Food Safety for People & Pets (essential tips)
With just a few simple tips to remember, it’s easy to keep people and pets safe in the kitchen. From avoiding unsafe foods to knowing about allergies, and keeping kitchens safe from hazards.
- Use safety gates for children and pets, have a first aid kit/extinguisher nearby, and keep emergency numbers to hand.
- Just bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) along with rhubarb, tomato and citrus scraps, as acids may harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins, as they are made into biogas.
- Fully remove tinned lids and pop inside (or pop ring-pulls back over holes) and pinch top opening closed before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
Keep sharp tools locked away
- Keep kitchen knives in blocks, and store scissors/graters in childproof drawers.
- Learn how to chop food properly (and safely), keeping knives sharp (a dull knife is more dangerous).
Tips for hot surfaces and liquids
- Turn pot handles inwards, and make use of back burners.
- When cooking, avoid floaty sleeves (and tie long hair back).
- Keep tea towels away from open flames.
- Keep children (and pets) away from kettles and trailing wires (like slow cookers on counters).
Prevent food poisoning
- Wash hands before and after preparing food..
- Clean chopping boards and surfaces with unscented cleaners and dishwash liquid (avoid citrus oils near pets)
- Food Standards Agency offers online food training courses.
- Store foods at correct temperatures, and keep your fridge cold.
- If cooking from frozen, thaw foods overnight in the fridge first.
Store leftover cooked meals in the fridge for up to two days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months (write the date it was cooked on the lid). Defrost thoroughly overnight in the fridge, and don’t refreeze or reheat more than once.
Allergies and medication (foods to avoid)
Check for allergies, before serving food. You can order a custom ID card with allergies, medication (including if the person carries an EpiPen) and contact numbers.
Some people cannot eat certain foods (like grapefruit or green vegetables) due to medication interactions. This does not mean you can’t have spinach. Just don’t chug down a smoothie made with a whole head of broccoli, each day!
Foods to avoid when pregnant
Pregnant (and breastfeeding) women must avoid certain foods to keep them and babies safe. Also wash soil off salads and vegetables and avoid caffeine. Foods to avoid include:
- Alcohol & caffeine
- Some herb teas (check labels)
- Raw meat, liver & cold cuts (salami, prosciutto, pepperoni)
- Game meats (goose, partridge, pheasant)
- All pâté (including vegan pâté, due to listeria risk)
- Raw or partially Cooked Eggs
- Liquorice & liquorice root
- Too much ginger (contracts uterus for early labour)
- Raw Fish (if you eat fish, no more than 2 weekly portions of oily fish or tuna steaks.
Choking hazards for children and pets
Choking hazards should be avoided for children and people with swallowing difficulties (and allergies). Also keep small toys off the kitchen floor, where toddlers and pets could find them. Download this e-book on vegetarian textured foods for hospitals and nursing homes.
Learn how to help someone who is choking. Foods to avoid include:
- Nuts, seeds & nut/seed butter
- Dry bread, crackers & croutons
- Crumbly foods (pies & biscuits)
- Peas, grapes, cherry tomatoes, cherries (even sliced)
- Carrot Sticks
- Sausages (slice lengthwise & again, for older children)
- Foods with seeds (raspberries etc)
- Boiled sweets
- Sticky foods (some cheese, marshmallow, mochi)
- Tough foods (steak, bacon, skin/bone/gristle)
- Stringy foods (beans, rhubarb)
- Floppy foods (lettuce, cucumber, spinach)
- Chia seeds (mix with water first, if using)
Foods to avoid near pets
Learn more on choosing better pet food. Use ceramic (harder to knock over) or stainless steel bowls (wash and rinse daily).
- Rather than raised-bowls (which can increase risk of bloat in big-chested, old and overweight dogs), encourage slower eating. Don’t let dogs run or take walks for at least one hour after eating (or after car travel).
- Cooked bones can choke, but not all dogs are safe with raw bones either. Ask your vet about the best types of bones for your dog.
- Always supervise eating, place bones in fridge after 15 minutes, and discard after a couple of days. Also be aware that dogs can get territorial around other dogs.
Foods to keep away from pets include:
- Cooked bones (can choke)
- Chocolate (including white chocolate) & caffeine
- Raw eggs & fish(salmon has a fatal parasite)
- Alliums (garlic, onion, shallots, leeks, chives)
- All citrus fruits & dried fruits
- Mushrooms & avocado
- Fruit pips & seeds ((contain natural cyanide)
- Faux Meats (due to onion, garlic, salt) & jackfruit
- Raw bread dough (can expand in the stomach)
- Corn-on-the-cob (choking hazard)
- Spices (esp. nutmeg & mace)
- Most nuts (esp. macadamia) & seeds
- Xylitol (a sweetener, if used)
Keep dogs away from seaweed fronds at the beach, as they can expand in the stomach as they dry. Read more on how to keep dogs safe at the seaside.
Grow organic food in pet-friendly gardens (away from toxic plants and other hazards). Avoid facing indoor plants to face gardens, to help prevent birds flying into windows).
A fab fun book on dog safety
For Dog’s Sake is a book of tips for dogs on toxic foods and plants to avoid, plus an illustrated first aid guide. Out of print now, but you can order Amy’s US website (due to expensive shipping, she includes a lovely free gift with each order!)
Don’t cook near domestic birds
Most non-stick pans are made with PFOA (a chemical that ends up in our oceans). You can buy non-toxic alternatives, but even if companies say the opposite, all cooking fumes are dangerous around birds.
Most caged birds are likely happier in outdoor aviaries anyway, where they can at least fly and enjoy the company of other birds.
