Feeding safely: preparing food hygienically
"Utmost care must be taken when preparing and serving food to your
baby. Remember that your baby hasn't developed yet the full range of immune functions
at this stage. Follow these sensible guidelines to prevent your baby's food from
being contaminated with disease causing micro-organisms.
Do's:
Always wash your hands before handling your baby's food. Keep your nails clean.
The underside should be well scrubbed as these areas are good places for harbouring
germs.
Use only clean utensils when preparing and serving food.
Keep food (whether raw or cooked) away from disease-carrying flies and insects.
Always cook meats, fish, seafood and poultry to the well-done stage to destroy harmful
bacteria.
Reheat solid and liquid foods thoroughly. For solid foods, the heat should have
penetrated the centre of the food. For liquids, they should be brought to a rolling
boil.
If possible, always serve freshly prepared foods to your baby. Do not leave food
sitting around for extended periods especially at room temperature. Put food in
the refrigerator to slow down the growth of bacteria.
Baby food kept in the refrigerator should be kept covered at all times.
Any food left unfinished after your baby's meal should be thrown away. Saliva had
already mixed in with the food and therefore will spoil quickly.
Don'ts:
Avoid raw foods from coming into contact with cooked food.
As much as possible, avoid giving leftovers to your baby. Clean leftover food should
be immediately placed inside the refrigerator and used up in the soonest possible
time. If you are in doubt whether a leftover food is still safe, the rule is: THROW
IT OUT! It is always better to play on the safe side.
Caution:
Observe caution when using the microwave oven in heating up your baby's food (or
milk). Microwave energy heats up food unevenly. The food or the bottle may feel
cool but may contain a really hot portion (usually the centre) which may scald your
baby's tongue and soft palate. Microwaved foods should be stirred (or the milk bottle
shaken) to distribute the heat evenly and then left to cool for a few minutes before
serving.