Health education course, chapter 1 - part 1: serving children's  (Page 3/5)

If food has to be kept for more than two hours, it should be kept either very hot or very cool.

If cooked food is saved for another meal, it should be covered to keep off flies and insects and then thoroughly reheated beforebeing eaten.

Yogurt and sour porridge are good to use in meals because their acid prevents the growth of germs.

Raw food, especially poultry and seafood, usually contains germs. Cooked food can collect germs if it touches raw food. So rawand cooked foods should always be kept away from each other. Knives, chopping boards and surfaces where food is prepared should always becleaned after preparing raw food.

Breastmilk is the safest milk for infants and young children. Animal milk that is freshly boiled or pasteurized is safer thanunboiled milk.

Expressed breastmilk can be stored at room temperature for up to eight hours in a clean, covered container.

Special care should be taken with preparing food for infants and small children. Their food should be freshly made and not leftstanding, if possible.

Fruit and vegetables should be peeled or washed thoroughly with clean water, especially if they are to be given raw to babiesor small children. Chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides cannot be seen on fruit and vegetables but nonetheless can be dangerous.

Germs on food can be swallowed and cause illness. To protect food from germs:

• food preparation surfaces should be kept clean
• knives, cooking utensils, pots and plates should be kept clean and covered
• cloths for cleaning dishes or pans should be washed thoroughly every day and dried in the sun. Plates, utensils and pans should be washedimmediately after eating and put on a rack to dry
• food should be kept in covered containers to protect it from insects and animals
• feeding bottles or teats should not be used because they can contain germs that cause diarrhoea unless they are cleaned each time withboiling water. Children should be breastfed or fed from a clean, open cup.

Washing hands

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Drinking fresh water

Families have fewer illnesses when they have an adequate supply of clean water and know how to keep it free of germs.

If the water is not clean it can be purified by boiling or filtering.

Clean water sources include properly constructed and maintained piped systems, tube-wells, protected dug wells and springs.Water from unsafe sources - such as ponds, rivers, open tanks and step-wells - can be made safer by boiling. Water should be stored in a covered containerto keep it clean.

Families and communities can protect their water supply by:

• keeping wells covered and installing a handpump
• disposing of faeces and waste water (especially from latrines and household cleaning) well away from any water source used for cooking,drinking or washing
• building latrines at least 15 metres away and downhill from a water source
• always keeping buckets, ropes and jars used to collect and store water as clean as possible by storing them in a clean place, rather thanon the ground
• keeping animals away from drinking water sources and family living areas
• avoiding the use of pesticides or chemicals anywhere near a water source.