Food Handling And Storing

This is festive and holiday season and there is food everywhere.  A party is a good place to enjoy the festival and food but along with that few important food handing precautions should be followed to avoid any foodborne illness.  Nobody wants to begin the New Year with any sickness.  Foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful bacteria, toxins, parasites, viruses, chemical contamination etc.  Many people don’t wash their hands after using the restroom/bathroom/toilet or even before handling food.  It is not a good habit.  The germs from their hands can transmit to the food and the utensils they handle and ultimately to our hands and food. Always remember personal hygiene starts with “us” first.

What is food? According to the NYC Department of Health “Food is any edible substance, ice, beverage or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for human consumption”.  Thus anything that we eat as food including the ice becomes an important part of food and nutrition.  Hence proper food handling and storage is of utmost importance in our everyday lives. 

People who handle or serve food should take utmost care and always wear gloves.  Avoid keeping food at room temperature for too long time.  Cooked food left outside for more than two hours is not a healthy habit.  Any food at the room temperature should be kept in the refrigerator within two hours.  Hot foods should be kept hot (i.e. 140^o F or above) and cold foods cold (i.e. 40^o F or below).  “Danger zone” is between these temperatures and harmful bacteria rapidly grow in food if it is kept in this danger zone.  Have you observed many food vendors on the pedestrian pavements do not wear gloves while handling food? They cook food in front of us but seldom we question their personal hygiene and cleanliness.

In India, kitchen is considered a sacred place and especially in the Hindu religion the temple and all Gods and Goddess idols and pictures are kept in the kitchen.  Those who have big and spacious house have a separate pooja (worship) room.  However growing urbanization has reduced the space of a house.  In many parts of the developing world people live in slums and shanties where there is no concept of a living room, kitchen, bedroom, toilet, and bathroom.  Though it cannot be generalized, the size of an apartment or house has shrunk in many developed countries and the problem of space is a growing problem and concern in some bigger cities too. 

Kitchen should be always kept clean as food is mainly handled and stored there.  Do you know that any food item should be kept at a height of six inches from above the ground level? There is a safe way of storing food items in a refrigerator.  All raw and uncooked meat should be kept in the freezer and any meat to be thawed should be stored in the bottom section of the refrigerator to avoid cross-contamination.  Cross-contamination happens when meat or meat products mix with other cooked and raw food.  The juices (or blood) dripping from raw meat can contaminate the cooked and raw food.  Similarly while shopping food, meat should be kept separately from other food items.  We observe this in the shopping mall/stores too. The cashier will put your meat items in a separate bag and all other items in other bags.  If these food items are mixed bring this to their notice to avoid cross-contamination.  They have plenty of bags and they are there for our service.  “If you see something, say something”.

Even the hard surfaces such as dining table, prepping table, kitchen table etc. should be wiped with a clean rag and a solution of water and chlorine bleach after use.  Always use clean rags and wash them regularly.  Use clean cloth napkins while cooking and wash them regularly after every use.

This is my last blog for this year and I’ll end today’s blog with some interesting thoughts on stocks.  How many of us use stocks in our food? In French stocks is known as Le Fond de Cuisine i.e. “the foundation of cooking”.  I like my curry a little juicy, saucy, or with some gravy.  A good way to add juice or sauce and make good gravy in your curry is to add some kind of stock.  My all time favorite is the vegetable stock.  Nowadays we get all kinds of readymade stocks in the stores.  However a homemade stock has its own flavor.  Onion, carrot, and celery are the three mail ingredients in a vegetable stock.  Vegetable stock brings out the aroma, taste, and oil from these vegetables.  Make your own stock and store it in the refrigerator for future use.  If you need a little gravy in your curry just quickly add some stock to your dish while cooking and this dish goes well and fine with rice or bread.  Personally I like chapati (fluffed Indian bread) made without oil or ghee with chicken or mutton curry.  I like my chapati with vegetables too and my all time favorite vegetables with chapati are the French beans or okra (lady’s fingers) slow cooked but a little juicy and saucy.

I hope in this festive season you handle and store food with all the precautions not only for the well being of yourself but also for all the people you care about.  Wish you a Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2016.  Till then eat healthy and stay fit as “health is wealth”.

Shabeena Saveri