26 The Community Review Summer 2012 The Community Review 27

Bargain BugsAre you careless with leftovers

and food dates?The Food Standards Agency is

reminding people not to take risks

with their food, even as budgets are

squeezed.

New research by the Food Standards

Agency (FSA) shows that

some people are taking

more risks with

food

safety

as

they try

to save money

and make their

weekly shop go further.

The research shows that nearly

all of us believe the cost of our

shopping basket has risen significantly

in the last three years, and half of

us are trying to make better use of

leftover food. Worryingly though, some

people are ignoring Use By dates more

than ever, while others are keeping

leftovers in the fridge for longer than

they should be.

Bob Martin, a food safety expert at the

FSA, says: “With most of us seeing

our weekly shopping bills increase over

the last few years, we are all looking

for ways to get the most out of our

shopping budget.”

The research indicates people are

risking food poisoning by ignoring Use

By dates on food more than ever.

Supermarkets drastically reduce the

price on food nearing their use by

dates, but this date stamp on chilled or

ready-to-eat food packaging is the most

important date to check, since foods

can rapidly become unsafe after this

date.

The other dates marked on packaging

focus less on food safety so can

be a bit more flexible. Best Before

dates only relates to food quality and

appearance, and Display Until

dates are there to help

stores manage their

stock

Bob

Martin

says:

“These

dates provide

helpful information

on how long food will stay safe, so it’s

very important you stick to the Use By

date.

“It’s tempting to just give food a sniff

to see if it’s gone off, but bugs like E.

Coli and Salmonella don’t cause food

to smell. Food could look and smell

fine but still be harmful.”

Every year there are around a million

cases of food poisoning in the UK,

and anyone who has been unlucky

enough knows how unpleasant that

can be. The numbers rise during the

summer with around 120,000 extra

cases between June and August. One

of the reasons for this spike is warmer

temperatures causing germs to grow

faster on our food. That is why it is

so important to get leftovers in the

fridge quickly.

Bob Martin says: “Using leftover food

is a good way of making our meals

go further. However, unless we’re

careful, there’s a chance we can

risk food poisoning by not storing

or handling them properly. We are

encouraging people to view their

fridge as their friend and make the

most of leftovers whilst staying safe.”

The FSA has provided advice on how to deal with leftover foodIf they are going in the fridge, cool

leftovers as quickly as possible and

ideally within 90 minutes. Cover them,

refrigerate and eat them within two days

Make sure your fridge is at the correct

temperature – below 5єC.

You can also freeze leftover food, but

cool them first to ensure the freezer

temperature doesn’t rise by placing

hot food in there. Food quality still

deteriorates in the freezer with time, so

it’s best to eat them within three months.

Defrost frozen leftovers thoroughly before

use. If you’re cooking straight away use a

microwave. If you don’t have one you can

defrost them in the fridge overnight.

Eat leftovers within a day of defrosting

and don’t refreeze them again. The

exception here is raw food, such as meat

or poultry, which can be refrozen once it’s

cooked.

Make sure leftovers have been cooked

thoroughly and are steaming hot

throughout before consuming