Shop with food safety in mind :: from Do Something's FoodWise web site

Shop with food safety in mind

Food companies and retailers seek to maintain food safety standards to ensure that you can buy the very best. New food safety regulations in Australia will help to make the safety of the food you buy even better. But there are some signs you can look for yourself to ensure you buy a safe product. Once you buy the food it's up to you to make sure that it stays safe.

Check for cleanliness in your food shop. Some preparation of the food you buy, such as cutting up meat and preparing foods for the deli bar takes place in areas you can't see. Dirty staff and conditions in public areas may be a clue that things are worse behind the scenes.

If you have different types of shopping to do go to the supermarket for your food shopping last. Shop for non-perishable food first - leave the fridges and freezers to the end of your shopping. Also shop last for hot cooked foods such as BBQ chicken. Keep hot foods separated from frozen and chilled products.

Information provided by the Food Safety Information Council

What to look for when shopping:

Integrity of the packaging

Check the product very carefully. Look for any signs of damage to the packaging because this can indicate that the product might be contaminated with food poisoning bacteria.

Check the dates

Always check the 'use by' dates marked on perishable foods, such as chilled precooked items, and only buy foods within their expected shelf life. After that date, although it may look OK, there may have been sufficient time for food poisoning bacteria to grow to numbers that can make you sick.

Fridge-smart

Chilled foods need to be kept at a constant low temperature, which can't happen if products are overloaded in supermarket fridges or freezers. Note the black line in the fridges with the words 'load limit' written on it. Retailers should never have any product above or in front of this line. If a product is labelled as 'keep refrigerated' or 'keep chilled' and is not in chilled storage don't buy it and alert the store manager to this situation.

Handle it right

When buying food from the deli counter ensure staff use separate tongs or gloves for raw and ready to eat foods. Avoid shops where cooked or other ready to eat food (e.g. seafood, cooked poultry or deli meats) are displayed adjacent to raw products or are served with the same utensils used for the raw products. If you have serious concerns about food handling in a retail outlet contact your state health department or local council.

At the checkout

Ask the checkout operator to pack raw meats and poultry in a separate bag from other products. Help faciliate this by placing chilled and frozen items together on the conveyor belt.