Students To Be Targeted For Food Safety Awareness

Students To Be Targeted For Food Safety Awareness

NZFSA Communications Director Sandra Daly says that public health professionals have noted in recent meetings of the New Zealand Foodsafe Partnership that young people leaving home for the first time appear to be over-represented in the foodborne illness statistics.

"While this is anecdotal, commonsense suggests that those in their late teens who have flown the nest have more on their minds than proper food handling and hand and kitchen hygiene," says Ms Daly.

"Combine this with the need to make funds go as far as possible and aging fridges in student flats any parent can see how bacteria could be partying as hard as their kids."

NZFSA reminds young people of the importance of the 4Cs: clean, cook, cover and chill, and how proper kitchen hygiene will lessen their risk of joining the 200,000 Kiwis who come down with foodborne illness each year.

For more information on the Foodsafe Partnership visit www.foodsafe.org.nz

Food safety reminders for students:

Oi you - show us ya fridge!

Congratulations you've made it to uni. Being a first-year student can mean loads of new experiences but don't make foodborne illness one of them.

Research shows young guys score pretty badly when it comes to food safety knowledge. Shared kitchens, hostels and campus accommodation can be a haven for all those foodborne bacteria simply because of the number of people using them and their varying food preparation skills and hygiene expectations.

And though it may be tempting to make do with five-day old pizza because you want to save on your grocery bill, take it from us the end result may not be pretty.

Every year foodborne illness strikes more than 200,000 Kiwis and almost half of those cases are caused by unsafe food handling in the home. So, if you want to head for the lecture theatre instead of the loo, remember the 20+20 handwashing rule and the 4Cs: clean, cook, cover, chill.

Wash your hands. Remember the 20+20 rule and wash your hands for 20 seconds using warm, soapy water then dry them for another 20 using a clean hand towel. Do this before handling any food and after touching raw meat and poultry, going to the toilet, handling rubbish or playing with the dog.

Clean: that means wash knives and other kitchen utensils and scrub chopping boards between preparing raw and cooked food. Keep kitchen benchtops clean and free of food scraps and crumbs.

Cook: defrost frozen foods thoroughly before cooking, preferably in the fridge, not on the benchtop. Minced meat and sausages should be cooked right through and pork and poultry juices should run clear. If you're having a barbeque, pre-cook minced meat, sausages and poultry. Don't use the same plates for raw and cooked food and put leftovers in the fridge as soon as they're cool but don't let them sit there for any more than three days. And only reheat them once.

Cover: always cover perishable food even in the fridge or cupboard. Keep raw meat and poultry covered in the bottom of the fridge and away from ready-to-eat food such as salad, fruit and veggies, to avoid dripping juices. If you're having a barbeque, keep all food covered till you're ready to cook or eat it.

Chill: the fridge is not just somewhere to put your beer. It should be used for perishable foods. Make sure your fridge is between 2 degrees C and 4 degrees C and don't overload it that just stops cool air circulating, which may cause your food to spoil. If you're having your mates around store your beer in iced water in the sink or bath. If you're taking food to uni or to a mate's place, keep it cool using a chilly bin and a couple of frozen drinks or a chilly pad.

For more information about food safety, visit www.nzfsa.govt.nz and www.foodsafe.org.nz

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