Strict hygiene, proper storage and good cooking are basic rules for eliminating germs in foods. Cooling food reduces the chances of germs while most of them are killed by heat during the cooking process.
The German "Test" magazine recommends transporting fish, meat, sausage or egg dishes cooked in a cooling box. Perishable foods, sliced salads and sliced fruits, especially watermelons, should be transported at a cool temperature.
In the summer, the refrigerator should be set to a degree between 5 and 7 degrees, taking into account the coverage of food, provided that the refrigerator is wiped with hot vinegar water from time to time. Frozen food should also be thawed, discharged and covered well.
Cleanliness in the kitchen
The German magazine noted that hygiene in the kitchen is the most important criteria for keeping foods from germs; So experts warn against contact with raw foods with ingredients such as sink, cutlery, cutting boards or dishes. If contact occurs, it must be thoroughly washed.
There should be separate boards for meat, raw fruits and vegetables. Washing hands before and after preparing food is also part of this process.
Heat kills germs
The heat kills many germs, for example when meat and fish are completely cooked. The magazine's experts stress the need to get rid of mold-infected foods even if they are in a few places.
Fruits that grow close to the ground, such as cucumbers and carrots, should be washed well or even peeled, as often times the soil has permeated the crust (such as carrots) so that washing is not sufficient to get rid of them, but the fruit must be peeled.
Food poisoning
Food poisoning is a sudden illness that shows symptoms within a short period of time on one or several people after eating a healthy diet, according to the Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar.
The institution adds that the symptoms of food poisoning appear in the form of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cramps in the stomach and intestine, and the severity of these symptoms varies according to the cause and the amount of food that the individual has eaten, and usually symptoms appear within two to 72 hours after eating.
Food poisoning occurs as a result of several factors such as lack of attention to personal hygiene, leaving food for a long time in the room's atmosphere before eating it, not having food well cooked when cooking, freezing meat or thawing frozen meat in an incorrect way, food contaminated with germs and water contaminated with microbes, and eating exposed foods , As well as eating vegetables or fruits without washing them, eating spicy, canned foods, and the transmission of food microbes from a person with infectious diseases, especially those working in the preparation of food.
Hadeel Abu Nada, a clinical nutritional specialist at Hamad General Hospital in Qatar, confirms that children and the elderly are the most vulnerable to food poisoning due to their weak immune system, in addition to those with chronic diseases such as diabetes, AIDS and cancer.
Hadeel advises that awareness of health practices that prevent foodborne illnesses should be avoided to avoid food poisoning diseases, which is knowing the proper ways to handle food, store it and prepare it in a safe way.
She adds that cooked food should not be left for a long time at room temperature to reduce the multiplication of microbes, wash fruits and vegetables well, especially leafy vegetables that must be washed and soaked in water and vinegar to kill germs that are difficult to remove, save food after cooking in the refrigerator, and wash meat and poultry well during preparation , Which helps reduce the number of microbes as animal meat is a primary source of contamination of kitchen appliances.
Hadeel stresses the importance of good cooking of food so that heat permeates all parts of the food as this helps to kill microbes, as well as caring for the cleanliness of kitchen appliances and tools after the cooking process is finished, along with good cooking of food and the use of drinking water and good raw materials, with the need to stay away from street vendors .
In the case of food poisoning, you must drink enough fluids and do not take anti-diarrheal medications, as this reduces the body’s disposal of bacteria, with immediate medical assistance.
Barbecue
In turn, Dr. Farouk Al-Rawi advises to take some important steps when grilling to avoid toxic ingredients leaking into meat, which is to wash the grill well with hot water and soap before grilling to stop the activity of harmful bacteria, and wash hands before, during and after preparing food, and provide moisturizing and antiseptic wipes for use in cleaning hands In the absence of soap and water.
Fresh meat should also be used in grilling, preferably low-fat meat, and remove the skin from the chicken before the grilling process to avoid smoke emissions that contain harmful substances due to the loss of fat, and cut the meat into small pieces until they ripen quickly, and in the event of burning parts of the meat on its surface They should be removed before serving, and don't forget to constantly stir food during grilling.
Dr. Al-Rawi also stresses that raw foods should not be taken out at once, but that they must be kept cold inside the trekking refrigerator and take the appropriate amount of barbecue until all the quantity is finished. And the specialties for grilling should not be placed directly on charcoal, but rather a distance of 10 centimeters should be left between them and charcoal.