Shopping for Food Safely
 In today's world, food producer and food sellers have to follow the food safety laws.However, the quality and safety of food can be affected by how it is handled by consumers. Being conscious of sound of hygiene just at home is not enough, also the principles can be applied when shopping for food. Especially when buying foods for vulnerable groups that are more at risk of food borne illnesses, including the elderly, young children, pregnant women, and any person with an illness, being more conscious is required. Here is some safety tips for you when you are shopping for food or if you are ordering food online.
Safety Tips for Shopping
Choosing Food Carefully
 Even the foods have produced by following the food safety laws, some of them can be affected by poor storage and packaging. Therefore, when shopping, you have to choose food carefully. Here is some situation listed below, that you should not buy:
 Food from counters where cooked and raw meat are not separated (Cross - contamination risk)- Dented, swollen or leaking cans or containers
- Products with damaged or imperfect packaging
- Cracked eggs
- Chilled or frozen foods that have been left out of the refrigerator
- Products that are soiled
- Ready-to-eat foods left uncovered on counters
- Hot food, like takeaways, which are not steaming hot
- Anything where you have doubts about the quality.
In addition, some types of foods defined as high risk foods. Because, bacteria growth and multiply on these foods is more easily than others. When buying these foods, you have to check the temperature and try to minimize the time they spend in the temperature danger zone by packing them properly and taking them home immediately. This group includes:
- Meat
- Poultry such as chicken and turkey
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Small goods such as salami and ham
- Seafood
- Cooked rice
- Cooked pasta
- Prepared salads such as coleslaw, pasta salads and rice salads
- Prepared fruit salads.
Checking the Dates on the Packaging
 Consumers should routines to check the date marked on perishable foods, especially chilled or frozen items. A'use-by' date shows the date by which a product should be consumed. It should not be sold after this date. A'best before' date indicates the date until which the food will remain at its best quality.
Planning Shopping Order
For shopping safely, the order is an important point. Some hints are listed below:
- Always pick up your frozen or chilled foods are always picked up towards the end of shopping trip.
- Buy hot chickens and other hot food later in your trip and keep it separate from cold food.
- Prevent meat, chicken or fish juices leaking onto other products.
- Check that the staff use separate tongs or gloves when handling different food types if you are buying from a deli.
Transporting Food Home
 After you purchase food, the safety of that food also becomes your responsibility. If you have purchased hot, chilled or frozen foods, you should get them home as quickly as possible. For trips longer than about 30 minutes, or on very hot days, it's a good idea to put chilled or frozen foods in a cooler or insulated bag to keep food cold. Once you arrive home, immediately put chilled or frozen foods into your fridge or freezer.
Other Tips to Remember
- Beware of overloaded or overly-warm chilled or frozen food cabinets.
- Know where you can get help in any undesirable situation.
- Never buy any product if you are unsure about its quality or safety.
- Watch to see that the shop assistant washes his or her hands carefully between handling raw and cooked foods. It is also important that they clean or change their utensils between handling raw and cooked foods.
- Report any unhygienic practices to the shop management or to your local environmental health department.
Ordering Food Online
Day by day, more and more people are ordering food from home, whether specialist or luxury products or day-to-day groceries. Beside people have the right to expect various things when ordering food from a business in the UK. For example, the business must:
- Give consumer clear information about the goods or services offered
- Send consumer confirmation after a purchase
- Give consumer a cooling-off period of seven working days to cancel consumer's order,
- unless consumer has ordered something perishable.
If you buy products from businesses in other European Union (EU) countries, you'll have very similar rights to those in the UK. Outside the EU, what rights you'll have will vary according to the country where the business is based and problems might be difficult to resolve.
As well as being conscious food consumer is important, being conscious about environment is required, too. Guidelines for Environmentally Conscious ConsumerHere is some question listed below that environmentally conscious consumer should ask his/herself:
- How much do I need this product at this time?
- How much of this is packaging waste?
- How many additional packages were used for this product?
- Is this the most appropriate use for this material?
- Is this product and its package designed to be recycled?
- How is the material handled in recapture or disposal?
- How can I learn to make environmentally "correct" purchases?
References
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/keepingfoodsafe/shoppingforfood/
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/BHCV2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/
Food_safety_when_shopping?OpenDocument
http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0180.html
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