In these times of the COVID-19, the coronavirus pandemic, hygiene becomes an extremely important way of protecting yourself and all those around you from contamination. Of course, a strict quarantine was also put in place. This unfortunate episode has reminded us that hygiene is the most effective measure against the spread of disease.
During this confinement, many of us have gone back to cooking and resuming some good old habits. But are we cooking properly to limit the risks? How do you avoid getting sick from food, whether it’s linked to a virus or pathogenic bacteria?
The advice that we are going to give you is the same as it is for those people at risk (pregnant women, immunocompromised people, the elderly, etc.) who need to avoid food poisoning. This could weaken an already a delicate state of health.
At Maïa Baudelaire, we can give you some personalised advice on how to protect your health by paying more attention to daily hygiene. Our Balance program allows you to have regular and remote consultations with one of our dietitian nutritionists so you won’t have to worry about leaving your home! She will supply you all the advice to encourage a healthy lifestyle and ways to avoid contamination.
Regarding kitchen hygiene
- Keep a clean worktop and wash your hands before you start cooking, then regularly when you go from handling one food to another.
- Do not reuse the same utensils for raw or cooked preparations.
- In your kitchen, keep the refrigerator clean: wash and disinfect it once a month. It should be cold enough, around 4 ° C all year round.
- After doing your shopping, remove the cardboard boxes before storing the products in the refrigerator, because they will have been in contact with many potential contaminants before arriving on the supermarket shelves.
Become a conservation pro
Regularly check your expiration dates. Although they are calculated by manufacturers to ensure a safety margin, certain fragile foods such as meat and fish must be carefully stored and consumed quickly after purchase. This is also the case for home-cooked meals and any other products that are already open or cooked (e.g dairy products, pastries). Their conservation should be a maximum of three days, and they should be always kept in the cool.
Regarding meat and fish, they are best eaten the same day or the next day and should always be cooked to the core. If you plan to eat beef carpaccio or raw salmon for example, freeze the pieces for 5 days. Despite everything, the consumption of non-pasteurised milk, raw meat or fish products is not recommended for pregnant women and immunocompromised people because these foods are particularly at risk of contamination.
Store your starchy foods in airtight glass jars: some insects are very fond of grain products, such as mealworms.
Always clean your cupboards regularly to avoid the development of insects attracted to the crumbs at the bottom of the cupboards.
Finally, if you think you have the flu or food poisoning, avoid cooking meals as much as possible. If you think you have coronavirus, call a doctor to tell them about your symptoms.