This year’s theme for Australian Food Safety Week to be held from 11 to 18 November 2017, will be ‘Is it done yet? Use a thermometer for great food cooked safely everytime’.
A Food Safety Information Council survey has found that 75% of Australians surveyed reported that there wasn’t a food thermometer in their household and only 44% of those with a thermometer reported using is over the previous month.
There are an estimated 4.1 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year that result in 31,920 hospitalisations, 86 deaths and 1 million visits to doctors. There are also escalating rates of Campylobacter and Salmonella infection, that are particularly linked to poorly cooked poultry and egg dishes.
To help reduce this number, the Food Safety Information Council is encouraging all Australians to pick up a food thermometer from their local homeware store and learn how to use it properly. This will not only ensure safer food but you will also be able to cook the perfect piece of meat.
Here are 4 simple tips on how to use a food thermometer:
- Follow any instructions on the thermometer’s packaging.
- You should place the food thermometer in the thickest part of the food and as close to the centre as possible and it should not touch bone, fat, or gristle.
- Start checking the temperature toward the end of cooking, but before you expect it to be done.
- Be sure to clean the stem of your food thermometer before and after each use.
You can find a list of the correct cooking temperatures and you can test your knowledge with a food safety quiz on the Food Safety Information Council website www.foodsafety.asn.au
You can take part in Australian Food Safety Week at [insert your local event]