Safe food preparation, cooking, and storage at home

How to prevent food poisoning

Every year, around 200,000 New Zealanders get food poisoning. About half of these cases occur in homes just like yours. Food poisoning is caused by harmful germs in or on the food we eat. Campylobacter, Salmonella and Yersinia are the most common causes. You can help keep your family from getting sick by following the advice on this page.

The following tips will help prevent your family getting food poisoning.

Preparing food

Wash your hands with soap and dry well before handling, cooking, and eating food.
Wash chopping boards and kitchen tools in hot, soapy water and dry well after using with raw meat or seafood.
Use different chopping boards for raw meat, seafood, and ready-to-eat foods like salads and cheese.
Don't wash chicken or raw meat. Washing will spread bacteria in your kitchen and may contaminate other food.
Wash your hands after handling eggs.
Keep surfaces and kitchen utensils clean and dry before and after handling eggs.
Use clean eggs free from dirt, faecal matter, and cracks.

Cooking food

Ensure poultry, pork, processed and minced meat is cooked right through to kill harmful bacteria. Chicken and sausage juices should run clear and the meat should not be pink in the middle.
Eggs should be cooked until the white is completely firm, and the yolk begins to thicken.
Use a meat thermometer to check temperatures at the middle of the thickest part (where the temperature should be 75°C or more).
Defrost frozen foods thoroughly so they cook properly in the middle. Or, follow cooking instructions on labels or packaging that say you can cook the food directly from frozen.
Use one set of utensils for raw meat and chicken, and another set for cooked food. Put cooked items on a clean plate, not on the one that's been used for raw ingredients.
Check the use-by dates on food packaging. Don't buy, eat or drink once this date has passed.
If food is labelled with a best-before date, it's all right to eat the food after the date has passed, as long as the food is not showing signs that it's gone 'off'. Use your sense of smell, and look for signs of decay or mould. If in doubt, throw it out.

Storing and using leftover food

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers as soon as possible or within 2 hours of cooking. The hotter the weather, the shorter the time food will stay safe.
Divide large portions of hot food into smaller containers or a shallow tray to help it cool quickly and evenly, and to stop harmful bacteria from growing to levels that could cause illness.
Store leftovers in a covered container in your fridge.

How long you can keep them

Rice-based leftovers: Keep rice-based leftovers refrigerated and eat them within 2 days. These types of leftovers are risky because uncooked rice can contain bacterial spores that survive cooking. The spores then form bacteria, which produce toxins that cause food poisoning – and toxins are not destroyed by reheating.
Cooked food eaten cold: Leftovers of cooked meals that are normally eaten without reheating – like pasta salads, roast vege salads or potato salads – should be refrigerated and eaten within 2 days.
Leftovers eaten hot: Keep them refrigerated and eat them within 4 days. Reheat until piping hot before eating.
Leftover green salads: Eat salads containing raw leafy greens as soon as you can after preparation. Use any leftover salad as ingredients in cooked dishes - like soups and stews - or throw them out. Leafy greens can carry illness-causing bacteria that survive or grow in the fridge.
When in doubt, throw it out.

Reheating leftovers

Reheat leftovers until piping hot (over 75°C). Warm doesn’t kill bacteria. Hot does.
Defrost frozen leftovers in the fridge or microwave. Leaving meals on a bench top to defrost allows harmful bacteria to grow.
Don't reheat your leftovers more than once.

STORING FOOD IN YOUR FRIDGE

Most harmful bacteria cannot grow at low refrigeration temperatures. Set your fridge temperature between 2°C and 5°C and follow these tips.

Keep eggs in the fridge after purchase.
Keep raw and cooked foods separate in the fridge.
Refrigerate raw meat on the bottom shelf, and keep it separate from cooked or other ready-to-eat foods.
Keep cooked food on a higher shelf than raw meat or chicken. This will prevent raw meat and chicken juices from dripping onto food that is ready-to-eat.
Keep your fridge clean, and don't overfill it. This can prevent cold air from circulating properly, which can affect the temperature of food inside the fridge.

Transporting food

Keep a chilly bag or bin in your car to transport chilled or frozen foods, and transfer them to the fridge or freezer as soon as you get home.
Use ice packs if you have long travel times after shopping or won’t be going home straight away.

Other food safety tips

Refer to other information for more tips to help you make sure your food is safe (it won’t make you sick) and suitable (the ingredients and condition are what you expect them to be).

How to handle raw meat safely and avoid cross-contamination

Safe barbecuing of food

Shopping with reusable bags and containers

Keeping lunch box food safe

Washing your hands before handling food

Food safety advice during bird flu outbreaks – Fact sheet [PDF, 303 KB]