Food may contaminate easily in hot weather conditions. Try these strategies at home to keep the food as fresh as possible.
One day when you forget to keep you remainder lunch inside the refrigerator and gets spoilt. You are not alone, it has happened to most of us. Summer season is a time when when the stakes get higher for the foods to get contaminated easily, unlike the winter season.
Why does food get spoilt easily in summer? Hot and humid temperature tends to create a space for germs, bacteria to proliferate quickly. This leads to contamination of food easily. Hence, it makes food unsafe and riddled with diseases. Foodborne illness can get fatal. Here easy ways to avoid spoilage of food in hot weather.
HOW TO KEEP FOOD SAFE IN SUMMER? 4 TIPS
- Maintain Hygiene: apart from the food hygiene, personal hygiene also can impact the quality of food. Always wash your hands before cooking or touch food. Microorganisms from hands, mouth, kitchen cloth , utensils may get transferred onto food even with the slightest contact. Hence, maintain personal hygiene, keep the kitchen and food places clean.
- Separate Raw and Cooked Food: Keep raw food, poultry, cold cuts etc separate from already cooked meals. Store separate food in separate containers to avoid spoilage.
- Proper Cooking: While preparing food, it is imperative to ensure that food is properly cooked. Proper cooking helps to kill all the germs, dangerous microorganism.
- Clean Water: Always wash your raw material like fruits, or vegetables with clean water. It helps to wash off the chemicals and dirt on them. lect raw materials carefully, and wash and peel them to reduce the risk.
- Dry Refrigerator: Avoid over stocking the fridge. It affects the cooling function. Keep the trays dry and super clean to avoid mould formation.
Apart from this, it is recommended to not keep cooked food outside in the open for too long in hot climate. Incase it happens, always check the taste and smell of the meal before consumption. Food borne illness can turn fatal any time.
Even while going out, keep a check on the hygiene of the place. A clean kitchen will steer clear of insects and mites then also surface when the temperature rises.