Food safety at home

A few simple steps to keep the food you buy and take home safe to eat for you and your family. 

Clean

Clean hands are key.

• Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm soapy water and dry them with a clean towel. 
• Clean your hands before preparing or eating food and do this again often, especially after handling raw meat, poultry (chicken, turkey, or other bird meat) or eggs.
• Keep benches, kitchen equipment and tableware clean and dry.
• Wash fresh fruit and vegetables under running water before eating. 

Separate

Germs that can make you sick can spread easily between food and kitchen equipment.

• Keep raw meat, poultry and eggs separate from cooked or prepared food, like salads.
• Use separate and different chopping boards, plates and utensils for raw and cooked food.
• Keep raw food in leak-proof containers on the lower shelves of your fridge to stop spills onto other food.

Chill

Keeping food cold is one of the best ways to keep it safe.

• Keep your fridge at 5°C or colder. Occasionally check your fridge temperature.
• Don’t leave food that should be in the fridge in a hot car – use an insulated container for long trips. 
• Put cooked leftovers in your fridge as soon as they stop steaming – don’t leave them to cool completely on the bench.
• Leftovers kept in your fridge should be eaten within three days or moved to the freezer.
• If you leave food out of the fridge, eat it within four hours. If it has been left out for two to four hours, eat it immediately or throw it away – don’t put it back in the fridge. If in doubt, throw it out!
• Defrost food in the fridge overnight or in a microwave immediately before use. Don’t defrost food on the bench or in the sink.

Cook

Properly cooking food helps to avoid food poisoning.

• Cook poultry (including chicken), pork, rolled roasts, minced meat and sausages until the centre of the thickest part is 75°C or hotter.
• Cook chicken until the meat is white and juices run clear or – even better – use a meat thermometer to check.
• Whole meats, such as steak, can be safely eaten rare. That is, fully cooked on the outside but pink in the middle.
• Do not use cracked or dirty eggs. Avoid eating food that contains raw egg, such as some mayonnaises, aioli, tiramisu and eggnog.
• Reheat food until it is piping hot – steaming or boiling.

Check the label

Follow safety information on the food label.

• Don’t eat food past its ‘use by’ date – it may be unsafe.
• It is safe to eat food past its ‘best before’ date but it may have a poorer quality or less nutritional value.
• Follow all storage and cooking instructions on the label. 
• Some food kept in the cupboard needs to be stored in the fridge after opening and used within a few days.

Take extra care

Sometimes extra care is needed to keep everyone safe.

• If you have been unwell with diarrhoea or vomiting, do not prepare food for others for at least two days after your symptoms have stopped.
• Be aware of what ingredients are in foods if you are preparing food for someone with a food allergy. Check the label every time.
• Ask for allergen information in store when buying food that doesn’t have a label.
• Some people are at greater risk of serious problems from food poisoning, including pregnant women, the elderly or very young, and people whose immune systems have been weakened. 
• Take extra care when preparing food for people at risk and know the foods to avoid. 
• Occasionally unsafe food is recalled from the market. 
• You can check current food recalls on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website. 
• The Department issues current food safety alerts for Tasmania and has advice not to eat wild shellfish or wild mushrooms. 

More information 

Visit the Food Safety Information Council website for more food safety tips

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