Be a Hygienic Chef in the Family

Housework used to be the domain of women in the family. However, as more women go out to work, more and more men are involved in the daily chores such as shopping for and preparing food for the family. Being the "chef" in the family, how much do you know about the hygiene in food preparation?

Contaminated food causing diseases
The ingestion of food not properly prepared and thoroughly cooked may lead to various food-related communicable diseases such as:

• Food poisoning caused by Salmonella or Norwalk-like viruses
• Hepatitis A
• Bacillary dysentery
• Cholera

Figures from the Department of Health showed that there were 4 147 cases of food poisoning, 140 cases of bacillary dysentery and 74 cases of hepatitis A in 2006.

Men and food hygiene
In summer, the hot and humid weather facilitates the growth of various disease-causing micro-organisms in food. In order to protect your family from various food-related communicable diseases, being the "chef" in the family, you need to pay much attention to food hygiene when preparing food for the family.

However, the Behaviour Risk Factor Survey of the Department of Health in 2006 showed that men's awareness of food hygiene was not as good as that of women. According to the study, men were less likely to comply with the following good food handling practices:

• Washing all food thoroughly before cooking
• Keeping raw and cooked food separately
• Cooking/reheating food thoroughly
• Washing hands before handling food

Tips of good food hygiene
Good food handling practices protect you and your family. Here are some helpful tips to share with you guys:

Personal hygiene

• Wash hands with soap and water thoroughly before eating or handling food and after using the toilet
• Avoid handling food when suffering from diarrhea or vomiting

Food preparation

• Use thoroughly boiled water to prepare drinks
• Wash food thoroughly before eating or cooking
• For seafood, especially shellfish, other than cleaning thoroughly, has to remove the viscera
• Use separate utensils and equipment to handle raw and cooked food to prevent cross contamination
• Defrost foods only when needed and cook defrosted food immediately to minimize contamination
• Cook food thoroughly before consumption

Food storage

• Both raw and cooked food should be covered and stored separately in the refrigerator - cooked food in the upper shelves and raw food in the lower shelves
• Keep cooked food at 4 degrees Celsius or below, or at 60 degrees Celsius or above, if they are not consumed at once
• If necessary, store leftovers properly in the refrigerator and consume as soon as possible
• Reheat leftovers thoroughly before consumption

(Last Updated on 03-07-2007)