Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries
Ho! Ho! Uh-oh! New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle busts some food safety myths to help you avoid food poisoning this Christmas.
1. Leftovers are always okay to eat if they look and smell fine
Wrong. Although many germs cause spoilage that affects the look, texture, smell, and taste of food, most of the ones that make you sick are undetectable by your senses. So, it’s important to get all Christmas leftovers into the fridge or freezer, in a sealed container, within 2 hours of serving – or sooner if it’s a warm day.
Here’s how long you can keep different leftovers in the fridge:
- Leftover whole ham can be stored in a ham bag in the fridge for up to 7 days if you plan to eat it cold. If you reheat it to piping hot (more than 75°C) before eating, it can be kept for a further 2 days. Another way to extend your ham is to freeze slices for later use.
- Leftovers of cooked meals eaten without reheating – like pasta salads, roast vege salads, or potato salads – should be refrigerated and eaten within 2 days.
- Leftovers eaten hot should be refrigerated and eaten within 4 days. Reheat until piping hot before eating.
- Leftover green salads should be eaten as soon as you can after preparation. Use any leftover salad as ingredients in cooked dishes – like soups and stews – or throw them out.
More information about reducing food waste
2. The best way to defrost food is to leave it out on the kitchen bench
It’s not. Leaving your frozen food to defrost on the bench gives bacteria on the surface of the food (which defrosts first) time to grow in a nice, warm environment before the centre of the food thaws. Bacteria grow in temperatures of between 5°C and 60°C, so, to decrease the likelihood of them multiplying – and your food spoiling and making you sick – defrost food in the fridge or microwave.
More information about preparing, cooking, and storing food safely at home
3. Seafood I’ve collected and cooked can’t make me sick
Although cooking kaimoana you have gathered yourself will kill bacteria, it won’t destroy biotoxins that can build up in shellfish during naturally occurring toxic algal blooms. New Zealand Food Safety monitors 42 recreational and 54 commercial shellfish harvesting areas for biotoxins that can make you sick or even be fatal. When our testing shows levels of biotoxins beyond the safe limit, we issue a public health warning for people not to gather and eat shellfish from these areas, and nearby aquaculture farms temporarily close.
Find up-to-date alerts on our shellfish biotoxin alert webpage, where you can sign up for our warnings. We also post signs at the relevant beaches, and MPI’s free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app includes information on current warnings.
Shellfish biotoxin alerts
NZ Fishing Rules mobile app
More information about toxic shellfish poisoning
4. Food safety risk stays the same throughout life
Unfortunately, different life stages bring new vulnerabilities to food poisoning. As you age, and particularly over 65, your immune system gets weaker, making it harder to fight off harmful foodborne bacteria like Listeria. This means foods you safely ate in the past may no longer be safe for you to eat – and the consequences of listeriosis can be life-threatening. Foods that pose a higher Listeria risk include deli meats and pates, soft cheeses, cold-smoked seafood, and leafy greens. To keep enjoying the foods you love, reduce your risk of contracting listeriosis by cooking food thoroughly; only eating fruit and vegetables that have been washed and dried well; only eating food that was recently prepared; and cooking and reheating food to piping hot (more than 75°C) before eating. Listeriosis symptoms in older and immunocompromised people usually take 2 to 3 weeks to appear and typically include fever, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures.
More information about Listeria
5. Health Star Ratings reflect how healthy a food is overall
The Health Star Ratings you see on packaged foods in the supermarket are designed to compare similar foods – the stars are not a rating of the overall healthiness of a food. We know you’re busy, so the stars are there to help you make healthier choices when shopping by comparing similar packaged foods at a glance. So, use them to choose between 2 breakfast cereals, rather than a breakfast cereal and a yogurt. The more stars, the healthier the choice.
More information on how Health Star Ratings work
6. You need to wash raw chicken before cooking it
Nope. Skip the wash. Although Campylobacter, Salmonella, and other illness-causing bacteria can live on raw chicken, it’s not a good idea to rinse or wash it at home because this spreads bacteria to other areas of your kitchen. If you’re worried about excess chicken juices, pat your chicken dry with a clean paper towel, throw it away, and wash your hands. For the same reason, it’s not okay to use the same chopping board, utensils, or plate for both raw and cooked chicken. Anything that’s touched raw chicken needs to be washed in hot, soapy water before being used for any other food – and, again, that includes your hands. Handy tip: Prepare ready-to-eat foods before food that needs cooking, like raw chicken.
More information about handling chicken safely
7. Eating packaged foods after the use-by date is fine
We know few people can afford to throw away food, but if a packaged product in your fridge or pantry is past its use-by date, say “goodbye”. It is not safe to eat. In fact, it’s illegal to sell food past its use-by date. On the other hand, packaged food should still be safe to eat after its best-before date, but it’s likely to have lost, or be about to lose, some quality. If it looks and smells okay, it probably is. Check it, sniff it, taste it – don’t waste it. Stores can sell food beyond a best-before date, as long as it’s still fit for human consumption. So, make sure to check the date on your food labels to make the right call about chowing down or chucking out.
More information about food labels
8. Using hand sanitiser is as good as washing your hands
Actually, hand sanitisers are not as effective as soap and water for removing germs and harmful chemicals, making handwashing one of the best ways to prevent foodborne illness. Washing hands before making or eating food helps prevent germs spreading to your food. But if hand sanitiser is all you have available, make sure it has at least 60 percent alcohol, and rub it into your hands, fingers and nails until they are dry.
More information on hand washing
9. Raw milk is better for you than pasteurised milk
Many sing the praises of raw milk, but it’s important to know the risks. Raw milk is not pasteurised, meaning it misses out on an important process that kills harmful bacteria such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Campylobacter, and Salmonella. Raw milk is especially risky for the very young, elderly, pregnant, or anyone with a weakened immune system. If you choose to drink raw milk, make sure to you buy it only from a registered raw milk supplier, keep it chilled while transporting it home, and store it at 4°C or less in your fridge. Throw it out if it’s been left out of the fridge for more than 2 hours. To ensure raw milk is safe to drink, heat it at 70°C for 1 minute. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the raw milk until near boiling.
More information on raw milk products
10. You don’t need to wash bagged greens or salads
Even if the packet says it’s washed, we recommend rinsing any bagged lettuce, salad, or other greens you intend to eat without cooking – particularly if you have vulnerable people in the house. Infections from Listeria, for example, can be serious or even life-threatening for the very young, elderly, pregnant, or anyone with a weakened immune system. Washing with cold running water in a clean colander or sieve in the sink removes dirt containing bacteria and chemical residues. The same rule goes for vegetables you’re going to peel. Wash them before peeling so any contaminants or microorganisms don’t get transferred to the parts of the veges you’re going to eat without cooking.
More information about Listeria
11. If you drop food on the floor and pick it up within 5 seconds, it’s safe to eat
Sorry, the “5-second rule” is a myth. Whether it’s 1 second or 10, all that bacteria and viruses need to get onto your food – and into your gut – is any contact at all. The moisture and stickiness of the food will affect the number of microorganisms that will attach to the food but, to be safe, if you’ve dropped it on the way to your mouth, best to bin it, and wash your hands. If you’ve dropped it during food preparation and it can be salvaged (we’re not talking spilt milk and broken eggs), rinse it and make sure it’s cooked thoroughly to kill unwanted nasties.
More information about food poisoning
12. Mouldy food is okay to eat, as long as I cut off the mouldy bit
That spot of mould you scrape off your bread, or the one you cut off your cheese, is the tip of the iceberg. Mould produces spores and filaments that go into the food, which you often can’t see. They can also produce toxic chemicals called mycotoxins that can make you really ill, so throw away mouldy food. Of course, not all moulds are bad. Some make life-saving medicine (penicillin) and delicious cheeses, but they are carefully selected by the manufacturers because they are safe.
More information about food poisoning
Download your free ‘Food safety at home’ booklet [PDF, 1.1 MB]
For more information, email: media@mpi.govt.nz