Summers are a great time to enjoy fresh, seasonal produce but it is also a period where food becomes most susceptible to poisoning since the bacteria tends to multiply faster. The hot weather may actually spoil all your good food and make it go to waste. So here are some pro tips to prevent that and keep food from spoiling in the summer.
1. Set your refrigerator thermostat to the maximum for the summer (below 5 degree celsius). Keep all your meat and raw veggies refrigerated. Store raw and cooked foods in different sections of the fridge because bacteria on the raw foods can spoil the cooked dishes.
2. If you are travelling, cool your food and store it in insulated containers and try to reach your destination soon.
3. For foods that are hot, keep them at that temperature or heat them again till they boil and then leave them to cool. Reheat in a few hours to keep them from spoiling.
4. If you have to store hot foods, do not wait for them to cool completely. Refrigerate them as soon as they come to room temperature. To cool them try putting them in a container in cold water or divide the food into smaller containers.
5. If you are cooking with frozen foods, make sure you thaw them properly or it may get spoiled due to bacteria.
6. If you’ve got to store food in the fridge, make sure you leave some space there for air circulation, which is necessary for cooling.
7. If you store leftovers in the fridge make sure you consume them in three days. If you don’t plan to eat them soon, freeze them.
8. Food gets spoiled pretty soon in summer, so make sure you don’t eat anything that smells foul or tastes weird. In fact, ideally you should not eat anything that has been kept out of the fridge for more than five hours, especially pasta, chicken and fish.
9. When you are ill, you carry a lot of germs and bacteria which can transfer easily to the food and cause diarrhoea, sore throat, fever, jaundice, vomiting and skin infection. So avoid handling food when you are sick.
10. Buy only limited produce and use it fresh. If you stock more than you need, it may get spoiled due to the bad weather.
11. Goods such as rice, grains and pulses should be stored in airtight containers so that moisture does not get in.
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