As you begin to cook, it’s important to keep your health and well-being in mind. One key aspect of staying healthy is practicing good food safety habits. Whether you’re cooking in your dorm room, grabbing a quick bite between classes, or sharing a meal with friends, these tips will help you avoid foodborne illnesses and ensure that your meals are safe and enjoyable!

Understand use-by and best before dates

- Use-by dates are about safety, you cannot eat the food after the use-by date. These are usually on foods that go off quickly such as ready-to-eat salads or meat.

- Best before dates are about quality, not safety!

 

Cook food properly!

- Check the advice on food packaging and follow coking instructions provided until your food is steaming hot.

- Wash your hands after handling raw meat products.

 

Hand washing

- Before prepping food, before handling, food, before eating, after preparing, after handling waste, after cleaning surfaces, after eating and drinking, after sneezing, touching pets, the list goes on! But just remember to regularly wash your hands when cooking!

 

Leftovers

- Leftovers should ideally be eated within 48 hours and cooled as quickly as possible, ideally within one hour. Cooked rice should not be reheated more than once.

 

Taking out bins

- Bins should be regularly removed from your cooking area to avoid any infestations of flies, pests, or foul smells.

 

Managing food allergies

- Having a food allergy can pose extra challenges to daily tasks and have unexpected impacts on new housemates or to restaurants when ordering food for delivery. Ensure everyone is aware of the allergy and try to work as a flat/house to ensure that cooking areas do not get contaminated.

 

Cleaning and bin rotas

- These are a must for shared living spaces - don't just let one proactive person do everything, and don't just not clean/take out the bins. You may also want to consider pooling fund to stock up on communal sponge, washing up liquid.