Dear colleagues and students,Hotpotting, commonly known as “Da Pin Lo”, is a good choice for winter when friends and relatives gather around a stove to enjoy a sumptuous hot meal. Yet, it is important to pay attention to food safety. People should not think that they are strong enough to cope with bacteria.
Safety comes first
- Buy food from reputable and licensed shops.
- Read the information contained in the label of packaged food carefully. Do not buy nor consume food which are beyond its expiry date.
- When buying frozen food products, if they have already turned soft or water is dripped from the package, it means they have been stored under improper temperature.
- The water used for cultivating marine products should be clean and hygienic. Check if the marine products produce any objectionable odor and whether the shells of shellfish are intact and undamaged.
Get well-prepared
- Thaw food in the chiller and do not mix cooked food with raw food – cooked food should be placed in the upper compartment of the refrigerator and raw food in the lower compartment. Do not thaw food under running water for over two hours.
- The hotpot ingredients should be thoroughly cleaned and washed. Vegetables must be soaked in water and rinsed for several times while marine products must have their viscera removed and shells scrubbed with a soft-hair brush.
- Raw and cooked food must be placed separately and handled with different utensils.
- Slice fish and meat into thin pieces and cut meat balls deep into their centre to allow fast and thorough cooking.
- If the prepared food are perishable, they should be placed in lidded container and stored in the chiller at under 5℃.
Enjoy food safely
- Use two separate pairs of chopsticks to handle raw and cooked food to avoid cross contamination.
- Avoid putting too much food into the pot and food must be cooked thoroughly. When raw food is put into the pot or the soup is refilled, it is necessary to wait until the soup comes to a boil before eating any food from the pot.
- Avoid putting raw eggs into the sauce for seasoning the cooked food as they are high-risk food for salmonella contamination.
- Do not consume too much deep sea fish and shellfish to minimize the chance of food-poisoning.
Source:
Department of Food Safety, Municipal Affairs Bureau, Government of Macau S.A.R.
https://www.foodsafety.gov.mo/e/sense/detail/64961113-2e5a-4f19-82d3-ea73751e62cd
If you would like to read more health tips, please visit the website of Office of Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs https://hseo.um.edu.mo/health-tips/
Office of Health, Safety and Environmental Affairs |