Handling and reheating food falls largely with Support Crews. In order to avoid a bad batch of something that may give your belly a good shake up, we thought to provide some helpful tips from Health Direct to keep you on the safe side.
Taking care to prepare and cook your food safely is important in preventing illness.
Food needs to be stored, handled and cooked carefully and at temperatures that avoid the spread and growth of bacteria that can make you sick.
Cooking and cooling food
Cooking food properly and to the right temperature reduces the risk of food poisoning. Always cook meat all the way through, until the juices run clear. Make sure there is no pink left in mince or sausages. Keep food steaming hot until you serve it.
When you reheat leftover foods, make sure all parts are steaming hot. Don’t reheat food more than once.
Cool leftovers quickly. Cover them and put them in the fridge or freezer. Eat refrigerated leftovers in 1 to 2 days.
Food storage
You should store food that has to be kept cold at or below 5°C to prevent the growth of bacteria that cause food poisoning.
You should store frozen food at -15°C or colder.
The ‘temperature danger zone’ for food safety is between 5°C and 60°C. Bacteria can’t grow easily at temperatures outside of this zone.
Food doesn’t immediately become unsafe when it’s in the danger zone. It should be okay for up to 4 hours.
If you’re healthy, you should be able to eat food that’s been properly handled and stored at the right temperature without getting sick.
If you want to read more about food safety leading into Kokoda Challenge, click here to read the full article. Alternatively, you can access similar information from:
The Australian Institute of Food Safety
Ensuring that you prepare, cook and reheat food the safe way, ensures your longevity in the event. The last thing we all want is for you to withdraw because your chicken soup has been reheated four times, or it was left on the kitchen bench over night cooling down. Be prepared and be aware.
Happy prepping, happy training :D
