Food Safety 101

I believe one of the reasons some people live longer than others is because of the food they eat. Someone who spends their life drinking alcohol and eating junk food is more likely to develop infections and diseases than someone who eats a balanced diet. This is to show that the importance of good food cannot be overemphasized. We eat every day, yet few of us truly think about the source of our food or how safe it is for our health. In today’s world where everyone is very busy with work and life, it is easy to get caught up with activities and overlook what we eat. A worker who comes back from work after a very long day will care little about the source of his food. All they would think is how to get the food in their stomach. Now, imagine that after a long day, the worker eats an expired meal and then begins to have a stomach ache.

This is where the concept of food safety comes in. I have heard many cases of food poisoning. I have witnessed people who had serious issues because they ate bad food. Now, the big question is: what does food safety mean to you? How do you make sure you consume good food?

In my opinion, food safety begins from knowing the source of your food. I call this food safety 101. I remember during my days in high school, my brother wanted to enjoy. So, that day after school, I came back to meet him in a happy mood. He bought noodles (the big size), fresh peppers, onions, and to top it off, he bought a very cold drink. He wanted to enjoy it alone, so he prepared it and finished it all by himself. After a few hours, he started to complain of stomach pain. At first, we all thought he wasn’t serious. But within minutes, he got worse and he started rolling on the floor. Luckily, my mom, a nurse, was around that day and she quickly did something about it.

Apparently, the noodles my brother ate had expired. Not only that, the drink had also expired many months ago. From that moment, we became more conscious of the things we bought in the area. We noticed that sellers in the area often keep their goods in storage for too long. This is because customers don’t buy some items frequently. So, we decided to change the source of our food. Whenever we needed something, we would go to the market and buy in bulk. Another good safety tip that falls under knowing your source is never to buy from sellers who use chemicals on their products as this can cause infections and diseases.

Many people enjoy eating out, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s important to be mindful of where you choose to eat. It is even better to prepare your meals by yourself. These are the little things we can do to ensure food safety.

Image is mine.

Thanks for reading.

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