Tuesday 7 April is World Health Day and this year the World Health Organisation is
highlighting the importance of food safety with the theme: “From farm to plate, make food safe’.
It’s a theme that rings true when it comes to dairy foods.
Fact is: Australians buy a lot of dairy. According to Dairy Australia,
in 2013/2014 we each consumed around 105.7 litres of milk, 13.4 kilograms of cheese, 3.9 kilograms of butter and 7.4 kilograms of yogurt.
But, there can be a fair amount of wastage in consumer land due to how the product has been handled post-purchase.
So, in the spirit of ‘waste not, want not’ and to shine the light on dairy food safety here are a few practical hints that might come in handy:
- When the mercury’s rising, store your dairy foods in a cooler bag to transport them from the supermarket to home.
- Make the dairy cabinet your last stop on your shopping trip, adding dairy foods to your trolley just before you hit the check out.
- Check use-by dates and consider whether you can consume the food before its expiry date.
- Take a tip from the supermarkets and pack your fridge like a pro – put foods that need to be consumed sooner at the front so they are used first.
- Store milk in its original packaging – don’t transfer to glass bottles or jugs as these allow light in that can cause milk to spoil.
- Milk can be frozen and then thawed overnight in the fridge. The milk may appear slightly grainy when thawed, but a good shake will fix this.
- Butter is best purchased when required, but properly sealed it can be kept frozen for up to 12 months.
- Wrap gourmet cheeses in baking paper and place in a sealed container in the fridge to help them last longer.
Of course, despite the very best efforts we have all been faced with a favourite dairy food that is edging towards its use-by date. But don’t despair –
check out these inspirational ideas for using up left over dairy foods
from the popular Kidspot blog!
Source: LEGENDAIRY