Food Safety 101

Going to university is a super exciting time, but also comes with its own set of responsibilities including being conscious about the food you eat and how you prepare it. Keeping in mind budgets and limited space in shared kitchens, it’s important to ensure mealtimes are clean and hygienic.

The start of semester can be a busy time, so to make life a little easier, the Food Standards Agency have pulled together a guide on how to keep your kitchen clean and reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Here’s some of their top tips:

1) Use-by and best before dates: what’s the difference?

• A use-by date is about safety and the most important date to remember. You can eat food until and, on the use-by date, but not after. Food can look and smell fine even after its use-by date but may be unsafe to eat and cause food poisoning, so never trust the sniff test.
• The best before date is about quality. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be as tasty.

If your food is close to the use-by date, you can help keep the food for longer by freezing it and preventing bacteria from growing in it. You can freeze pre-packaged food right up to the day of the use-by date.

2) Shared fridges

Chances are you’ll be sharing a fridge with roommates. To stay safe, avoid cross-contamination from raw meat and fish by not storing opened packets of meat, fish or shellfish in the fridge. Instead use separate containers to store food in - sealed or waterproof containers are ideal for avoiding avoid leakages and limiting the spread of harmful bacteria. We recommend bringing a wide array of Tupperware with you to university for this purpose.

You should also avoid putting open tin cans in the fridge as the food inside may experience bacterial growth and develop a metallic taste.

Remember to check the contents in the fridge regularly so that any foods past their use-by dates are disposed of quickly.

3) Hand washing

You should regularly wash your hands with warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds:

• before preparing food
• before handling cooked or ready to eat food
• before eating and after preparing raw foods, or handling its packaging
• after handling waste
• after cleaning surfaces
• after eating and drinking
• after sneezing, touching pets or going to the toilet.

4) Leftovers

Reusing and reinventing your leftovers is a great way to make the most of your food and save money time for days you don't have to time to cook, or don't feel like cooking. Cool and cover your leftovers and put them in a fridge or freezer within one to two hours.

You can split leftovers into smaller portions so that they cool quicker. This can also help portion control and planning for future meals.

If you store your leftovers in a fridge, rather than freezing, they should be eaten within two days.

Check out the full guide for more food hygiene tips including keeping your kitchen clean, managing allergies and ordering food safely.