The New Straits Times, January 17, 1997
Q: Can you provide some tips on avoiding food poisoning, especially in terms of preparing food or buying food from food stalls, during Ramadan?
A: Food poisoning is classified as an illness which usually appears within 48 hours of eating contaminated food and causes stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. In most cases, it is caused by bacteria or viruses in food.
The main danger arising from food poisoning is loss diarrhoea, which are the body's natural responses to poison.
If dehydration becomes serious, you should refer the victim for medical attention.
To avoid food poisoning, you should always remember that the kind of food that are most vulnerable to contamintion during storage, preparation, cooking and serving are meat, poultry and eggs.
Among the principles of proper food handling and kitchen safety are:
- Ensure that the food handler has been medically examined before operating any food stall and has been vaccinated against contagious diseases, such as typhoid.
- All cooking utensils have been properly washed before and after preparing food.
- The temperature in the refrigerator for storing food must be 4 degree Celcius or below; or 10 degree Celcius in the freezer. Cooling doesn't kill bacteria, but it stops their growth.
Allow air to circulate around the refrigerated items. Always wrap food in the refrigerator to keep off bacteria in the air.
- Ensure that all uncooked foodstuff are properly washed, prepared and cooked.
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after preparing food.
- Wash utensils, such as cutting boards, with hot soapy water before touching any other food with them. An acrylic cutting board is best, since it can be washed with hot water to kill any bacteria as well as it can resist pits and grooves where bacteria can hide.
It is also a good practice to use a separate cutting board for poultry and meat.
- Don't thaw meat at room temperature; thaw meat or poultry in the refrigerator and then cook immediately.
- Cool poultry and meat leftovers quickly and store them in the refrigerator. Reheat them to almost boiling point before taking the leftovers again.
- In general, throw out any food with mould.
- Never use cracked eggs because they may contain salmonella bacteria. However, even an uncracked egg may contain bacteria. Since salmonella is killed by heat, it is best to cook eggs thoroughly. Raw or half-cooked eggs should be avoided.
