Storage is one of the most likely places for food contamination to occur - and environmental health officers will pay close attention to the way food is kept.
"This product is designed to reach you in perfect condition." We've all read that phrase so often on the back of a bag of crisps, packet of biscuits or similar packaged food. It's usually accompanied by an explanation of what you should do "if not completely satisfied", which normally involves returning the product saying where and when you bought it.
It's that last bit that's important. Food manufacturers and suppliers spend small - and sometimes large - fortunes ensuring that their products are produced, packaged and transported in perfect condition. So, if something does go wrong, guess where the finger is going to be pointed? The supplier's immediate response will be to blame you.
The fact is, storage and preparation are the most likely places for food contamination to occur. Putting correct food handling procedures in place is vital, but environmental health officers will also look carefully at the way food is stored. Fridges and freezers slow down the growth of most bacteria, but neither kills them completely.
Incorrect storage of food can also spread bacteria from one food to another.
Some basic procedures to follow include:
- Follow storage instructions and use-by or best-before dates. If the food isn't eaten, or frozen, by the use-by date, throw it away
- Wrap or cover all raw or uncooked foods, and keep separate from cooked foods. Raw meat should be stored below cooked food, so that meat juices cannot drip onto cooked foods or vegetables and salads
- Throw away food that is damaged, such as torn packets, dented tins or broken or cracked eggs
- Don't leave food standing around in the kitchen - put it in the fridge, but allow hot food to cool first
- Never leave food in opened tins, otherwise the tin may contaminate the food. In particular, acid foods like fruits should be transferred from tins to glass or plastic once opened
- Store dried foods in sealed containers. Open packets and spilt food can attract flies, ants and mice, which spread bacteria.
Dried and tinned food storage
Although fridges and freezers are an obvious potential source of food contamination, in most kitchens, products in jars, tins, packets and boxes may be hanging around a lot longer than something kept in the fridge. The fact that these products are often in large catering packs, designed to be opened, used and then resealed, creates an obvious potential source of contamination.
The basic rule is to ensure that use-by dates are followed. However, the food science department of Michigan State University in the USA has recently completed a programme which looked at the storage of a whole range of staple "cupboard" items, to establish when they became a food safety risk. Based on its research, the university has produced storage advice and recommend storage times for a range of catering essentials:
- Baking powder: 18 months. Keep dry and covered
- Cereals (unopened): Six to12 months
- Cereals (opened): Two to three months. Refold package liner tightly after opening
- Cocoa: Eight months. Cover tightly
- Coffee - instant (unopened): One to two years
- Coffee - instant (opened): Two weeks
- Flour (white): Six to eight months. Keep in air-tight container
- Flour (whole wheat): Six to eight months. Keep refrigerated. Store in air-tight container
- Honey: 12 months. Cover tightly. Refrigerate after opening to extend life
- Mayonnaise (unopened): Two to three months
- Mayonnaise (opened): Refrigerate after opening, use within two to three days
- Pasta: Two years. Store in air-tight container
- Salad dressings - bottled (unopened): Ten to 12 months. Refrigerate after opening
- Salad dressings - bottled (opened): Three months
- Sugar (brown): Four months. Store in air-tight container
- Sugar (icing):18 months. Store in airtight container
- Sugar (granulated): Two years. Cover tightly
- Vinegar (opened): One year. Cover tightly
Mixes and Packet Foods
- Cake mixes: Nine months
- Casseroles (complete or mixes which need meat added): Nine to 12 months
- Pie crust mix: Eight months
- Potatoes (instant): Six to 12 months
- Pudding mixes: 12 months
- Sauce and gravy mixes: Six to 12 months
- Soup mixes: 12 months
Tinned Foods
- Unopened: 12 months. Keep cool
- Fish and seafood (opened - keep refrigerated): Two days
- Fruit (opened - keep refrigerated): One week
- Meat (opened - keep refrigerated): Two days
- Pickles, olives (opened - keep refrigerated): Five days
- Vegetables (opened - keep refrigerated): Three days
Dried foods
- Fruits: Six months. Keep cool and air-tight
- Vegetables: One year. Keep cool and air-tight
Spices, herbs and condiments
- Ketchup and bottled sauces (unopened): 12 months
- Ketchup and bottled sauces (opened): One month
- Mustard, ready-made (unopened ): Two years
- Mustard, ready-made (opened): Six to eight months. Keep refrigerated
- Whole spices: One to two months. Store air-tight
- Ground spices: Six months, keep away from sunlight and heat
- Herbs: Six months
Ten simple steps for safe food storage in your fridge
Foster Refrigerator suggests the following precautions when refrigerating foods.