Preparing foods at carnival time may be both challenging and
exciting since it may involve preparing food for individuals,
families, friends and other gatherings. Food may be prepared at
home and served, brought to the event, or prepared and served at
the gathering. Food that is mishandled can cause very serious
consequences for all, especially, infants, young children, older
adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.
For this reason it is important that foodhandlers be especially
careful when preparing and serving food. Precautionary Measures
To Reduce The Risk Of Foodborne Diseases At Carnival Time When
preparing food for your special Carnival event, remember that
there may be an invisible enemy ready to strike. It's called
bacteria and it can make you sick. But by following four simple
steps, you can keep your food safe.
* Clean, Wash Hands & Surfaces Often Wash produce, that is,
fresh fruits and vegetables in running tap water to remove
visible dirt and grime. Remove and discard the outermost leaves
of a head of lettuce or cabbage. Because bacteria can grow well
on the cut surface of fruit or vegetable, be careful not to
contaminate these foods while slicing them up on the cutting
board and avoid leaving cut produce at room temperature for many
hours. Don't be a source of foodborne pathogen yourself. Wash
your hands with soap and water before preparing food. Avoid
preparing food for others if you yourself have a diarrheal
illness. Changing a baby's diaper while preparing food is a bad
idea that can easily spread illness.
* Separate Raw & Ready-to-eat Foods-Don't Cross Contaminate
Don't cross-contaminate one food with another. Avoid
cross-contaminating foods by washing hands, utensils and cutting
boards after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry
and before they touch another food. Put cooked meat on a clean
platter, rather back on one that held the raw meat.
* Cook To Proper Internal Temperatures Cook meat, poultry and
eggs thoroughly. Using a thermometer to measure the internal
temperature of meat is a good way to be sure that it is cooked
sufficiently to kill bacteria. For example, ground beef should
be cooked to an internal temperature of 160o F. Eggs should be
cooked until the yolk is firm.
* Chill & Refrigerate Promptly Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
Bacteria can grow quickly at room temperature, so refrigerate
leftover foods if they are not going to be eaten within 4 hours.
Large volumes of food will cool more quickly if they are divided
into several shallow containers for refrigeration.
|
