Food Safety Quick Tips

• When planning a menu for a sleepover, pack holiday or camp take into account what storage and cooking facilities you have available. Take a look at meal safety advice for four and five year olds to prevent choking
  
  
• Check with the campsite or owners that water is Drinkable Water.
  
  
• Ensure that all cooking equipment is clean before use. Don’t assume!
  
  
• Spray and wipe down all working surfaces and tables with anti - bacterial spray before & after use.
  
  
• Do not store any food on the ground - remember squirrels and birds are pests and can get into containers.
  
  
• Store packets, bread, biscuits and cakes in containers with lids (preferably tins).
  
  
• Put vegetables, salad and fruit in a cool box or lidded container.
  
  
• Ensure that you have cool boxes or some type of portable refrigeration to store chilled / frozen foods. Ensure that there are sufficient ice packs for this purpose. Check to see if the site has the facility to freeze ice packs.
  
  
• Take meat items frozen so that they can defrost slowly in a cool box.
  
  
• It is better to use long life milk / cream than fresh when camping, unless you can get regular fresh supplies. Treat as fresh once opened.
  
  
• Always cut through meat / poultry to ensure it is fully cooked.
  
  
• Keep raw and cooked (including 'ready to eat' food like cheese, sausage rolls, sandwiches etc…) foods strictly separate.
  
  
• It is better to eat cooked food hot, straight from cooking and not reheated.
  
  
• Avoid unnecessary handling of food, use spoons or tongs.
  
  
• Ensure that everyone washes their hands before eating even when providing own food.
  
  
• Use hot water and detergent when washing up. Ideally use a second bowl or sink with very hot water for rinsing.
  
  
• Do not use tea towels that have fallen on the floor.
  
  
• Ensure cuts and sores are covered with a waterproof dressing, disposable gloves over the dressing will give added protection but remember to wash as hands.
  
  
• E.Coli can be found on the ground and is usually carried by animals. When organising a camp on fields where animals have been grazed, the animals must be removed three weeks before the start of the camp.

If you see something wrong, take action to correct it, don't leave it.