We Often don’t Think about Food Safety, but it’s Important to your Health

I don’t know about you, but I’ve taken the occasional item out of my fridge or freezer, and thought that it hasn’t always tasted or looked the freshest. Understanding food safety is important. Part of the problem is that dating on packaging is confusing – there are “best before”, “expiration” and “packaged on” dates.

Retail products with less than a 90 day shelf life must be labelled with a “packaged on” and a “Best before” date. Did you know that the “best before” date is the expected amount of time that the food product, when stored under proper conditions, maintains its freshness taste and nutritional value? It doesn’t guarantee a product’s safety, in fact, it was originally created to help stores manage their inventory. These dates are often conservative, which is good for manufacturers because it means attentive consumers will buy products more frequently.

An “expiration date” must only be used on a few products where nutritional components are guaranteed. Such products include: meal replacements, nutritional supplements and human milk substitutes (ie. infant formula). After the expiry date is passed, food may not have the same nutrient content stated on the label. Again, these dates are often conservative, which benefits manufacturers.

While it’s true that storing food at, or less than 4 degrees Celsius slows down it’s deterioration, keep in mind it doesn’t stop it from decomposing altogether. There have been many cases of food poisoning resulting from people either eating food stored too long in their fridge or stored in an over-packed fridge without the proper temperature or air circulation.

What can you do to make your fridge safer?

1. A fridge thermometer is a good investment to ensure your fridge is the proper temperature.
2. Different parts of your fridge have different temperatures – place the items in their appropriate sections – ie. we’re often instructed to place veggies and fruits in the bottom crispers.
3. Cover foods in your fridge even while marinating or thawing them, to prevent cross-contamination.
4. Cool food on the stove only until steam stops rising, then place hot food directly into Tupperware and put it in your fridge. Use shallow containers when possible, to cool the food faster.
5. Refrigerate meat dishes ASAP (maximum within 1 hour). If you leave it to cool on your stove, growth of any microbes from your hands, utensils etc will be encouraged.
6. Don’t buy swollen chilled food packages, products that look this way in the grocery store, often contain contents that are going off. They’re often items that have been stored for some time at warm temperatures or those that are near the end of their shelf life.
7. While shopping, buy refrigerated and frozen food last, and head straight home to unpack.

What can you do to make your freezer safer?

1. Don’t leave meat or fish in your freezer for much more than 1 month.
2. Eat frozen veggies within a few months of buying them; the nutrients decrease over time.
3. Write on the packages, the day you freeze each item and the date it should be eaten.
4. Thaw cooked or ready-to-eat foods in the fridge or microwave, not on your counter.

Food safety watchouts – don’t keep these foods around for long:

1. Deli meats, hot dogs and soft cream cheese: because of their high moisture content, these foods can support the growth of Listeria (a serious infection caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria).
2. Dented metal canned goods: dents can lead to rust and air holes developing, which can allow botulism to enter.
3. Vacuum-sealed, ready-to-eat meals: these foods have a high risk of botulism.
4. Moldy fruit: cutting mold off fruit is risky, it may mean the fruit has mycotoxins, which are carcinogenic. A moldy berry can lead to mycotoxins being spread across and found on all berries. As a side note, cutting mold off hard cheese (ie. cheddar) is OK, because of its hard texture, mycotoxins don’t diffuse as quickly on hard cheeses.

Reach out here with any questions you have, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Author: Lindsay Atkinson