How do I avoid listeria infection?
There are several simple ways to avoid a listeria infection. The FSA advises the following: • Don’t eat foods that are past their use-by date, even if they smell fine. Use-by dates indicate how long a food will remain safe (if food is frozen or cooked before the use-by date, it can be kept for longer). • Follow the storage instructions on food packaging, such as ‘freeze on day of purchase’, ‘cook from frozen’ or ‘defrost thoroughly before use and use within 24 hours’. • Make sure your fridge is at the right temperature, ideally between 0°C and 5°C. Cases of food poisoning double in frequency during the summer months, when food exposed to the heat can go off more quickly. It is important to be careful when handling and preparing food: • Wash your hands and keep work surfaces clean. • Reheat pre-prepared foods thoroughly, so that they’re steaming hot before you eat them. • Only eat pasteurised dairy produce. • Be careful when storing foods from tins or packages. For example, don’t keep o
