The Health Department is currently holding the first Food Safety Week, aimed at increasing awareness on the importance that adequate attention is given to the production and conservation of food, in particular in the home.

The number of cases of food poisoning in the home seems to be on the increase, with 57 more cases reported in 2007 when compared to 2006. This means that we are not being careful enough.

Over the past few days The Malta Independent has carried articles, provided by the Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, in which the most basic factors in food hygiene were explained.

The articles dealt with the reasons that led to the holding of a Food Safety Week, why we should wash our hands often and, now that summer is fast approaching, what to do to avoid problems when cooking on barbecues.

These are, of course, the tip of the iceberg where food safety matters are concerned. More information can be obtained from the booklet that the Health Department has published in connection with Food Safety Week.

Very often, cases of food poisoning occur because we tend to take things for granted. For example, few people realise that cooked food needs to be separated from raw food, and this is particularly so in our fridges.

Many of us simply fill up the fridge with food thinking that once it is there it can be left uncovered. This is not so. It is more hygienic to put food in closed containers before putting it in the fridge.

One other major concern is that food that has been in the freezer should not be put back in the freezer once it has thawed. And, in this matter, supermarkets must also lend a helping hand. They should make sure that frozen goods are not left at room temperature, but are transferred immediately from frozen trucks to the freezers inside their outlets or their stores.

Customers should then also make sure that when they buy frozen food, they transport it back home as quickly as they can. It would be wrong if, after buying frozen food from the supermarket, one goes on two or three more errands before returning home. This is particularly so during the hotter months.

Picnic coolers could provide some help in this case. People who know they are going to buy frozen products should take picnic coolers equipped with ice packs to keep the temperature of the frozen goods as low as possible while in transit between the supermarket and home.

Supermarkets should also pay attention to what they do with dairy products. It often happens that items such as milk is left at room temperature and placed in fridges hours after it is received from the supplier. This should not be the case. Milk and other products that need to be kept in fridges should not be left stored at room temperature, and then hastily put in fridges hours later. Supermarkets should have enough storage space to keep such items cool from the time they receive them.

The Health Department’s idea to hold a first Food Safety Week is one that should be commended. However, this should not stop there. Campaigns to raise awareness about food safety should not be a one-off affair, but should be regular occasions.

For example, having a Food Safety stand with people giving out information at village feasts or close to popular beaches in summer would help in no small way to make people more conscious about the need to prepare and conserve food properly.