Hello family!

If you’re planning to go to the market this weekend, please don’t pack your basket like this.

Raw meat and fish should never sit directly beside fresh vegetables and other foods, especially the ones we may eat raw.

This is how cross-contamination starts.

Here are five tips for preventing cross–contamination (unintentionally transferring bacteria from one food to another) while shopping.

1. If you go to the open market, be sure to go with enough shopping bags, so you can separate your raw meats/fish from your other foods.

2. If you shop in grocery stores, separate the foods in the shopping cart. You could use the shopping carts that have two baskets. Use one for your fish and meats and use the other for your other foods.

3. When checking out your purchases at the grocery shops, ask attendants to pack raw foods separately and keep dry foods separate from wet/refrigerated foods. This keeps the different foodstuff fresh until you get home and store them appropriately.

4. Maintain this separation in the car, bus or taxi that you will take home. It may be more convenient to pack everything in one bag, but I assure you it is unhealthy!

5. Finally, before you start cooking when you get home, be sure to wash your hands as you have handled money and loads of foodstuff which may have deposited myriads of germs on your hands.

Bacteria from raw meat can transfer to foods we eat raw, especially fruits and vegetables.

For healthy adults, it may cause mild illness.

For children and older people, it can be serious.

Tell me – do you separate your meats when buying, or does everything enter one nylon bag?

Have a great weekend!