Hasan Al Banna :
Now-a-days, food safety is a serious public health concern in Bangladesh. Food safety refers to the handle, preparation and storage of food in such a way that protects us from foodborne illness and also ensured that food retains enough nutrients for us to get nutritious diet.
Unsafe food and water may lead to disease ranges from diarrhea to various types of cancer. Findings from International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research (icddr,b) shows that daily an average of 501people visits hospitals only for Diarrheal cases which attributed to food and water borne causes.
The major food safety hazards in Bangladesh are food adulteration, Genetically Modified Foods (GMOs), heavy metal in food, unhygienic production areas, inappropriate handling and storage of leftovers food, etc. It is the responsibility of the government to take action against these problems.
According to the Article 15 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, provision of the basic needs of life including food to secure citizens is the fundamental responsibility of the State. Article 18 of the Constitution narratesthat the State shall increase the nutritional level and promote public health.
The Government of Bangladesh has already taken action to fight against these food safety problems. There are several laws to ensure the food safety across the country. National Parliament of Bangladesh has enacted the Food Safety Act-2013 to provide safe food for all. Accordingly under the Food Safety Act-2013, Bangladesh government established Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) on February 2, 2015.
Multi-dimensional effort need to be demonstrated for combating against food safety threats. Along with governmental agency, many non-governmental organizations do their best for ensuring safe food. Food safety practices may start from the household level. It is a prime responsibility of the higher authority to disseminate safe food handling and preservation messages to the mass people. Leftovers food safety is an emerging issue. Let’s talk about the leftovers food and its safety.
Whenever we cook food at home, we got leftovers. These leftovers occur due to the absence of a family member, overestimation of food need to cook, eating less for any reason or sometimes keep intentionally for further use. Leftovers are the unconsumed food that remains after everyone has taken meal. Peel of fruits and vegetables, bones, fish bones are considered as waste product rather than leftovers food.
Simply, leftovers mean additional food which makes a meal by itself. People frequently preserve leftovers food to eat subsequently. Use of leftovers food can save money and time in the kitchen, and reduce the quantity of food waste. But only safe handling of leftovers makes them secure to consume later. Safe handling of leftovers encompasses using of boxes to store leftovers, time and storage condition, initial cooking and reheating process.
Leftovers food might cause foodborne illness unless handled and preserved safely. Pathogenic bacteria which contaminate food is liable for foodborne illness. The most common bacteria causing foodborne illness are Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Escherichia coli.
Meat, poultry, dairy product, egg, cooked rice, seafood, processed food, etc. are the most common sources of foodborne illness. Mostly these types of food remains left at home after finishing a meal and have a greater risk to be contaminated. Affected person gets sick and shows diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. Young children, older adults, pregnant women and immune deficient person are in danger zone for developing foodborne illness.
Leftovers are a good medium for bacterial growth. Therefore, leftovers should be handled properly to ensure food safety. Now the query is how we will keep our leftovers safe for further consumption. There are some general guidelines for handling leftovers safely. These are:
Cook food appropriately: Cooking safely is the prerequisite for having safe leftovers. Food must be cooked thoroughly with proper temperature. For instance, cook meat and poultry to a minimum temperature of 145 degree F 165 degree F respectively.
Keep food away from “Danger Zone”: The temperature between 40 degrees F and 140 degrees F is considered as the Danger Zone for food preservation because bacteria can grow rapidly in this range. Keep hot food at above 140 degrees F and cold food below 40 degrees F to prevent bacterial attack. Leftovers must be refrigerated within two hours of preparation. Avoid all perishable food that has been put in room temperature for more than two hours.
Cooling quickly: Cooling leftovers as soon as possible so that these can easily arrive in safe temperature of 40 degrees F bellow. To attain this, large quantities of food should be divided into small, shallow box.
Reheating leftovers: Covers the leftovers and store in refrigerator for three to four days. Prior to eat, reheating the leftovers until it reaches 165 degrees F.
(Md. Hasan Al Banna, student, Nutrition and Food Science, Patuakhali Science and Technology University)
