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Do you ‘look before you cook’ your favourite foods?
Consumers are being encouraged to check the food safety instructions on packaged foods before preparing meals as part of Australian Food Safety Week (9-16 November).
Brought to you by our friends at the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC), Food Safety Week is an annual event promoting good food safety practices.
This year’s theme, ‘Look before you cook,’ highlights the importance of checking food labels and following storage and cooking instructions to ensure food is handled in a way that prevents hazards like bacteria entering food and causing foodborne illness.
Millions of Australians are affected by food poisoning each year. Taking simple precautions, such as keeping cold food cold, following cooking times and temperatures and checking ‘use by’ dates can significantly reduce the risk. It’s also always important to wash your hands before and after handling food.
In 2023, FSANZ funded a study that found foodborne illness costs Australia $2.81 billion each year. High-cost illnesses include campylobacteriosis ($420 million) and salmonellosis ($161 million), norovirus ($147 million) and listeriosis ($90 million). Experts helped link illnesses to food groups to guide development of future food safety standards.
This Food Safety Week, we encourage everyone to ‘look before you cook’ by following proper food handling, cooking and storage practices. Let’s promote safe food habits and reduce food waste by staying informed.
Check out the FSANZ website and test your knowledge with the FSIC’s ‘Look before you cook’ quiz to discover more ways to stay safe in the kitchen.