When a baby begins to take food it begins to be exposed to the possibility of ingesting microorganisms dangerous to its health. It is up to us to eliminate or minimize this possibility in order to avoid diarrheal diseases and other infections.
WHO summarizes the actions that we should carry out in five in a document called “Five keys to food safety”Which comes to say the following:
Keep clean
- It is necessary to wash our hands before handling any food and during preparation if we touch food in the raw state. We must also do it after going to the bathroom.
- Keep the surfaces where we are going to make the food clean and disinfected, as well as the utensils.
Separate raw and cooked foods
- Avoid contact between foods already cooked and those that are about to be cooked as well as avoid utensils that we use to cut or handle raw food are then used to eat.
- Store food in separate containers.
Cook food completely
- Especially meat, eggs, chicken and fish to eliminate dangerous microorganisms.
- Boil the soups and stews to make sure they reach 70ºC.
- Reheat fully cooked food. Proper reheating kills microorganisms that may have developed in conservation.
Keep food at safe temperatures
- Do not leave food at room temperature for more than two hours.
- Refrigerate cooked food and those that require cold as soon as possible.
- Keep the food at a temperature higher than 60ºC until it is consumed. Above this temperature (or below 5 ° C) microbial growth is almost nil.
- Do not defrost food at room temperature. Defrosting in the refrigerator is recommended because the cold protects against microbial development.
- Do not store food for a long time, even in the fridge.
Use water and safe raw materials
- Use potable or bottled water for added security.
- Select healthy and fresh foods.
- Wash fruits and vegetables, especially if they are eaten raw.
- Do not use expired food
As you can see, these are simple measures to keep in mind that they can help us, even us adults, to always have food in the best possible state and to cook it avoiding microorganisms.
