Did you know that you could get food poisoning from how you handle the food during purchase? Moreover, if you do not know the safety guidelines to follow, you could end up interfering with the taste and texture of the food.

During Shopping

• Cleanliness should be a priority: You should not buy food from anywhere until you are satisfied with their cleanliness level. Check for spills, foul smells, insects, and other indicators that could suggest the place is not tidy. If the store provides sanitisers or disposable gloves, make use of them to avoid contamination.
• Shop in order: You should choose the non-perishable foods first so that you do not have to walk with refrigerated items for long. You should also arrange the cold things together so that they do not melt or go bad when they are in contact with warm/hot surfaces. Dairy products should always be picked last so that they do not stay out of the fridge for too long.
• Inspect food packages: There have been many conversations about quality of packaging and one of the biggest complaints is that companies always use flimsy packaging that ends up introducing bacteria to the products. This is quite unsafe when buying food products.
• Take time when buying fish and seafood: Fish should be firm and shiny. It should also not have a pungent smell. To be safe, only buy fish from a reliable vendor or store, and make sure they have indicated where they are sourcing their fish from. When buying seafood, it should not be crystalised on the packaging, as this is a sign that it was thawed before.
• Check colour of meats: poultry, beef, pork and other types of meat should be pink or light red. Avoid the ones that are grey in colour or emitting a bad smell. Be wary of the discounts that stores always put on meat, as some of the products are not so fresh.
• Separate foods in the cart: Wrap meats in a separate plastic bag to avoid them leaking liquid that might cause food poisoning if eaten raw.

After Shopping

Once you arrive home, you should take all the food items out and store them immediately. The perishables should go into the refrigerator, while cereals and other non-perishables are put in dry containers where they cannot get a pest infestation. Bear in mind that food safety plays a big role in people’s general health.

You should also clean the products thoroughly before cooking or consumption. Fruits and vegetables that are eaten raw should go through a more intense washing process to get rid of bugs and dirt that sometimes cling on the products.