High risk foods
High risk foods are the ones that are most likely to lead to food poisoning if the correct precautions are not taken.
High risk foods include high moisture and high protein foods – click the icons below to reveal some examples.
- Milk, soft cheese, eggs.
- Meat and poultry.
- Fish and shellfish.
- Cooked rice.
- Any foods that have been reheated.
Remember that warm and moist conditions promote the growth and spread of bacteria.
As you learned on the previous page, the temperature range in which food-borne bacteria can grow is known as the danger zone. This ranges from 5°C to 63°C, so any food that may be left out after cooking is likely to become warmer than this fairly quickly.
The transfer of bacteria can be avoided by using separate equipment when handling raw meat (for example, using a specific chopping board and knife when preparing any raw meat). This equipment should only be used for raw meat and should be washed thoroughly in hot soapy water once finished with. You must also ensure that your hands are washed thoroughly after handling raw meat. This also helps to avoid spreading the bacteria from one food to another (or onto worktops, equipment, utensils, etc).
Raw and cooked food should always be stored separately in the fridge, with raw food on shelves below cooked food. This helps to prevent food poisoning bacteria spreading from the raw food onto the cooked food (for example, through blood or juices dripping down from the raw food).
On the web!
You can take a look at this website, if you would like to learn more about preparing and cooking food safely.
Key point!
It is essential that high risk foods in particular are cooked correctly and thoroughly in order to kill any bacteria they may contain. For example:
- Eggs must be cooked thoroughly until they are piping hot. The white of the egg must be solid (the safest option is to cook the egg until the yolk is also solid).
- It is advisable to have shellfish prepared by someone with specialist knowledge – this is because some parts of shellfish can be poisonous and therefore should be removed prior to cooking.
- Rice must be cooked thoroughly and either served immediately or kept hot until it is needed. If it is allowed to stand at room temperature, bacteria can begin growing rapidly.
- Poultry should be cooked until the juices run clearly – there should not be any pink or red meat/juice.
- Sausages and burgers must be thoroughly cooked and piping hot all the way through – there must not be any pink or red meat in the centre (this will have bacteria in it).