In summer, the temperature is high, so going out for dine in can be troublesome, and ordering takeout can be unhealthy. Many office workers choose to bring meals. Faced with the test of high temperatures, how can we ensure food safety by bringing meals in summer?
What meals are suitable for office workers to bring?
Bring your own food first and foremost, considering safety. The selection of ingredients is not as diverse as freshly made and eaten. Therefore, it is recommended to eat more whole grains as the main course, and also add some coarse grains, potatoes, and miscellaneous beans to achieve nutritional balance.
Animal based foods such as meat, eggs, fish, shrimp, etc. must be fully cooked varieties, and nuts can be used to supplement protein and fatty acids.
Recommended vegetables include beans, tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, mushrooms, fungus, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, purple cabbage, as well as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, lotus roots, pumpkins, etc. that can replace some staple foods. The advantage is that they lose less water during the cooking process, and even if they are left for a long time after cooking, their shape does not change significantly, making them suitable for multiple heating.
Generally, green leafy vegetables are not suitable for taking out. On the one hand, after cooking, the appearance, color, and shape of green leafy vegetables will change after being left for a period of time, making people lose their appetite; On the other hand, green leafy vegetables themselves have a relatively higher risk of producing nitrites during storage, so it is best to eat them freshly and not leave them for too long.
Try not to bring pre mixed cold dishes and Liangpi, because they are not sterilized and need to be kept for a long time before eating, so there is a high risk of bacterial contamination and reproduction. If you must bring it, you can consider adding more seasonings such as vinegar and garlic paste that have a certain inhibitory effect on bacteria to improve safety. If you want to carry raw tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc., it is necessary to store them separately in a special lunch box and it is best not to chop them in advance, because the smaller the cut pieces, the easier it is to contaminate and spoil. It is best to bring fresh vegetables and seasonings or salad dressings directly, and mix and eat them fresh when eating, which is relatively safe.
What container is suitable for carrying food?
It is best to use specialized fresh-keeping boxes for lunch boxes, which can provide a sealed and barrier against bacterial contamination.
Some people like to prepare their meals and put them in a thermos. Although a thermos can keep them warm, if the food made the night before is eaten at noon or evening the next day, the thermos will remain in the temperature range that is most suitable for bacterial growth (30 ℃ -40 ℃) for a long time as the temperature slowly drops, and the food is prone to spoilage.
What are the small food safety details to pay attention to?
It is recommended to immediately seal the food in a fresh-keeping box while it is hot after preparation, and then refrigerate the fresh-keeping box in the refrigerator as soon as possible. This can ensure that there are no live bacteria inside, and at the same time, bacteria from outside cannot enter; On the other hand, immediate refrigeration will quickly cool down the food as a whole, in order to minimize the time it stays at 30 ℃ -40 ℃.
If food is left open after preparation, bacteria in the environment may contaminate the food, and waiting for cooling at room temperature can increase food safety risks. Generally speaking, there is a food safety risk when food is left for 2 hours after preparation, and it is not recommended to consume it again after 4 hours.
In addition, the fresh-keeping box itself should also be disinfected before use. It is recommended to rinse it with hot water (preferably above 80 ℃) for a moment (preferably more than 1 minute) before use to kill some microorganisms on the fresh-keeping box. It is also possible to use seasonings such as vinegar, ginger juice, garlic paste, mustard, and fresh chili segments that have certain antibacterial effects to enrich the flavor and improve food safety.
If the one-way commute time is relatively long (such as more than 2 hours), in addition to paying attention to the above details, it is best to put an ice pack in the insulated bag and keep the lunch box in the insulated bag throughout the commute. If the unit has refrigeration conditions, the lunch box should be placed in the refrigerator and must be thoroughly reheated before consumption.