You can never be too safe with your food, especially when your baby is young. Here are a few tips to help you out:
- Clean, clean and clean - wash your hands well with hot water and soap before preparing food and after changing your baby's nappy. Make sure your kitchen and your utensils are kept clean too.
- Freezing – once your baby’s food has cooled down, freeze it as soon as possible. Your freezer should be -18ºC (0ºF) or below. Label foods with the date so you know when you made it.
- Thawing – make sure food is completely thawed. You can let it thaw in fridge before a meal, heat it gently in a saucepan or defrost it in the microwave.
- Reheating - always reheat foods thoroughly, and watch out for hot spots. Stir food thoroughly and check the temperature of all food before giving it to your baby. Drop a little food on the inside of your wrist - this is the best way to check temperature. Also once you’ve defrosted food, don’t reheat it more than once.
- Avoid the refreeze – don’t refreeze meals that have already been frozen, and always throw away any of your baby's leftovers.
- Storage - store food for your baby at the back of the refrigerator where it’s coldest. Your fridge should be below 4°C. Keep everything covered, and make sure you store meats, chicken and fish separate from the rest of your food, below other foods, and well covered so no juices drip out.
- Keep it fresh - if you’re bottle feeding, make up formula just before you use it and throw out what’s left over in the bottle. For food, throw out after 48 hours.
- Separate your foods – use a separate chopping board and utensils for uncooked meats, chicken and fish , Scrub everything under hot running water and air dry after use.
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