Bacteria lurk in the cracks and little knife nicks on your wooden chopping board. Use a brush to scrub the board vigorously with hot soapy water after each use. And don't let any meat, fish or poultry - raw or cooked - sit on the board for more than a few minutes. Plastic boards can be cleaned in the dishwasher.
Before freezing uncooked poultry, remove it from the package, rinse well, and re-wrap with your own plastic film or freezer paper; this reduces the bacteria accumulated between processing and purchase. It's also a good practice to rinse chicken under cold running water before you cook it.
If you're grating lemon, lime or orange peel, scrub the fruits first under cold running water; they may have a residue of insecticide or wax.
Store eggs in the fridge rather than in a basket, and don't keep them for longer than 2 weeks.
Don't leave homemade custards or other milk-based dishes in the refrigerator for more than 2 days. Yogurt is an exception.
It's safer to thaw frozen foods, including the Christmas turkey, in the refrigerator than outside it, but you have to allow about 3 times as long for it to defrost.
In hot weather, carry an insulated cooler in the boot of your car and then use it to make sure cold foods get from the supermarket to the kitchen without spoiling.
Stow a dry ice pack in a lunchbox. Or freeze the sandwiches overnight before you pack them in an insulated lunchbox - they'll thaw nicely by the time lunch time arrives.
