Food – a word that makes us drool in delicious fantasy of yummy dishes. But what if we add ‘poisoning’ after that? It all turns into a nightmare you would never want to see.
Every now or then, we hear cases of food poisoning and wish that our family never faces it. But guys, preventing food poisoning is not just about wishing; you need to take steps.
From changing your lifestyle habits to adopting hygienic practices, there’s a lot you can do to protect your family. To help you, we have jotted down top tips that can certainly make a difference. Take a look!
Adopt Healthy Hand Hygiene
Do you know that handwashing prevents serious illnesses like influenza, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, and food poisoning? As per the experts, handwashing or healthy hand hygiene can reduce the number of people who get diarrhoea by 23-40%. And, this is just one line of the multiple benefits hand washing brings with itself.
Coming back to food poisoning, by keeping your hands clean, you can reduce your chances of getting infected with the bacteria. All you need to do is, wash them regularly either with soap or Dettol Hand Wash. You can also use Dettol Hand Sanitizer in case you are travelling. Even if you fall sick, washing hands is one of the best ways to accelerate food poisoning treatment.
Here are some situations when washing hands with Dettol Hand Wash becomes necessary:
- Before and after eating food
- Before and after handling or preparing food
- After using the washroom
- After sneezing or blowing your nose
- After touching an animal or animal waste
- After handling garbage
- After gardening
Keep the Kitchen Clean
A further step ahead towards a healthy family is a clean and germ-free kitchen. Here are some quick tips for that:
- Wash the worktops before and after preparing the food, especially if it was raw meat, eggs, fish, or leafy vegetables.
- It’s not just the slab, but also kitchen cloths that need regular cleaning. Also, make sure they are super dry when you use them.
- Use different chop boards and knives for raw meat and processed products to avoid cross-contamination.
- Keep your storage area clean, especially refrigerator to avoid germs and bacteria.
- Do not allow pets into the kitchen and avoid washing pet food bowls in the area.
Safe Food, Healthy You
Contaminated food can lead to serious health issues, and food poisoning is just one of such possibilities. Therefore, you need to ensure that the food products you bring into your home are free of any germs. Not just this, even if they are into your storage area, proper measures should be taken to guarantee their safety. As for the tips on how to do that, read the points listed below:
- Store the food in the fridge with a temperature of around 5ºC or less.
- Keep raw foods separately to avoid cross-contamination.
- Never keep perishable food outside the fridge for more than four hours.
- Thoroughly wash fruits, vegetables, and meat before cooking. Also, don’t forget to wash your hands with Dettol Hand Wash when you prepare food.
- Keep hot foods separate from the cold ones.
- Don’t buy food products if they cross the expiration date, have broken seal, or smell bad.
- Follow the “When in doubt, throw it out” rule.
Cook The Meals Properly
Germs and bacteria can be present in raw food. This is one of the reasons why raw milk, meat, eggs, and vegetables are on the ‘things to avoid’ list during food poisoning treatment. The best way to kill harmful bacteria is to cook the food properly. Heat kills toxic substances and makes it healthy. While cooking chicken or fish, see that there is no pink meat inside.
Other than this, when you are reheating the food, make it steaming hot to kill any kind of bacteria that might have grown into it.
To Sum Up
When it comes to family, you wouldn’t want to take any chances. Thus, start adopting these tips from today onwards and ensure their health.
