Food is very sensitive it entirely depends on how you treat or handle it. It is important to know how to handle meat especially because it is one of the most sensitive foods and can cause dire consequences.
A lot of food poisoning somehow involves meat products, and just a little carelessness can cause unbearable illnesses.
Below, we discuss how to select, handle and store meat properly to ensure your guests enjoy and not end up in hospital.
Selecting Meat
- When selecting meat, especially from a store, ensure it has an expiry date, most people buy meat from a butchery, ensure you know the butcher and have bought from them before.
- When buying from the supermarket, ensure it is the last item you pick out so as to reduce the time spent out of the refrigerator. It can develop an odor if it stays out of the fridge for long.
- Avoid discolored meat especially on pork and beef, that can mean that the meat has had a longer shelf life that required, if it has any unique odor, do not buy it.
- Any torn packaging means air has gotten in as well as bacteria.
Handling meat
- The first rule is always to wash your hands thoroughly before touching the meat. Anything that gets on the meat will eventually get into your stomach even if the meat is well cooked.
- Prepare your meat on a different surface from any other spices or vegetables, have a surface for red meat, and a different one for white meat. I suggest you get a metal cutting board as opposed to one made of wood, this is because wood stores bacteria that can lead to food poisoning. The bacteria lasts long on wood and plastic more than metal.
- Make sure you clean all the utensils used after cutting the meat.
- When preparing, boil the meat with some rosemary for a few minutes to ensure you get some bacteria out.
Storing meat
- Normally, raw meat lasts for three days in the fridge, but if you want to store it for longer, put it in an airtight bag and put it in the freezer. You can store it for several months, but I recommend buying meat that’s enough for a week at most.
These simple tips will go a long way in preventing food poisoning. Bacteria can grow in enormous numbers on spoiled meat. A small amount of uncooked meat can spread bacteria such as salmonella and E coil.