Catering at Home (Food Safety)

There are more than 500,000 cases of food poisoning in the UK each year!

Campylobacter, which is an infectious food poisoning disease caused mainly by eating undercooked chicken or other food that has been contaminated with juices dripping from raw chicken, is considered as responsible for more than half of those, in turn leading to more than 100 deaths a year.

A food safety system is vital to ensure the risk of food poisoning being caused by poor food hygiene is minimised.

Since the pandemic, more and more people are hosting events at home as opposed to eating out, especially during the festive period, having family gatherings and such like, many people find themselves cooking for more people than they are used to and therefore handling larger amounts of food. Many often see themselves as the next Masterchef!

Food Safety applies to households too, not just businesses. You want those who have enjoyed your hospitality to go home with memories of a good time, not a tummy bug to remember you by. Therefore you MUST ensure that food is stored and cooked safely.

Having a good understanding of food safety practices is essential in protecting the health of both consumers and food handlers. Remember to keep raw meat separate from cooked meat and ready-to-eat foods like salads. Cross-contamination is most likely to happen when raw food touches or drips onto ready-to-eat food, utensils or surfaces.

Poultry, such as turkey, goose and chicken, can cause food poisoning if not cooked properly. The following information provides advice on reducing the chance of food poisoning for you and your guests:

1. If using products from the freezer, always follow defrosting instructions on the packaging.
2. To prevent the spread of food poisoning germs like Campylobacter, be careful to wash everything that has touched raw meat (e.g. hands, utensils and work surfaces) with soap and hot water.
3. Don’t wash raw poultry as germs can splash around your kitchen.
4. Give yourself enough time to prepare and cook your meal(s) to avoid hot fat, boiling water and sharp knife accidents that come from rushing, and keep anyone not helping with dinner out of the kitchen. Wipe up any spills quickly
5. Make sure you allow time for white meat to cook thoroughly. There should be no pink meat in the thickest parts and it should be steaming hot with juices running clear.
6. If you have any leftovers, you should cool them, then cover and ensure that they go in the fridge or freezer within 1-2 hours. If you have a lot of one type of food, splitting it into smaller portions will help it to cool quickly and means you can freeze and defrost only what you need for future dishes.
7. You can freeze various meats and meals cooked from previously cooked and frozen meat. But once defrosted, the pause button is off and you should eat the food within 24 hours.
8. You can make your leftovers into new meals and then freeze them. If you do make a new meal, such as curry or casserole from leftovers, then you can also freeze this, even if you are using meat that was originally frozen.
9. Make sure that when you come to use frozen leftovers, you defrost them thoroughly in the fridge overnight or in a microwave (on the defrost setting) and then reheat until steaming hot.
10. If you have leftover wine you can pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it for use at a later date in sauces, gravy or (if it’s white) even as an alcoholic ice cube to chill your wine.
11. Don’t waste any fresh herbs that are leftover, you can puree and freeze them in an ice cube tray to add to dishes as and when you need them.
12. Don’t forget: leftovers should be eaten or frozen within 2 days (one day for rice dishes).

If you choose to order in catering for an event, the ‘Scores on the Doors’ website lists all venues that have a food hygiene rating score from 0 (urgent improvement necessary) to 5 (very good).

For those of you wanting a full understanding of Food Safety, we offer a variety of Food Awareness training courses from E learning Food Safety to the Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering. Contact us for further information.

To book our Food Safety courses visit our open courses page on our website or contact us to discuss your specific needs in more detail.

Whatever your training needs, give us a call today 0117 958 2070 or e-mail us