1
Clean
Wash hands
20 seconds
- Use soap and warm water.
- Before cooking. After raw meat, the toilet, bins and pets.
- Keep worktops and boards clean.
Why? Germs on hands and surfaces get onto food and make people ill.
Food hygiene · Level 1
Keep food safe at home
Four simple steps stop most food poisoning.
Clean HandsFood safety in your language
2
Cook
Steaming hot
all the way
- Cook food until it is steaming hot in the middle.
- Chicken, pork, burgers and sausages: no pink inside.
- Reheat food only once.
Why? Heat kills harmful germs such as salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter.
3
Chill
Fridge 5°C
or colder
- Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours.
- Eat leftovers within 2 days.
- Defrost food in the fridge, not on the side.
Why? Cold slows germs down. Food left out in a warm room lets them grow fast.
4
Keep apart
Raw meat
at the bottom
- Cover raw meat. Keep it on the bottom shelf of the fridge.
- Use a different board and knife for raw meat.
- Don’t wash raw chicken. Splashes spread germs.
Why? Germs from raw meat can spread to food that won’t be cooked again.
Use by
This is about safety.Don’t eat food after this date, even if it looks and smells fine.
Best before
This is about quality.Food is still safe after this date if it has been stored well.