Meat safety tips

Before use

• Always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat.
• Do not wash meat or chicken before use, this could cause bacteria to be carried by the water and splashed around the kitchen. It is better to ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly.

Storage

• Keep food at safe temperatures, cold food below 50C and hot food above 600C.
• Always store raw meat in the fridge and below 50C – this reduces the risk of food poisoning by either stopping or slowing the growth of bacteria. 
• Raw meat should be stored on the lowest shelf in the fridge to prevent contamination of other foods.
• Tip – the lower shelves of a fridge are usually the coldest!
• When storing meat in the freezer, wrap it and mark it with the date it was frozen. This effectively puts the use by date on pause. If the meat has 2 days until the use by prior to freezing, then it will have 2 days left after thawing. 

Preparation

• Always defrost meat in the refrigerator or microwave, NOT on the bench top or in water.
• Use a separate chopping board for raw meats and other foods.
• If cooking chicken, pork, sausages or mince make sure it is cooked all the way through and the juices run clear.  

Storage after cooking

• After cooking you need to follow the two-hour/four-hour rule.
• Less than 2 hours, you can eat or once stopped steaming, cover and refrigerate. Leftovers can be kept for no longer than 2-3 days in the refrigerator, then either eat, freeze or throw away.
• Between 2 and 4 hours post cooking: consume food immediately or throw away.
• More than 4 hours post cooking: food must be thrown away as it is not safe to eat or store.

Tip: use by versus best before

• Use by: Food safety: food is not safe to eat past the use by date.
• Best before: Food quality: the food may still be safe to eat, however the nutritional value and the quality of the food may have deteriorated.