Seva? If you are serving or giving away food, the Vancouver Coastal Health Environmental Health Officers have some tips to follow so that everyone can have a healthy and safe celebration.
There are many types of serious illnesses or food poisoning people can get from eating food that has not been prepared or stored correctly. People can get sick minutes or weeks after eating contaminated food. Sometimes it can be so serious that people are hospitalized. Children under five years, pregnant women, and seniors can be most seriously affected.
Food safety tips
Keep food safe by keeping hot foods such as samosas, sauces, rice and daal over 60 degrees Celsius. Cold foods such as kheer and yogurt or milk should be kept below 4 degrees Celsius. You can measure this with a food thermometer, available at grocery stores and dollar stores.
It is the safest to prepare food the day you will be eating it. Cooling and reheating food improperly can result in illness. Don’t make your food a day in advance before the event.
Protect food from germs by covering it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Don’t put food in cardboard flats/boxes or newspaper.
Don’t prepare food if you are sick. People who eat the food can become sick.
Cleaning tips
Handwashing is the best way to stop the spread of illness. Wash your hands for 30 seconds with soap and water, before handling food.
Use a clean and sanitized utensil (spoon, fork) to stir food. Don’t use your hands.
Don’t handle food with your bare hands. Use a utensil or wear gloves.
Clean and sanitize surfaces where you prepare and store your food.
Make a temporary handwashing station with a vessel filled with warm water with a spigot/faucet, liquid soap, paper towels and a vessel for the waste water.
For more information visit www.vch.ca/Vaisakhi.
Shelley Beaudet is a Senior Environmental Health Officer at Vancouver Coastal Health
