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People should observe food and personal hygiene when enjoying hotpot at restaurants or at home.
A spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety today (December 24) advised people to patronise reliable and licensed restaurants. They should also pay attention to the hygiene conditions of the food premises as well as the personal hygiene of food handlers.
"Seafood, poultry and eggs may carry a number of pathogens such as vibrio parahaemolyticus and salmonella. To reduce the risk of contracting food-borne diseases, these foods should be cooked thoroughly," he said.
To prevent food-borne diseases and to enjoy hotpot safely, people are advised to take the following precautions:
General points
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* Make sure the kitchen is clean and hygienic when preparing food at home.
* Maintain good ventilation as the naked flame in hotpot cooking can produce a large amount of carbon dioxide.
* Maintain a balanced diet and avoid indulging in cholesterol-rich offal and squid and high fat food such as sliced fatty beef and deep fried bean curd.
* Handle burners and hot water carefully and take good care of children.
Buying raw food
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* Buy fresh food ingredients for hotpot from reliable, licensed suppliers.
* Check that the shells of shellfish are intact.
* Do not buy eggs with cracked shells.
* Make sure the packaging of the prepackaged food is intact. Check the expiry date on the food label.
* Do not buy too much food at one time to avoid prolonged storage.
Proper storage
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* Store fresh food in the refrigerator at four degrees Celsius or below and take it out only when cooking.
* Store frozen food in the freezer at minus 18 degrees Celsius or below. Defrost it inside the refrigerator or under running water. Do not thaw frozen food at room temperature.
* Do not keep cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours.
Preparing food
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* Wash hands thoroughly before handling food.
* Wash all food, including meat, vegetables and shellfish thoroughly. Wash vegetables well with clean water several times and soak them in water for one hour to reduce pesticide residues. Scrub and rinse shellfish and remove the internal organs before cooking. Cut poultry meat, pork and beef into thin slices to facilitate thorough cooking.
* Use different sets of chopsticks and utensils to handle raw and cooked food separately.
* Avoid putting too much food on the table to prevent cross-contamination.
Cooking food
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* Whenever water or soup is added to the pot, wait until it is boiling hot.
* Food should be thoroughly cooked before consumption. High-risk food, such as seafood, should be cooked in boiling water for at least five minutes.
* Do not dip cooked food into raw eggs as harmful bacteria may be present inside the eggs and contaminate the cooked food. Vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly should avoid eating raw eggs.
People may browse the CFS website (www.cfs.gov.hk) for more food safety tips.
Ends/Monday, December 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:03
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