits bacterial growth but cannot destroy it. Therefore, food must be thoroughly reheated before eating at a temperature of at least 70℃.
Principle 6 – Do not mix raw and cooked foods
Cooked food can be contaminated through contact with raw food, because bacteria from raw food can easily penetrate and spread to processed cooked foods. Therefore, when used, there is a risk of contracting diseases related to the intestines such as stomachache, vomiting, diarrhea... In more severe cases, you will be infected with diseases such as worms, flukes, and parasites that are harmful to the body.
In addition, if we mix raw and cooked food, the cooked food will absorb the smell of raw food, making it unpleasant to eat and losing the deliciousness of the processed food.
Principle 7 – Always keep your hands clean when preparing food
Hands are the main part that comes into direct contact with food during processing, so washing hands thoroughly before processing food and after other tasks that interrupt the processing is essential to ensure safety during cooking.
If disposable gloves are used during food preparation, gloves should be changed frequently between handling raw food and cooking cooked food and vice versa.
In case of hand wounds, bandage and cover the wound before preparing food to ensure the safety of the wound and avoid infection or cross-infection.
Principle 8 – Keep cooking surfaces and kitchens dry and clean
Food is the product that we will put into our body after processing. Therefore, to ensure safety when using, in addition to choosing quality, hygienic foods, the preparation and processing areas must always be kept clean and airy to not nurture and develop harmful bacteria or attract other insects.
Principle 9 – Protect food from insects, rodents and other animals
With the typical hot and humid climate and heavy rain in Vietnam, this is a favorable environment for insects and rodents to thrive and develop. Therefore, to protect food from insects, rodents and other animals, in addition to covering measures, we should keep the kitchen clean, airy, dry and periodically use insect extermination measures.
Principle 10 – Use clean water
Clean water is colorless, odorless, tasteless, contains many minerals and microorganisms that are beneficial to human health and is not contaminated with manganese, calcium, arsenic, etc.
Clean water is an important factor for food preparation and processing. Currently, the simplest method we often use to have clean water source is boiling. Boil water to 100℃ and continue to maintain this temperature for 15 minutes to kill worm eggs, parasites and bacteria. In addition, to have a safe source of clean water when using, we also have other methods such as: distillation, using water purifiers, water purification tablets, ....
Above are the 10 golden principles of WHO on food hygiene and safety. Hopefully, through these 10 principles, you will find methods and skills to choose, preserve and process safe food. And if you are in need of choosing a reputable place to provide meals that ensure the principles food safety then don't forget to contact us - Tan Loc Industrial Catering Company Limited is very pleased to serve you.