This year’s Australian Food Safety Week (11 to 18 November 2023) is encouraging people to stay safe while eating on a budget.
Sarah Nagel, Byron Shire Council’s Manager of Public and Environmental Services is urging local consumers not to compromise their health by taking food safety short cuts.
“This year’s theme for Australian Food Safety Week is ‘Food safety – dollars and sense’ and it’s a good opportunity to review the information on the Food Safety Information Council’s website about how to manage the increased cost of living without compromising food safety,” said Ms Nagel.
“You could also consider visiting North East Waste’s love food hate waste program, for some great information on using leftovers better and saving you money in the long run.
“There are an estimated 4.67 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year that result in 47,900 hospitalisations, 38 deaths and cost the economy $2.1 billion, while also costing people time, money, and their health.
“Food borne disease isn’t a minor illness, it can leave you with long term effects such as reactive arthritis,” she said.
Byron Shire Council together with the Food Safety Information Council recommend following these useful tips to stay food safe:
- Buy yourself a meat thermometer and use it, it doesn’t have to be a fancy digital version, one with a dial can be just as effective.
- If you are moving to cheaper cuts of meat such as mince, sausages, rolled roasts, liver and other offal and chicken, remember they need to be cooked to at least 75°C in the centre.
- Beef, lamb, kangaroo in whole cuts like chops, steaks, pieces, and roasts need to be cooked to at least 63°C (medium rare) and left to rest for around five minutes.
- Pork steaks and pieces need to be cooked to 70°C and roasts to between 70°C and 75°C and left to rest up to five minutes.
- Don’t purchase food from unknown sources such as on social media, make sure they are a legal source.
Byron Shire Council requires all permanent, temporary, and mobile food businesses to go through an approval process before they can operate.
“The objective is to ensure that people aren’t exposed to unnecessary risks caused by the mishandling of food,” Ms Nagel said.
