********************************
With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the Centre for Food Safety today (February 12) urged people to be mindful of food safety when preparing festive meals.
The spokesman said that as dishes prepared for the Lunar New Year tended to be abundant, people should pay attention to food safety in the purchase, preparation, storage and consumption of foods.
Useful Tips on purchase:
-----------------------
* Plan the work schedule ahead of time, with consideration to ingredients involved.
* Plan ahead the quantity of food that can be consumed to avoid excessive leftovers.
Useful Tips on preparation and storage:
--------------------------------------
* Defrost frozen food inside the chilled compartment of a refrigerator or under running water.
* Dried seafood and vegetables should be soaked and cleaned thoroughly before cooking. The water used should also be discarded afterwards.
* Cook all foods thoroughly, especially high risk foods like seafood and poached chickens.
* Keep raw and cooked foods at different levels in the refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination. Keep cooked food above the raw ones.
* If the ingredients need to be stored after cooking, they should either be kept chilled at 4 degrees Celsius or below, or kept warm at 60 degrees Celsius or above.
* Before preparing dishes, thoroughly clean cutting boards, knives, containers and other cooking utensils.
* Maintain good personal hygiene. Wash hands with liquid soap before handling food and after using the toilet.
* Don't start cooking too early, especially those highly perishable or easily contaminated foods.
Useful Tips on consumption:
--------------------------
* Cold dishes should be kept in the refrigerator and should only be taken out shortly before consumption.
* Avoid keeping ready to eat food at room temperature for over two hours.
* All leftovers should be refrigerated and reheated thoroughly before consumption.
Other points to note:
--------------------
* ¡®Poon choi¡¯, which comprises a great variety of food, involves a number of processing steps, which demand meticulous attention during preparation. People should order their 'poon choi' from reputable and licensed food suppliers. If they want to make their own, they should maintain good personal and food hygiene to prevent cross contamination.
* Home-made puddings should be eaten as soon as possible. Stop eating and discard those found mouldy or with an abnormal taste.
* Puddings meant to be served hot should be reheated thoroughly before eating.
* Apart from food safety, people should exercise regularly and maintain a balanced diet. Take at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables every day. Avoid eating too much New Year food with high energy, sugar, fat and/or cholesterol content. People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood lipid and those on weight management should limit their intake of such foods.
Ends/Monday, February 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:56
NNNN
