This past week, it was my son’s birthday and we decided to take our kids for an outdoor picnic in Lakeside Park. We decided to prepare an assortment of salads and bring snacks and drinks to take along for the picnic. The sandwiches were prepared in the evening and brought them with us on the morning drive. At midday, we were at the lake. When we laid the sheets across the grass, the children were hungry and begging for food. When I opened the bag I noticed something odd.Souvy
The chicken-filled sandwiches were emitting a bad smell. The food had turned bad. It was a blessing that we realized that it was bad and we decided not to consume it. Similar situations occur with every individual in the course of our every daily lives. Food is often prepared at home, then take it elsewhere to eat. Many caterers operate at home and provide food to those. As the cook or handling food you are responsible to ensure that the food you serve does not cause the guests sick. Food poisoning can be an awful and possibly risky experience.
It is important to be extra cautious when children pregnant women, elderly individuals, or any other sick is expected to attend the event. If anyone within these groups is exposed to food poisoning is more likely to be sick. Even though you use fresh ingredients when making food but it gets rotten so fast. Let’s find out what happened?
The most frequent mistakes that could cause food poisoning are:
Food storage is not adequate.
Cold food items not kept cold enough, or hot food are not hot enough
Cooking that is not properly done
Separating raw and ready-to-eat food items
Food poisoning can occur at any time, be it cooking, transportation , or storage. Unsuitable storage is frequently cited as the reason behind food poisoning outbreaks. Foods are left unrefrigerated over a long periods of time, which makes it more susceptible to the spread of bacteria. If you’re planning to cook for a large number of people, make sure that you have a suitable size refrigerator and freezer to store food items and utilize appropriate wrapping papers and containers to store food.
Food that is raw and ready to eat foods should not be stored in the same container. This increases the likelihood of bacteria activity.
The food items that have to be chilled must be chilled as fast as you can, and preferably within the hour. Don’t put them in the refrigerator until they’re cool, as this can increase the temperature of the refrigerator. To quickly cool food that is hot you should put it in the most cool place you can find it – usually away from the cooking area. Another method is to put food items in a sealed, clean container and place it in a running cold water faucet or the basin of cold water or put ice cubes inside cool bag. If possible, cut down on the time to cool by breaking down food into smaller portions.
After the food has been prepared and delivered to the location where the party is held may be a challenge. This can be especially challenging when there is a large amount of food that is perishable. Make use of cool boxes. It is also important to ensure that the facilities at the location where the event is taking place are adequate to keep hot food hot and cold items cold. A proper fridge and cooker capacity is as essential as at home.
Food preparation that is thoroughly cooked is essential to kill many of the harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Big meat joints or whole chickens are harder to cook properly therefore take extra care when cooking them.After having learned all this I realised why the picnic food was spoilt. The chicken sandwiches were left out without refrigerating for too long, and I didn’t bother to divide salads into ready to eat food items. I could have made use of a cooler containers to transport the food. But , I suppose that we learn from poor experiences.