Store Food Carefully
It's important to store food carefully, to stop it going off or becoming contaminated.
There are three main things to remember:

• keep food at the right temperature

• observe "Use by" dates

• Separate raw and ready-to-eat foods

• You need to keep certain foods at the right temperature to prevent bacteria growing or toxins forming. Always look at the label on the packaging. If it says that the food needs to be refrigerated, make sure you keep it in the fridge.

• If food that needs to be chilled is left standing at room temperature, food poisoning bacteria can grow and multiply to dangerous levels. Cooked leftovers should be cooled quickly and then put in the fridge within 1-2 hours. Putting food in shallow containers and dividing it into smaller amounts will speed up the cooling process.

• Store raw meat in sealable containers at the bottom of the fridge, so it can't touch or drip onto ready-to-eat food.

• Don't overload your fridge because this will hinder the circulation of cool air and might mean the food is not kept cold enough.

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