Is the 5 second rule true? Was it the last thing you ate that made you sick? – busting the food safety myths
Australian Food Safety Week 8 – 15 November 2015
[INSERT RELEVANT DESCRIPTION eg CONSUMERS IN BALLARAT, PEOPLE IN THE CARNARVON SHIRE, THOSE IN STATE OR TERRITORY,ETC] are urged not to become one of the estimated 4.1 million people who get food poisoning in Australia each year.[INSERT TITLE, NAME AND OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION] said that there are many myths about food poisoning so this year the focus of Australian Food Safety Week is to bust some of these myths.
‘For example, did you know that if you get food poisoning it may not have been the last thing you ate, sometimes symptoms can take several days or weeks to appear.
‘Did you know that the often quoted ‘five second rule’ (that you can pick up food dropped on the floor and eat it if it has been there less than five seconds) just isn’t true. Bacteria don’t keep a stopwatch and wait before contaminating the food.
‘Finally, did you know that food poisoning isn’t a mild illness. Each year an estimated 1 million Australians have to visit a doctor with food poisoning, 32,000 people end up in hospital and 86 people die.
‘You can reduce your risk by following these simple tips:
Clean – wash hands with running water and soap then dry hands thoroughly before starting to cook and after handling raw meat or chicken.
Chill – transport your chilled or frozen food home from the shops in a cooler bag or esky. Use a fridge thermometer to make sure your fridge is running at or below 5ºC. Refrigerate leftovers promptly. Cooked food should be stored in covered containers and either put in the fridge to cool, or frozen immediately. Frozen foods should be defrosted in the fridge or microwave not on the kitchen bench
Cook – cook chicken, minced or boned meats, hamburger, stuffed meats and sausages right through until they reach 75°C using a meat thermometer. Serve hot food steaming hot above 60ºC. Always follow cooking instructions on packaged foods.
Separate – food should be stored in covered containers in the fridge and put raw meats and poultry in the bottom of the fridge so the juices don’t contaminate food on lower shelves. Don’t put cooked meat back on the plate the raw meat was on.
[INSERT paragraph/s involving local issues if appropriate and/what events are occurring locally during Food Safety Week]
‘We also encourage everyone in our region to take the Food Safety Quiz at www.foodsafety.asn.au and test their knowledge about the safest action to protect you and your family,’ [XXXX] concluded.
Media Contacts:
[ADD LOCAL CONTACT DETAILS]
or Lydia Buchtmann, Food Safety Information Council, 0407 626 688
The Food Safety Information Council is Australia’s leading disseminator of consumer-targeted food safety information and a health promotion charity. Australian Food Safety Week is the major activity of the Food Safety Information Council. For further Information and how to donate see: www.foodsafety.asn.au
