Are You Prepared To Tackle Food Prep Health And Safety?
By now, pretty much everyone and their mother has heard about the benefits of meal prep. It’s amazing how many free hours you can create to dedicate to work, hobbies, or relaxing by simply making enough food to last the week or longer. At the very least, you’re guaranteed to embrace the peace that comes with spending less time in the kitchen when you get around to this.
The good news is that, as our lifestyles hot up, so does the focus on meal prep with the best results. A cursory Google search is now all it takes to settle on a whole host of fantastic meals that you can make in advance. Some favorites that will never let you down include –
- Soups
- Pasta sauces
- Curry
- Casseroles
- And more
With these recipes in your repertoire, you can enter a world of luxury, and ease that you perhaps didn’t even realize was possible. There’s just one potential setback, and it comes in the form of health and safety.
When you’re prepping with meats, especially, there is a risk that cooking in advance could leave you more open to food poisoning than if you prepped daily. Luckily, the fact that millions of people manage to make this work suggests that those risks are easy to overcome, meaning that you can still enjoy the benefits of ease without worry. At least, you can if you take the following fundamental safety considerations into account.
Food should always be stored at cold temperatures
Hot and cold food isn’t exactly welcoming to nasty bacteria, but food that’s been sat on the side for a few hours or more becomes a much more likely pitching ground. Worse, once bacteria starts to build, your food is ruined. The solution? Storing prepped food in cold temperatures at all times. By making sure that you put your weekly meals in the fridge as soon as they start cooling, you drastically reduce the risks of bacteria building where you don’t want it.
Equally, putting food straight into the freezer means it’ll be oven-fresh by the time you come to eat, and as safe as if you’d made it on the day. Do note, too, that freezers or fridges that break or struggle to reach temperature can also leave prepped meals at risk, sometimes without your realising. To be extra sure of safety at all times, check that thermostat at least monthly, and order spares like these Simpson fridge parts if breakage is a significant concern. That way, you can keep food safe even if your fridge lets you down during the week!
Always make a note of dates
We’re all guilty of eating meals from the bottom of our freezer but, where your meal prep is concerned, this isn’t a risk worth taking. Instead, you should always take the time to research how long you can keep foods, and take a note of the date on which you made them. This way, you guarantee that you’re never eating something that’s been in the fridge for far too long. Cold or not, that’s a sure recipe for food poisoning!
Cartons with cardboard lids are perhaps your best bet here as they allow you to mark dates directly onto food prep containers, though stickers can also work well if you’re using plastic pots. Once you’ve got your dates down, take note that general rules dictate that fridge food is best eaten within three-four days, while freezer food generally lasts for three months. These rules are especially prevalent where meat is concerned, but even rotten veg could work a number on your digestion if you let it!
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Get on top with thawing
While we’ve already touched on how important fast freezing or chilling can be for safe food prep at all times, experts also suggest that poor thawing practices are a leading cause for bacteria build-up. In fact, risks while thawing are the main reason you should eat frozen food within three months.
The simple fact that is taking a portion of chilli out the freezer and letting it defrost on the side overnight or even longer is always going to be a bad idea. Yet, this is something we’re surprisingly guilty of, especially where meal prep is concerned. You embarked on this path for the speed and ease, after all. The less you think about that food, the better.
Luckily, proper thawing practices might not be the headache you imagine, yet they can go a long way towards ensuring safety. Something as simple as submerging defrosting meat or fish in water could work here, as could leaving items to defrost longer, but letting them do so in your fridge. You might need to spend a few extra seconds of thought on processes like these, but we’d say your health is probably worth it.
Leave no room for doubt
Lastly, it’s worth noting that if you feel like something isn’t fit for eating anymore, it probably isn’t. Leaving room for doubt where pre-prepared meals are concerned is never a good idea, no matter how pushed for time you are on the night. If something smells funny, tastes strange, or leaves you ill at ease, never hesitate to chuck it.
Sure, you might have to boil up some pasta, but again, your health should be worth the effort. The good news is that, if you’ve already taken care of the points above, this last-minute meal let-down should happen rarely if at all.
A final word on safe food prep
If you search for them, there are horror stories about meal prep gone wrong. These should act as cautionary tales that this latest easy-living trend should never be approached lightly. It may well transform your life, but probably not for the better if you aren’t aware of the risks. Turn things around by doing your research, and treating each of these steps with the gravity they deserve when you’re cooking and storing. Then, sit back and enjoy a stress-free and (largely) cooking-free life at last.
