HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
9
Because of consumer demand, preservatives have
been removed from many pre-prepared foods.
This, together with the changes in shopping habits
to a once-a-week shop, mean tht safe handling and
storage of food is more important than ever.
The following tips should help you to ensure that
the food in your home is an as perfect condition as
possible.
n Keep the time between buying chilled food and
placing it in your fridge as short as possible. Tests
showed that the temperature of 1 litre of orange
juice rose to 22°C in an hour between the
supermarket and home. It then took 11 hours to
get down to 7°C in the refrigerator.
n Keep the refrigerator door closed as much as
possible. Remember that warm air is flowing in as
your are deciding what to have for tea.
n Do not push food together too much, try to allow
air to circulate round each item.
n Cool cooked food as quickly as possible but do
NOT place in the fridge until cool.
n Do not store food uncovered.
n The safest way to defrost food is to put it in the
refrigerator to thaw slowly.
n It is important that food is used before its «best
before» date.
n Ensure that food placed in the freezer is dated and
labelled and used in date order to ensure that food
is consumed at its best.
n Always wash your hands in soapy water and dry
them with a clean towel before handling food.
n Keep work surfaces clean and avoid cross-
contamination by not using the same work surface
of knife, without washing them thoroughy.
n Use kitchen roll wherever possible for cleaning up
food. If you use a dishcloth, be sure to boil it
frequently.
SOME SIMPLE DOS AND DONTS
n DO connect the appliance to an electricity point
which is not liable to be switched off accidentally.
n DO follow the instructions given on the operation
of the temperature control to ensure efficient
operation.
n DO wrap and cover foods for perfect storage.
n DO ensure that when the fridge is to be put out of
service for some time, that the interior is carefully
cleaned, dried, the door left ajar and the plug is
removed from the electrical supply socket.
n DO NOT open the door more often or for longer
than is necessary, as this allows a temperature rise
and also causes a rapid build-up of frost.
n DO NOT prevent the free passage of air to the
back of the appliance.
n DO NOT turn the current off at the mains if your
intend to leave the fridge in use whilst on holiday.
n DO NOT overload the interior. To do so will restrict
the circulation of cooled air currents, which are
necessary to help maintain the correct storage
temperature conditions. This does not apply to the
frozen food packages stored in the frozen food
compartment, these can be packed closely
together.
