The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday offered a “3-5-2 formula” — three tips for reheating food safely, five food sanitation and safety guidelines, and two types of food to avoid — to ensure food safety and prevent foodborne illnesses during the Lunar New Year holiday.
With the long holiday approaching, families are likely to gather for a traditional reunion dinner and other festive feasts, and leftovers are frequently reheated for subsequent meals, but there are risks of food poisoning if food is stored or reheated improperly, the FDA said.
The food safety “temperature danger zone” is roughly between 7°C to 60°C, it said, adding that food poisoning bacteria can quickly grow to unsafe levels or even produce toxins when food is kept in this temperature range, so people should remember three key points for reheating food safely.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
First, leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator within two hours to prevent the rapid growth of pathogens or toxin production.
Second, leftover food should be reheated to a core temperature of 70°C or higher to kill most bacteria that might have grown during storage, it said.
Third, people should avoid reheating leftovers too many times, as it increases the risk of bacterial growth and foodborne illness, the FDA added.
The FDA suggested that people keep in mind five principles for food sanitation and safety.
First, washing their hands thoroughly with soap, with specific attention to easily missed areas such as fingertips or under the nails, especially after using the toilet, before preparing or eating a meal.
Second, make sure ingredients are fresh and uncontaminated, and third, keep raw food ingredients separate from cooked or ready-to-eat foods, as well as utensils and cutting boards for raw and cooked foods, to avoid cross contamination and food poisoning, it said.
The fourth principle is cooking food thoroughly, especially high-risk foods such as oysters, clams and other shellfish, which are prone to norovirus contamination.
Fifth, storing food at proper temperatures, such as putting ready-to-eat foods in the refrigerator within two hours, it added.
The FDA said that people should avoid two types of foods — drinking untreated mountain spring water, and eating unknown plants and animals.
It said untreated mountain spring water might contain harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, insect eggs and wild animal excrement, or it might even be contaminated with heavy metals or pesticide.
To prevent poisoning, people should also avoid picking wild plants, including vegetable-like plants or mushrooms, or catching wild animals such as fish, shellfish or cephalopods to eat, it said, adding that they should avoid giving or accepting these items from unsafe sources.
Separately, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Administration on Tuesday said that after it allocated a NT$1.6 billion (US$50.8 million) subsidy to encourage hospitals, clinics and pharmacies to open during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday, the number of hospital outpatient clinics that would be open during the holiday has increased by at least 12 percent.
It encouraged people to use its NHI Mobile Easy Access app to look up which healthcare facilities are open, or to find “urgent care centers” and “special clinics for infectious disease” before seeking medical attention for mild illnesses and injuries to avoid overcrowding emergency rooms.
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