Keeping your stomach safe

With the festive season and warmer weather here, you really need to be taking care when preparing and storing food.

Director of Environmental Health Jim Dodds says people should follow proper food handling procedures to ensure that barbecues, social functions and the traditional Christmas lunch don't become a source of illness.

"The rate of food-borne illnesses such as gastroenteritis often increases over summer because bacteria grow more quickly in foods if they are left out of the fridge," he says.

People can avoid food-borne illness by following some basic food handling principles such as:

• storing foods such as meat, dairy products and other perishable goods in the fridge until needed and not leaving leftovers out for longer than two hours
• covering food to prevent contamination by dust or insects
• throwing away higher risk foods such as those containing meats and dairy products which have been left out of the fridge for longer than four hours
• cooking all meats thoroughly, taking special care with chicken and minced meat products
• always having an esky with ice or ice bricks to keep meats and other foods cold at barbecues and picnics
• checking date marking on food before purchasing or using
• washing hands thoroughly with soap and water before handling food
• avoiding cross contamination – prepare and store raw meat separately from cooked and ready to eat foods such as salad and cooked chicken. Items such as tongs, chopping boards and knifes used on raw meats should be washed before being used to handle ready to eat foods
• placing left over food to cool in the fridge soon after cooking
• keeping leftovers for a maximum of three days and if reheating, reheat until steaming hot
• washing fruit and vegetables in clean running water before consumption

Jim says people should also be aware that most food poisoning bacteria do not produce an "off" smell or taste, so it may be hard to tell if something should not be eaten.

"In many cases food poisoning symptoms can take a few days to appear, so people should not assume it was the last meal they ate that made them sick," he says.

"If you think you have become ill from eating contaminated food and are unwell enough to seek medical care, you should consult your doctor as soon as possible and make a list of food eaten in the previous 48 hours.

"If the food was eaten at a restaurant or takeaway, you should also notify the local government's environmental health branch and any leftovers should be frozen or refrigerated for examination."