With the Festive Season in full swing and Christmas literally just days away, it is a high risk time in terms of food poisoning, particularly in Australia.

Food poisoning bacteria naturally grow quicker when it is warm and with Australia's Festive Season being in summer, we are more likely to get food poisoning at this time of the year. Therefore, it is essential that we all follow some basic food safety rules to ensure that we do not give food poisoning as a present this year.

KEEP COLD FOOD COLD

Keep foods that are meant to be cold below 5C

The fridge is for storing foods - keep the drinks in an esky or container with ice to ensure there is room for the food in the fridge.

Make sure there is plenty of room for the air in the fridge to move around or it will not be able to keep the foods cold.

Only put small amounts of food out at a time to reduce the whole lot getting too warm and allowing for bacteria to grow rapidly. Put fresh stuff out when needed and dump anything that has been out for two hours or more, don't save for later.

KEEP HOT FOODS HOT

Cook foods that have to be fully cooked until there is no pink juice or meat.

Once cooked, keep this food hot (above 60C) until ready to serve.

Instead of cooking and handling large cuts of meat like whole turkeys, use smaller pieces like Turkey Buffets  to save time and the hassles of storage and thawing.

If making stuffing, it is usually safer to cook it separately.

CLEAN

Keep all surfaces that will come into contact with any food clean and free of visible matter.

Wash hands thoroughly according to the FSIC's 20/20 Rule

SEPARATE

Keep raw foods away from cooked and also the containers that hold them. Don't put cooked foods onto the same plate or container that has held raw food, unless it has been thoroughly washed in between.

Store cooked foods above raw foods.

Keep foods with allergens away from those that don't.

Make sure that foods are within use by date.

Use different colour boards  and food tools for different food types.

The Food Safety Information Council is the premier body in Australia for promoting food safety in the home, and you can find a lot of brillant and useful information on it's website - www.foodsafety.asn.au