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Food safety: 3 myths that wreak havoc with your kitchen

Written by Posted On Monday, 16 September 2019 00:42
Food safety: 3 myths that wreak havoc with your kitchen

It's one of those topics that prompts horror stories every year but like it or not, food safety is worthy of these headlines.

Without them, there's every chance that a lot of us wouldn't be aware of all of the perils that our kitchen can often prompt.

Before we jump too much into the scaremongering zone, the purpose of today’s article is to instead take a look at some of the key myths that arise from your kitchen, that can make it much more unsafe when it comes to food prep.

Turn on the heat: “All foods can be cooked at the same temperature”

First and foremost, there is a reason why food manufacturers are so keen to place explicit instructions on the packaging of their products. In short, it's not just for taste, but also for your safety.

Some foods require hotter temperatures than others to be deemed acceptable to eat. For example, if we turn to whole poultry (and this includes the likes of chicken and duck), you should be cooking them no less than 165 F.

Then, for ground beef, 160 F will suffice. Or, for ground chicken, this again returns to 165 F.

The levels are different for all foods and if you don't abide to such advice, there's a very good chance that the food won't be cooked all the way through. This is why it is crucial to keep your oven in good, working order, through something like Zanussi repairs by Service Force.

Keep food types apart: “They’re all equal”

As we all know, not all food types are equal when it comes to food safety. It would be fair to say that the likes of poultry, raw meat and seafood carry some of the biggest risks to your kitchen - and you need to be trying everything you can to ensure that they don't come into contact with each other. If you do, you'll have a cross-contamination issue on your hands.

How can you achieve this? Having different chopping boards for each food type is one suggestion, while following basic hygiene principles such as washing your utensils thoroughly after use is another.

DIY defrosting: “It will defrost itself”

The final point we're going to look at surrounds defrosting. In truth, this is something of a minefield. While the freezer has become a godsend in most kitchens, and has facilitated some really efficient meal prep, at the same time some of us rely on it far too much.

One of the big mistakes that a lot of us make surrounds defrosting. Many of us are quick to remove an item from the freezer and leave it on the side in the hope of it defrosting as we return home several hours later.

There's a big problem with this; the outside of the food tends to defrost and reach room temperature really quickly. It means that bacteria can quickly form on the outside of the food, while the inside is still trying to defrost.

What's the safest advice you can follow? Defrost it in the fridge.

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Craig Daniel

Craig Daniel is the Building Biologist, a healthy homes consultant. Backed up by ten plus years of experience in a variety of industries, including finance, marketing, and online technology. As an expert in fields such as Geopathic stress, E-Smog, and Biology he is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others and helping people reach their full health potential.

buildingbiologist.co.uk/

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