Understanding Food And Basic Food Safety

Understanding Food and Basic Food Safety 

There is an old English saying "Food cooked with passion and served with love tastes divine." Trust me, it is true even today! Every food enthusiast is well aware that the soul of any good recipe resides in the right blend of spices and fresh natural ingredients(Even Gordon believed this!) But we might sometimes miss upon an even more important ingredient while cooking food, and which more often than not tampers with the soul of our recipe. Yes, I am talking about food safety & hygiene. One has to be very careful while handling food and maintain the highest level of hygiene and food safety in our kitchen and home.

Food contamination can occur at any stage, be it harvesting, processing, preparation, storage or transportation. Foodborne diseases are often common where low standards of hygiene are used. According to data released by W.H.O, every year foodborne disease causes almost one in ten people to fall ill. These diseases can be deadly especially in children.

There are a few basic rules to be followed while handling food:

Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.

Separate: Don't cross-contaminate.

Cook: Cook to the right temperature.

Chill: Refrigerate promptly.

Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.

One must wash one's hands thoroughly with soap before coming in contact with food. This eliminates transfer of germs from your hands to the food. One must wash all vegetables and fruits with cold water before using them. Kitchen counters and surfaces are the key places which if dirty can contaminate food. These places must be sanitized thoroughly along with equipment used for preparing food.

In case you are sick or down with cold and flu you must avoid cooking and handling food. When someone has the symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting or jaundice, they should stay away from the workplace. And if they have a sore throat and fever, they should be restricted from preparing and serving food.This is alarming because these people potentially could have spread disease to the people who consume the foods their establishments were serving. Foodborne pathogens such as Noro virus, Hepatitis A and Shigella often are spread by sick workers through the food.

Separate: Don't cross-contaminate.

I have talked about cross-contamination in detail previously so, To sum up, To avoid cross contamination keep raw and cooked foods separate when storing and preparing. Food should be stored in covered containers in the fridge and put raw meats and poultry in the bottom of the fridge so the juices don't contaminate food on lower shelves. Don't put cooked meat back on the plate the raw meat was on.

Cook: Cook to the right temperature.

If you eat poultry, seafood and meat you must be careful while cooking them. They should be cooked thoroughly at right temperatures before eating. In order to confirm, insert a skewer in the center of the meat and check that there is no pink meat. The juices must run clear. Those are the signs of well cooked meat. In case raw meat is consumed it can lead to food poisoning.

In the past few years microwaves are being used in our kitchens to cook and reheat food. You can cover your food with food wrapping paper of a good quality, which prevents the food from drying out on reheating. Make sure the reheated food is piping hot and the steam is coming out of it. This means you have eliminated the risk of bacteria and other pathogens.

Chill: Refrigerate promptly.

If you are to store your raw food in fridge, wrap it with a food wrapping paper which can absorb the moisture and prevents the dripping of juices and keep it at a temperature lower than 5 degree Celsius. You can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home. Cold temperatures slow the growth of illness causing bacteria. So it's important to chill food promptly and properly. Refrigerate perishable foods within two hours.

Healthy and hygienic food habits can prevent a lot of foodborne diseases.

Moreover, Food is such a basic part of our existence. Our lives revolve around it from our waking moment onwards. Food and feasting go hand in hand and even celebrations all over the world and across all cultures are centred on food. Our ancient Sanskrit scriptures divide food into three categories, such as, 

Satvic or pure foods: These are foods that heal, comfort, juicy, smooth and increase longevity, intelligence and strength and are digested well by our system.

Rajasik or the tasteful foods: These are salty, spicy, bitter, salty and can give rise to ill health, grief or discomfort.

Tamasik or the impure foods: These include stale, cold, left over foods, impure and half cooked causing great harm to the mind and the body.

Food is one aspect of our life that we take for granted. We are less mindful of the food that we consume. We leave our body to deal with the constant abuse from our day to day lives and lifestyles. We, humans, without taking our body for granted, need to create health generating systems and build a oneness with food, productive exercises, corrective breathing and meditation, rest and sleep and be spiritually aware and conscious. These steps translate into better stamina, strength, tone and energy with emphasis on the whole body as an entity, one that accentuates wellness and wellbeing.

The food we eat lays the foundation for every cell and tissue in our body. The purpose of food is to nourish us, build strength and to give vital energy. Refined, processed and preserved foods are all totally devoid of this nutrition and vitality. Wholesome, raw and natural foods that have absorbed the cosmic energy, and are super charged with ample rainfall and sunshine must be utilized to the fullest for health and wellness.

The father of medicine, Hippocrates said "thy food is thy medicine. You are what you eat and what you eat you become".

To most of us eating good food is just another chore and a trivial thing to do. How many of us are really mindful of the fact that good food performs miracles inside our cells and tissues and is responsible for 80 percent of our transformation. Food has a subtle effect on our minds as well. Food plays a pivotal role in influencing our brain behaviour, our moods, and thought processes and in handling stress. It is these wholesome, natural foods that bestow health and vigour liberating and protecting us from us from illnesses. Studies have shown that there are two dietary processes in the human body-nourishing and cleansing- that need to be regulated with good and sensible dietary habits. If neglected, it can lead to a build up of toxins which are the basis for most mental and physical degeneration.

Health is not just a great body or a zero size figure but covers physical fitness, mind science and spiritual growth and our efforts should be an integrated approach towards wellness. To achieve this eat appropriate foods that do not erode our digestive system.

Here is a typical list of what is found in most 'western society pantries' and fridges, you guys must have seen it in movies too!

- Potato crisps (chips in a packet) / corn chips

- cookies (biscuits and crackers)

- rice crackers / rice and corn shapes

- cup cakes

- donuts

- muslie bars / rice bars / nut bars

- confectionary - chocolate bars

- candy / lollies / sweets on sticks / wrapped sweets / toffee / chew bar.

- mints / breath mints / candy suckers 

- premade pasta meals, instant noodles, meat

- soda drinks / soft drinks / soda pops / premix carbonated drinks

- juices / fruit drinks / pre-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices

- beers / wines

Now I ask the question - where is the real food in it? Where are the fruit and veggies? Is this your staple diet? Your immunity system is going to be seriously malfunctioned in a long run of life!!

I just mean, go real easy on all those junk foods, soft drinks, stale, cold foods and excessive meat eating and alcohol. Instead, begin to love fruits, veggies, nuts and foods in their natural wholesome form. It is important to 'cater to your hunger and not pamper your appetite. Happy dining!!