Gear Up for your Safety!


Becoming food safe is achieved by adopting proper methods of handling, storing and preparing foods to prevent foodborne diseases and infections. Being conscious of what we eat is a good behavior towards food safety. Foods or any eddible product must be safe before consuming. Unsafe food or water means that it has been contanated, exposed to dirt and germs, or may even be rotten, which can cause infections or diseases, some of which leads to life threatening experiences. 


 Food poisoning can be prevented by avoiding the 4 food conditions in the inforgraphic.
Stale foods: Stale foods are food that are no longer fresh and good for consumption. The process of staling is a chemical or physical process that reduces the palatability of food, thus making it unpleasant for consumption. Such can be seen in breads and cake. Although stale foods are not actually categorized as unhealthy, they can be vehicles for microorganisms. 
Spoiled products: Food spoilage is a process in which foods deteriorates to a point that renders the food inedible for human consumption and unusable for food preparation. Once a food product is spoiled, it cannot be eaten and must be trashed. Spoiled foods can easily be detected by colour change, slimy texture and bad or rotten odour. One of the factors that contribute to food spoilage is poor storage and handling. Spoilage organisms may not necessarily make you sick per say but the toxins and metabolites released by these organisms can make an individual sick.
Rotten egg: Eggs are excellent source of protein and when fresh are very appealing to consume. However, rotten eggs are very unpleasant to eat and can cause serious food poisoning due to the presence of harmful microorganisms. Salmonella bacteria which is usually found in eggs are one of the most common causes of food poisoning. It is advisable to ensure that eggs are fresh and in good condition before consumption. To prevent food poisoning, keep eggs refrigerated, cook eggs until yolks are firm, and cook foods containing eggs thoroughly.

Unwashed fruits and vegetables:Unwashed fruits and vegetables can contain harmful microorganism (foodborne pathogens) like salmonella, listeria, E coli, norovirus and more... (I'm sorry to mention). Because most fruits and vegetables are consumed fresh and raw without necessarily cooking, extra precautions should be taken to prevent food poisoning caused by the adhering microorganisms. Washing fruits and vegetables properly is a very good habit for healthy consumption. No one would want to fall sick while trying to enjoy the loads vitamins and minerals contained in those fresh produce.
Remember food poisoning is neither juju 😵nor charm 👽, it occurs as a result of our carelessness and poor food handling. Refer to the post Food Poisoning: A Threat to Human Health  for better understanding of food poisoning. 

Save someone today by sharing this page/post with friends and family!
#SafeFoodIsForMeandYou.
#SafeFoodforAll

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Food Product Claims: What does this really mean?

Image
Have you heard about " Food Product Claims" , how often do you see it on food products, which products can have this claim, and what does it really mean or maybe what is it actually claiming (smiles)? Well, relax and learn from  Chidinma Ezinne Ochulor,  a Food Quality Assurance Specialist at Promasidor Nigeria Ltd as she throws more light on this. It has become prevalent to find bold 'claims' on the packaging material of food products. Claim in this context is to declare, affirm or avouch. Food product claims may be in the form of health claims, nutrient claims or structure/function claims. You may have seen something similar to these:  "...contains 5 vitamins and minerals" "... no sugar"  "... can help lower cholesterol"  "... energy booster"  "... calorie-free"  "... low sodium"  "... heart-friendly"  "... contains calcium for strong bones"  The list is endless.  A  health claim  on a ...
Read more

International Week for Breastfeeding: Focusing on Infant Food Security and Safety

Image
PHOTO: UNICEF The World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 - 7th August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. Breastfeeding provides both long-term and short-term health, economic and environmental benefits to children, women and the society at large. Studies have shown that children who are breastfed for a longer period have better cognitive development than those who are breastfed for shorter periods; this translates to improved academic performance and productivity. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and averts maternal deaths yearly. These are reasons why public health organizations recommend breastfeeding, starting from one hour after birth to six months until the baby is six (6) months old. Thereafter, nutritious and safe complementary food should be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to 1 year and beyond. Apart from the ...
Read more

FOOD LABEL DEMYSTIFIED: USE BY, BEST BEFORE AND SELL BY DATES

Image
In a very simple sentence , a food label  is a   panel found on a package of food which contains a variety of information about the nutritional value of the food item. There are many standard pieces of information on most  food labels , including serving size, the amount of calories and other key nutrients, a list of ingredients, the production dates and the best date to be used or discarded.  Even though food labels are just one of the many boring pieces of writing struggling for our attention daily, it is important to note that practicing food safety starts by reading and understanding the labels on a food package.  All details in the food label are very important if you must make a healthy choice. However, this article explains some of the common terms seen on the seemingly confusing food labels. Those common terms are the  USE BY, BEST BEFORE AND SELL BY  dates.  Use by "Use by" dates are the most important date to consider, as ...
Read more