Cooking for protection
Learn how to cook your food to avoid risks
to your health
Every year there are cases of foodborne diseases a result of the ingestion of food which, although tasting and smelling good, are contaminated by microbes through inappropriate preparation or conservation.
How to avoid the main foodborne diseases?
Step 1: CLEANING
Thorough cleaning permits to eliminate part of the microbes: Wash
- your hands, cooking utensils and working surfaces with warm water and detergent before and after preparing food;
- vegetables under running water prior to consumption;
- eggs immediately before placing them in boiling water, or before opening them. Soiled or cracked eggs should be discarded.
Step 2: SEPARATION
Cross contamination is the transfer of micro-organisms from raw food to other food, namely cooked or ready to eat food. To avoid cross-contamination:
- keep raw food, poultry, eggs, fish or seafood, and their fluids, separately from ready to eat food;
- do not use the same utensils and recipients to handle cooked and raw food, or wash them thoroughly prior to use.
Step 3: COOKING
Most micro-organisms die at temperatures around 70ºC. That is why it is so important to cook food thoroughly:
- poultry, pork, all minced meat, sausages and kebabs should always be cooked thoroughly.
- all other meats can be eaten well done or medium rare, but never rare.
- eggs should always be properly cooked.
How to check temperature?
There are a range of thermometers available in the market that permit to measure the temperature inside cooking food. A temperature of 70ºC or more means that the food is well cooked. But there are other means of ensuring that the food is well cooked without using a thermometer:
- watch for the juices coming out of cooking meat, whether roasted, stewed or grilled - if the juices are clear (reddish or pink), the meat is still raw.
- when cooking hamburgers, poultry meat or sausages, pierce the meat deeply and make sure there are no pinkish areas inside; the meat should be boiling inside.
- if you're cooking a whole chicken or other bird, pierce the thickest part of the leg with a clean knife until the juices run clear; the juices shouldn't have any pink or red in them.
- eggs should be cooked until both whites and yolks are solid. When making scrambled eggs, make sure there is no liquid left.
Pre-cooked food
- Heat pre-cooked food until steaming, if solid, or boiling, if liquid.
Rare meat
Eating rare meat is less risky when the meat is beef. However, the following precautions should be taken:
- "seal" both sides of the meat or steak. "Sealing" is obtained by cooking or frying at a very high temperature until there is a visible change in the outside colour.
- people in at-risk groups (senior citizens, pregnant women, young children, sick people and babies) should avoid eating rare meat.
Step 4: CONSERVATION
Most micro-organisms will grow best at temperatures between 5º to 60ºC, therefore we should avoid storing food between that range of temperatures.
- Do not leave perishable food (such as meat, fish or cream), cooked food and leftovers at room temperature.
- Store your food in the fridge (0º to 4ºC) or in a freezer.
- Cooked dishes should be kept hot (65ºC), or, when this is not possible, stored in the fridge and reheated immediately before serving. Before refrigerating hot cooked food, you should cool it rapidly (cut it in smaller pieces and/or place it in an ice bath).
- Do not store leftovers in the fridge for more than two days.
- Defrost food in the fridge or microwave (never at room temperature) and never freeze again food that has been defrosted.
Avian Influenza
The avian influenza virus (H5N1) is destroyed at temperatures above 70ºC.
Although there is no evidence that the avian flue virus is transmitted by eating infected animals (transmission from animals to humans results from direct contact with infected birds), some basic rules should be followed:
- wash your hands thoroughly after touching any kind of poultry meat, or meat from other animals, specifically raw poultry meat and raw eggs. Washing your hands frequently with soap and warm water is a very important and simple way to prevent contagion from many infectious diseases.
- do not let raw poultry meat or raw eggs come into contact with cooked food, or salads, fruit and pre-cooked meals.
- do not use dishes, cutlery or other kitchen utensils that were in direct contact with raw poultry meat or raw eggs without previously washing them carefully with warm water and detergent.
- and finally, cook poultry meat and eggs thoroughly - proper cooking will eliminate any virus contained in food, including H5N1.
Sources:
Agência Portuguesa de Segurança Alimentar (APSA) and Food Standards Agency (UK).
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