How to Practice Food Safety at Home


October 28, 2022

love and realationship

Food poisoning isn’t uncommon in the Philippines. Between 2005 to 2021, there were a total of 63 outbreaks, 4,354 hospitalizations, 635 home medications, and 38 reported deaths. This year, we’ve also seen various cases of foodborne illnesses across the country, from school snack cases to street food in public markets.

But we shouldn’t just worry about the food we eat outdoors. Sometimes, an outbreak can come from a single household. A mami vendor from Tondo was the cause of fifteen food poisoning victims and one death. Even the seller, herself, fell ill.

We need food to survive. Food can make or break our health so we have to make sure that whatever goes into our bodies is good for us. 

It all starts at home.

love and realationship


Preparing your family’s food is a labor of love. One mistake, however, can lead to medical mishaps that you’d very much like to avoid.

Just follow these four simple steps so you can help protect your loved ones and yourself from food poisoning:

CLEAN

  • Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands for at least twenty seconds with soap before preparing, between tasks, and after cooking.

  • Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running water after you buy them from the grocery.

  • Keep kitchen surfaces clean at all times. Germs that cause food poisoning can survive in and spread all around the kitchen.

SEPARATE

  • Don’t cross-contaminate between types of food. Keep eggs, seafood, poultry, and raw meat in separate containers.

  • Avoid washing eggs, poultry, or meat. Running water can spread germs to clothes, other food, or parts of your kitchen.

  • Use one cutting board for raw meat, poultry, and seafood, then another one for food that doesn't need to be cooked.

COOK

  • Use a food thermometer and check the proper temperature needed for the food you’re preparing.

  • If you’re using a microwave, allow it to cook your food completely without leaving any cold spots.

CHILL

  • Refrigerate dairy, meat, vegetables, seafood, and other perishable goods within one to two hours.

  • Wait for warm food to cool before storing it inside the refrigerator.

  • Thaw frozen food in a container and never on your counter to prevent the further spread of bacteria.

Be prepared.

We all know that food is more than a craving. It energizes us and gives us nutrients so we can live well and take on the day.

But there are also situations beyond our control, especially when the food we eat isn’t something we’ve prepared ourselves. It’s best to have protection should that time come.

At Paramount Direct, our HealthCare Cash Plan has a wide range of benefits that helps you pay off costly medical bills if you’re hospitalized for a foodborne illness. It’s a health plan that caters to ages 20 to 50 years old, providing cash benefits for short-term and long-term confinements, ICU confinements, dread disease benefits, and a lump sum for surgeries.

Premiums start at PHP239/month for individuals. Based on age 20 and Plan 500.

HTML tutorialHealth is wealth, as they always say. Make food safety and your health a top priority today.


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