How safe is your food? Whether you eat in a posh restaurant, a road side food stall, a cafe or at home... Food hygiene is as important as the calorie value of foods! WHO has declared Food Safety as the theme for World Health Day 2015.

Unsafe food, containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, cause more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancer (WHO)! Are we taking enough care?

Here are the 5 keys WHO has given us -
1. Keep Clean
- Wash your hands before touching (and eating) food every single time (whether you are eating at home or in your office cafeteria)!
- Make sure the vessels used for cooking/serving/eating are all clean.
2. Separate Raw and Cooked food
- Storing raw (or marinated) foods with cooked foods may spread contamination (especially in case of meat, as raw meat contains a lot of bacteria - which can be killed by thorough cooking)
- While storing foods in refrigerator make sure they are covered properly.
- Avoid storing leafy vegetables open in the refrigerator, as the germs present on the leaves may contaminate other foods too.
- Always clean all the raw vegetables and cover them properly before storing.
3. Cook food thoroughly
- Heat kills most of the bacteria in food, so cooking is one of the best ways to protect yourself from food infections
- Raw chicken is known to have a lot of bacteria, which get killed while cooking. This is one of the reasons for which washing raw chicken in your sink should be avoided (as the bacteria can spread in the sink or the kitchen platform)
4. Keep food at safe temperatures
- Some foods need to be kept at a temperature below 5 degree celsius to avoid growth of bacteria.
- Any food which comes with a ‘use-by' date or is cooked or is perishable (like vegetables and cut fruits) have to be refrigerated
- Raw meat should be kept in the freezer and consumed within a few hours after defrosting
- Avoid re-freezing raw meat as it will spoil the food and make it inedible
5. Use safe water and raw materials
- Ensure that the water used for drinking as well as cooking is clean. If you are not using filtered water for cooking, make sure it is boiled properly (so that the bacteria are killed)
- Using raw foods can be tricky. Foods which you usually eat raw have to be bought from a reliable (clean) place. Go for organic foods if possible.
- Make sure you wash these foods thoroughly before consuming

Apart from the above mentioned things, basic hygiene at home (especially in the kitchen) is extremely important. If you have pets at home, make sure they don't come to the kitchen or dining area, as they can be potential carriers of bacteria or parasites. Small things you do to keep your food clean and safe can prove helpful in preventing most of the food or water borne diseases.

Eat clean, stay Healthy!