Whether you’re making family dinner, heating up leftovers, packing lunch for the kids, or having friends over for a barbecue, New Zealand Food Safety has great science-backed tips to keep everyone safe.

“Every year, thousands of New Zealanders get food poisoning. Many of these foodborne illnesses are due to poor food preparation, cooking, or storage at home,” says New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.

“There’s a wide range of symptoms, ranging from the inconvenient to the life-threatening for people vulnerable to illness.

“NZFS already has a wealth of science-based information on its Food safety at home webpages to help you prevent getting foodborne illnesses. This year, to coincide with World Food Safety Day tomorrow, we have distilled all this expertise into a new booklet of simple tips for avoiding foodborne illness in the home.”

From the store to your table, the Food safety at home booklet is packed with science-based food-safety advice. It contains:

• The latest evidence-based recommendations for preparing, cooking, storing, and transporting food safely.Did you know: Handwashing is one of the best ways to prevent foodborne illness. Washing them before preparing or eating food helps prevent germs spreading to your food.
• Updated advice on handling and cooking raw meat and meat products; barbecuing and eating outdoors; keeping at-risk people safe; and how long you can keep leftovers. Did you know: You can keep leftovers for up to 4 days in the fridge if you are going to eat them hot. But leftovers of cooked meals you won’t be reheating – like pasta salad – should only be kept for 2 days.
• Dedicated sections on use-by and best-before dates and advice for shellfish gatherers. Did you know: If a food is past its use-by date, throw it away as it’s not safe to eat. But if it’s past its best-before and it smells and looks okay, it probably is. Check it, sniff it, taste it – don’t waste it.

World Food Safety Day - jointly led by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - highlights the importance of food safety for the health, prosperity and wellbeing of people around the world. The theme for 2025 is “Science in action”.

“Our advice is based on up-to-date science, it’s now up to you to take action,” says Mr Arbuckle.

You can download your own Food safety at home booklet on our website. And, to celebrate World Food Safety Day,try our quiz on Facebook tomorrow to see how food safety savvy you are.

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