Golden rules for safe food preservation during Tet
Reheating leftover food will cause the food to lose nutrients, become denatured, and be harmful to health and easily cause food poisoning.
During the traditional Tet holiday, families will have to cook a lot of dishes, both to worship their ancestors and to entertain friends who come to visit, so it is inevitable that there will be leftover food.
According to nutritionist Truong Nhat Khue Tuong, reheating leftover food will cause the food to lose nutrients, spoil, be unsafe for health, and easily cause poisoning.
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| Cooked food should be divided into small portions and stored in sealed containers before being stored in the refrigerator. |
In addition, some types of bacteria can grow in low temperatures, so even if food is stored in the freezer, spoilage can still occur.
People should properly preserve cooked food during Tet with the following notes:
- Food when stored in the refrigerator should be divided into portions just enough for one meal, must be kept in a box with a lid or food wrap, when taken out, should be reheated immediately and all of that food should be used up.
- Do not put hot food in the refrigerator because it will increase the temperature of the refrigerator, affecting the surrounding food.
- After cooking, perishable foods such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and beans need to be cooled quickly and not left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- When reheating food, make sure leftovers are brought to a boil. If reheating in a microwave, stir the food while reheating to ensure even heat distribution.
Once the heating time is up, don't take them out immediately, leave them in the oven for about 3 minutes before taking them out.
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| Properly preserved food avoids poisoning and harm to health. |
With raw food:
Fresh food needs to be carefully preserved and kept away from other foods to prevent bacterial contamination.
Before putting food in the freezer, clean it, drain it, divide it into portions suitable for your family's needs, put it in a plastic bag or food container, and wrap it carefully.
Raw meat should be kept frozen in the freezer to preserve it longer and also to prevent the possibility of bacteria contaminating other foods.
When needed, defrost, food is still guaranteed to be fresh and hygienic.
There are two ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator and in cold water. If you choose to defrost in the refrigerator, you must prepare in advance because it will take a lot of time.
When defrosting with cold water, you should keep the food in a plastic bag to avoid losing nutrients. For meat and fish, you can add crushed fresh ginger or salt to the water outside.
