Keep food safety in mind as the weather warms

10 November 2009

The Hunter is a great place to live if you enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, and planning a picnic or barbecue is one of the best ways to enjoy the beach, park or your own backyard.

Enjoying time with family and friends in the warm weather is great, but there can also be some risks - and no, they’re not just mosquitoes or ants.

This week, Australian Food Safety Week (9-15 November), Hunter New England Health Foodborne Disease Epidemiologist Sally Munnoch is asking Hunter residents to think about some simple steps to protect your friends and family from food poisoning.

“Being away from your kitchen can pose problems that increase the risk of food poisoning,” Mrs Munnoch said. “It is a challenge to keep food at safe temperatures when you only have an esky or barbecue at hand. The germs that cause food poisoning can multiply rapidly on a warm day.

“Other factors that can increase the risk when dining outdoors can include small cooking spaces where raw and cooked foods are placed side-by-side, and limited opportunities for hand washing.”

Mrs Munnoch said there are some simple ways to reduce the risk of a bout of debilitating food poisoning.

“Wash your hands before handling food and eating, and after handling raw foods such as chicken and other meat,” Mrs Munnoch said. “Alcohol hand gel can be a useful addition to the picnic basket when soap and water are not available.

“Pre-prepare as much of the food as possible to avoid unnecessary handling of food when you get to your location and rather than unpacking the food early, keep perishable foods in the esky until meal-time so they remain cold for as long as possible.”

Mrs Munnoch said it was also important to keep hot foods as hot as possible – including the barbecue meat.

“Cook your food on the barbecue just in time for the meal and serve it hot,” she said. “This way you’ll be enjoying your food fresh and protecting yourself against poisoning.”

“Keep raw and cooked foods separated, particularly raw meat that can leak meat juices onto already cooked food. It’s ideal to keep the raw meat in a separate esky to cooked food.

“Of course, if you have real concerns about any food it’s better to throw it out than eat it - ‘when in doubt throw it out’.”

If you think you might be ill with a food-related illness, contact your GP. To report an outbreak call the NSW Food Authority on 1300 552 406.

Contact: Emma Gibbs

Phone: (02) 6767 7137 or 0428 114 767