Only a few days to go and then it’s officially the start of another summer. Along with warmer weather and gusty winds if you call Cape Town home or summer rains if you’re further north in Johannesburg; comes the need to be extra vigilant about food safety, because we’re not the only ones that love heat – bacteria do too and it doesn’t take much for them to procreate.

So how do you keep best food practises in mind during our hottest season? To begin with, strictly adhere to the four cornerstones of food safety: clean, separate, cook and chill. In practise that means ensure your hands and everything else about to touch your food is clean; avoid cross contamination by keeping meat and produce separate; make sure your food is cooked to the minimum safe temperature; and chill perishable foods promptly.

But it’s this last step – chill – that plays the biggest role in hot weather, because warmer temperatures allow harmful bacteria to flourish. According to Food Insight’s ‘Don’t Get Ill, Keep it Chill’ bacteria grow most rapidly between 4.5° C and 60° C and can double in as little as 20 minutes. Called the danger zone, this is where you need to be extra vigilant and the goal is to keep perishable foods below 4.4° C until you’re ready to eat, cook or freeze it.

They offer the following tips to ensure your food and you, stay safe and healthy:

• Refrigerate perishable foods as soon as possible, always within two hours after purchase or delivery. And if you’re someplace that’s 32° C or hotter – which is the majority of days in a South African summer – make that one hour.
• Transport coolers in the air-conditioned part of your car, not in the hot boot.
• Keeping a constant home fridge temperature of 4.4° C or below is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 4.4° C or below.
• Remember, after having a meal or preparing food, your leftovers should go into the fridge or the freezer within two hours.
• Use, discard or freeze your refrigerated leftovers within three to four days. Some harmful bacteria can continue to grow at cool temperatures, so keeping leftovers too long can increase the risk of illness.
• Ready-to-eat products that will not be cooked or heated before consumption need special care. Examples of these foods are table-ready salads (like pasta salads, chicken salads, vegetable salad) and deli meats – be sure to adhere to the sell-by dates on these products.

Simple, but effective. Keep these recommendations in mind while you shop, prep and cook in the coming weeks – here’s wishing you all a safe and healthy start to the summer.