Written by Dr Mariella Borg Buontempo, Consultant Public Health.
Summer in Malta is a time for relaxation and large social gatherings, a chance to catch up with family and friends. It is a time for winding down and resting, taking a breath before the start of the autumn and winter season. The drawback of our love for socializing around a dining table or BBQ is the summer heat, which provides a perfect opportunity for bacteria to multiply in our food. The number of bacteria doubles every 20 minutes in food held in an ambient temperature of between 50C and 600C. Planning is crucial to avoid unwanted illness and trips to the health Centre.
General Summer Food Safety Tips
• Reduce the time food sits on the kitchen counter or table to a minimum.
• Keep food such as rice salads, pasta salads, local dips like bigilla in the fridge or ice box until you need
• Use two cooler boxes when going for a BBQ: one box for drinks and one box for food. The box for food should remain undisturbed and freezing cold until it is time for cooking or eating. Pack ice packs tightly at the bottom and wrap food well to avoid any leakages. Place the raw meat at the bottom and any ready made food at the top.
• Wash hands with warm water and soap after using the toilet, after touching animals, before handling any food, and often during food preparation, especially when handling raw meet.
• Wash and clean all cooking utensils, chopping boards and kitchen surfaces before food preparation.
The Summer BBQ Guide: From Prep to Plate
• Grilling over an open flame can lead to ocercooking and burning. Fats and juices dripping from meat can cause smoke to form. This smoke contains chemicals harmful to health.
• Marinades can protect against harmful chemicals and help to improve taste. When marinading meat or other foods, the dish should always be left in the fridge.
• Do not use any marinade as a sauce over the cooked meat. Discard all marinade as it is full of harmful bacteria.
• Do not brush the marinade onto meat during cooking to avoid flare-ups.
• Always place cooked meat on a clean plate for serving. Do not reuse any dirty dishes which held uncooked raw meat.
• Chicken should be partially precooked before the BBQ as chicken and burgers need to be thoroughly cooked, reaching temperatures of at least 750C
• Choose smaller cuts of meat like kebabs as they take less time to cook
• Keep meat at least 5cm away from the heat source. Use a lower flame to avoid charring of food.
• Charcoal cooks unevenly. Make sure meat reaches the correct internal temperature before removing from the flame. Poultry and burgers need to reach at least 750C and the juices need to run completely cl;ear – there should not be any pink meat inside. Pork and sausage should be firm to the touch with no pink in the center.
• Before you load up the car, remember to check with the Local Council about getting a permit for a beach BBQ (e.g. Mellieħa, Marsaxlokk and Birżebbuġa). On some popular sandy beaches, charcoal BBQs are strictly banned (only gas is allowed – Għadira and Golden Bay).
• Keep BBQs at least 5m away from trees and any other flammable objects
• Remember to take an appropriate container to take the charcoal ashes home with you. If you dump them in sand or rubbish bins, they can burn swimmers or set fire to rubbish.
• Keep a watchful eye on children and never leave a hot BBQ unsupervised.
Keep Clean, Especially during a BBQ!
It may be a challenge to keep optimal hygiene when we are on the go. Take a bottle of fresh water, liquid soap and paper towels with you specifically for washing hands before touching food. Hand sanitizer is not enough. Enjoy your summer BBQ to the full!
General Food Safety Tips for the Home and Kitchen
Whether you are preparing the family’s lunchboxes, cooking the evening meal or shopping for necessities, keeping the kitchen safe is very important in Malta’s hot and humid Mediterranean climate. These are the ideal conditions for bacteria to multiply rapidly. The most common causes of food poisoning are Campylobacter and Salmonella bacteria. Contaminated food can still look, smell and taste good. Many infections are caused by everyday kitchen mistakes. Good kitchen hygiene is our only defense against food poisoning. Older adults, infants, young children, pregnant women and persons with weakened immune systems are at a greater risk for severe illness.
Kitchen contamination
Cross contamination in a kitchen occurs when bacteria are transferred from raw poultry, meat, or unwashed produce to ready-to-eat food through hands, chopping boards, or knives.
Smart Grocery and Transport Habits
- Pick up dry and canned foods first during your grocery shopping. Pick up fresh meat, fish, dairy products and frozen foods last.
- Pack your fresh and frozen groceries in insulated cooler bags and store them in the passenger cabin during the trip back home. Avoid car boots which are turned into ovens under Malta’s hot sun.
- Unpack immediately that you get home by putting your cool food into the fridge or freezer as required.
Food Preparation and Hygiene
- Colour code your chopping boards. One should be used for raw meat and fish, and another one for ready-to-eat food such as bread, cheese and vegetables.
- Raw chicken should never be washed. During washing, micro-droplets filled with campylobacter or Salmonella are spread all over sink, kitchen top and plate rack.
- Kitchen sponges and dishcloths are breeding grounds for bacteria. Sponges should be changed at least once a week and left to soak in hot water at temperatures of at least 700C daily for two minutes. All sponges should be replaced immediately after contact with raw poultry. Brushes usually carry less bacteria than kitchen sponges. Kitchen brushes and clothes should be washed and dried regularly at temperatures above 600C.
Safe storage and thawing
- Food should be stored carefully within the fridge, with raw meats, poultry, and seafood stored in sealed containers in the lowest shelf of the fridge. This prevents them dripping onto ready cooked foods and vegetables.
- Make sure that the fridge maintains a low and consistent temperature of between 00C and 40C. Do not overpack the fridge as cool air circulates inside it to ensure a safe temperature throughout the fridge.
- Frozen meat should be thawed inside the fridge, not outside on the kitchen counter. If you need to defrost food quickly, use the defrost setting in the microwave.
Cooking and Leftovers
- Make sure poultry, minced meat and pork are cooked all the way through with no pink juices remaining.
- Reduce the time food sits on the kitchen counter or table. Keep food outside for less than one hour.
- Cool food quickly by dividing large pots of stew or soup into smaller containers so that they cool faster before going into the fridge.
- If you are unsure that a food item has been left out in the heat for too long, throw it away.
Enjoy your time socializing this summer whether at home or outside! Have a safe, delicious and stomach-ache-free summer.
For further information, call 2326 6000 or visit hpdp.gov.mt