With all the rising prices around us and the devaluation of the Ringgit, many families are choosing to eat at home rather than eating out. In this way, they are able to cut down on travel expenses and spend less on food.

Eating home cooked food has many benefits. For one, you are able to control the amount of unhealthy ingredients and incorporate more fruits and vegetables of your liking. On the other hand, if both parents in a family are working full time, cooking can be tedious and time consuming.

Despite the hardships, Malaysians will surely pull through with persistence and grace. In order to help you keep your cooking habits hygienic, here are some tips to maintain a clean and healthy kitchen, as well as avoid the chances of food poisoning:

1) Wash Regularly



Wash your hands with soap and water constantly throughout the cooking process, especially after handling raw meat. It also helps to keep on cleaning your work surfaces with anti-bacterial wipes before and after every cooking session.

2) Separate



Avoid cross contamination by separating raw foods like meat, seafood, eggs and poultry from vegetables and fruits, as well as from ready to eat foods like bread. You should also use different cutting boards for raw foods, including seafood and ready to eat foods, including fruits and bread.

Additionally, you should wash all your cutting boards thoroughly with water and detergent. All knives should also be washed after using it on raw foods and before letting it touch ready to eat items.

Old cutting boards, especially wooden ones that have grown moldy, must be disposed off and a new one bought.

3) Chill



Your refrigerator must be below 4°C and the freezer must be below 0°C in order to keep your food fresh longer. Avoid defrosting and re-freezing raw meat repeatedly as this promotes bacterial growth and will make the meat go rotten faster. The defrosting of frozen meats should only be done once.

Store all your cooked foods or leftovers in shallow containers, it’s even better if they are airtight. When marinating, do so in the refrigerator rather than on the counter top. All perishable food like vegetables, meat and seafood must immediately be stored in the chiller when you return from shopping.

If you have a one door refrigerator, make sure you defrost it regularly by turning off the electricity and lining the floor around it with towels and other absorptive material. Wait until all the water has drained out and then turn on the refrigerator again. Replace the towels if they become too soaked.

4) Cooking



Make sure all meats, seafood, poultry and vegetables are cooked thoroughly as poorly cookes meat can spread the bacteria that causes food poisoning.

Use a food thermometer to ensure that dishes have reached their desired safe cooking temperature. Here is a list of recommended temperature:

1) Beef, Veal, Lamb- 63°C
2) Pork - 71°C
3) Poultry – at least 74°C
4) Ground beef, lamb and veal- 71°C, minced pork- 63°C
5) Ground poultry - 74°C
6) Fish should be opaque and white through, with the flesh flaking off when handled with a fork
7) Shellfish should look opaque throughout
8) Eggs should be firm and not runny. If you are eating raw eggs, be sure they are from a hygienic and trustable source.
9) Baked casserole dishes, and baked egg dishes - 71°C
10) Warming leftovers- 74°C
11) Leftover soups, stews and gravy dishes should be boiled