Food Safety Week 2012

Food Safety Week is an annual event to promote the importance of good food hygiene in the home and runs from 11 to 17 June 2012.

Food Safety on a Budget

The theme this year is food safety on a budget, with simple practical tips on how to keep your food safe when trying to save money:

• understanding ‘use-by’ and ‘best before’ dates

• encouraging you to use your leftovers safely

• providing some top planning tips to help people put this advice into practice

Leaflet, Shopping List and Create Your Own Recipe

Your Fridge is Your Friend - keep food safe and make your budget go further. You can download our tips in an advice leaflet, plus a create your own recipe card and shopping list, in PDF format below.

Understanding ‘Use-by’ and ‘Best Before’ Dates

• ‘Use by’ dates appear on foods that go off quickly. It can be dangerous to eat food past this date, even though it might look and smell fine.

• ‘Use by' does not always mean 'eat by'. If a food can be frozen its life can be extended beyond the 'use by' date.

• Check the ‘use by’ dates on the food in your fridge on a regular basis and be sure to use (eat, cook or freeze) food before its ‘use by’ to help you avoid throwing food away unnecessarily.

• Once food with a ‘use-by’ date has been opened, follow any storage instructions such as "eat within 3 days of opening".

• ‘Best before’ dates appear on food with a longer shelf life. They show how long the food will be at its best quality. Using food after the ‘best before’ does not mean it will be unsafe.

• The exception to this rule is eggs, providing the eggs are cooked thoroughly, they can be eaten a day or two after their ‘best before’ date but not longer than this.

Using Leftovers Safely - Your Fridge is Your Friend

• Using up leftovers can be a good way of making a meal go further.

• If you are going to store leftovers in the fridge, cool leftovers as quickly as possible (ideally within 90 minutes) cover them well, get them in the fridge and eat them up within two days.

• If you are going to freeze them, cool them before putting them in your freezer, to minimise temperature fluctuation in the freezer. Once foods are in the freezer, they can be safely stored there forever - but the quality will deteriorate so it is best to eat them within 3 months

• Make sure you defrost leftovers properly first. Defrost them in the fridge over night, or in the microwave if you intend to cook it straightaway.

• Eat leftovers within 24 hours of defrosting and do not refreeze. The only exception to this is if you are defrosting raw food, such as meat or poultry, once you have cooked this it can be refrozen

• Cook leftovers until steaming hot throughout

• Do not reheat leftovers more than once

Planning Your Meals

• Before you go shopping check what is in the fridge and freezer

• Think about what you will eat that week and write it down

• Make a list of what you need to buy and stick to it! Impulse buys can be expensive and, if not part of your plans, could lead to something else being wasted.

• If you do get tempted by special offers in the shop, like ‘Buy one get one free’, think about adjusting your meal planner for the week to add it in, or freeze the extra pack before the use-by date. What about cooking double and freezing the extra portion for another time?

• Label food with what the product is and the date that it goes in the freezer, so you know what it is and how long it’s been there.