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Tips on keeping food safe

Getting sick from a foodborne illness is avoidable. Reduce your risk of getting sick by following our easy tips.

Food safety at home is important

Foodborne illness is estimated to strike about 200,000 New Zealanders every year. Nearly half of these (at least 40%) are attributed to food handling, preparation or storage in the home – that’s 80,000 people getting sick from a foodborne illness they caused, or one caused by someone they know.

Food safety in the home

Keep good food hygiene standards

Clean, Cook, Cover, Chill – follow the 4 C’s to keep food safe.

Learn more about the 4 C’s [NZ Foodsafe Partnership]

Wash your hands before preparing food

Follow the 20+20 hand-washing rule to ensure your hands are clean. Do this before and after you handle food.

Learn more about the 20+20 hand-washing rule [NZ Foodsafe Partnership]

Be extra careful with higher risk foods

Treat higher risk foods with extra care when preparing, cooking and storing them. Some examples of higher risk foods are some types of meat, seafood, rice and potato flakes.

Learn more about the higher risk foods

Refrigerate and reheat the food you take home

The food you buy may be safe, but what happens after you buy it is important too. If you don’t eat it immediately, put it into the refrigerator or freezer or a chilly bag.

Food safety for takeaway food, leftovers and doggy bags

Chilly bags are the cool way to shop

Store your food safely – follow the manufacturers instructions

Storing food safely is important to avoid getting sick from a foodborne illness.

• Freeze food you don’t eat straight away

• Read and follow the storage instructions on packaged food eg ‘Refrigerate after opening’

• Throw away expired food. Packaged food has a date mark that tells you when the shelf life expires

• Carefully wash and dry all food storage containers before use

How to freeze and thaw food safely

Storage instructions and date marking on food labels

Care and re-use of plastic bottles

Take extra care with food safety at large gatherings

Safe food handling is important when preparing, cooking and storing food for large gatherings. For example, cooking a hangi or umu and preparing food for Christmas dinner.

How to prepare and cook a hangi safely

UMU Pasifika – food Safety for Pacific Peoples

Food safety at Christmas

Cooking safely with slow cookers and crock pots

Keep your food safe in warm weather

Bacteria are able to multiply more quickly in moist, warm conditions.  The risk from foodborne illness due to contaminated food is much greater in summer.

Learn more about keeping your food safe in summer

BBQ’s and food safety

Preparing food safely when you’re sick

Ideally, sick people should avoid preparing food for others, but sometimes this isn't possible if you're caring for children or elderly relatives. If you're sick, but can't get anyone else to do the cooking, there are steps you can take to reduce the risk of spreading infection.

Tips on preparing food safely when you're sick

Keep your food safe during power cuts, floods and other emergencies

Normal household services such as water supply, waste disposal (including sewerage) and electricity supply may be unavailable during floods, or other disasters.

Food and water are easily contaminated and loss of electricity means food may also spoil quickly. It is important you avoid getting sick from eating contaminated food and drinking contaminated water.

Keep food safe during emergencies

How to prepare food when water is unsafe

Related links

• Foodborne illnesses – what they are and how you can avoid them
• Reduce your risk from foodborne illness – when you have low immunity or you are pregnant
• The perceptions of New Zealanders on food safety issues
• Hot tips for a safe and successful sausage sizzle
• Food safety tips for selling food at occasional events
• Food safety tips for event organisers
• Food safety tips for Bed and Breakfasts, home stays, farm stays, small lodges