Good Food Safety Practices

Mishandling of food, especially during preparation, is one of the leading causes of food-borne illnesses, commonly known as food poisoning.

Everybody can play a part in ensuring food safety. We can start by adopting these simple actions in our daily living:

Singapore enjoys one of the lowest incidences of food-borne disease outbreaks compared to the rest of the world. This is despite the fact that more than 90% of all food consumed here is imported.

• Select our food carefully
• Separate raw and cooked food
• Keep food at safe temperatures
• Wash and keep clean
• Cook food well
• Cook your food well

  Thorough cooking helps to kill all the harmful bacteria in food. Food that require special attention include meat patties where the meat becomes more exposed to bacteria in the process of mincing, barbequed meat, whole poultry and seafood.

• Tips:

  • Cook food thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood. Meat that is pink is not thoroughly cooked.

  • Cook food at high temperatures (above 75oC).

  • Ensure the centre of meat and poultry are well-cooked as partially cooked food increases risk of bacterial growth.

  • Bring food like stews, soups and curries, to boiling temperatures when cooking.

• Keep Cooked Food Safe!

  Food poisoning can occur as a result of using improper food handling practices when storing and reheating cooked food. Follow these food safety tips to reduce the risk of food poisoning from contaminated cooked food.

• Handling cooked food

  • Cook only sufficient amounts for immediate serving.

  • Portion out excess cooked food after cooking and refrigerate quickly.

  • Cooked food intended for consumption later should be separated from food to be served as soon as it is cooked.

  • Do not try to chill or cool down hot food in large quantities. This is because large quantities of food would take a longer time to chill properly.

  • Buy only from credible sources.

• Storing cooked food

  • All cooked food should be refrigerated or frozen within 2 hours after cooking.

  • Store cooked food in a clean, shallow container.

  • Use shallow containers and leave sufficient air space around the food to promote rapid and even cooling. Cooked food stored in large, deep containers remain warm for a longer time. Dangerous bacteria may grow in this warm spot which can lead to food poisoning if consumed.

  • When freezing cooked food, make sure they are wrapped tightly.

  • Keep your refrigerator uncluttered so that air can circulate and cool food properly.

  • Do not refreeze frozen food that have been thawed.

  • As a general rule, do not keep cooked food for more than 4 days.

Reference: Singapore Food Agency (https://www.sfa.gov.sg)