So it is Christmas and all through the house... there were bacteria around that could make us sick!!!!

Christmas in Australia means warm days and family meals. It is also a time when the likelihood of food poisoning increases because people are just not practicing good food safety.

There are an estimated 5.4million cases of food poisoning every year in Australia and this time of the year is when we regularly see a peak in the number of cases.

There are simple ways to reduce the likelihood of you or your family becoming one of these cases;

Keep hot food hot - above 60C

Keep all cold foods cold - less than 5C

Put the food in the fridge instead of the drinks - use an esky for the drinks

Don't overfill the fridge - there needs to be enough space for air movement

Keep all food contact surfaces clean

Don't put cooked food onto a plate that has held raw food - unless it is well washed first

Wash your hands when handling food

Only put out small serves of dips, cut fruit / vegetables, salads, meats, seafood and after two hours dump it and replace with fresh from the fridge.

Always use an esky or similar container with ice for transporting cold foods

Remember you can use an esky for transporting hot food too

The Food Safety Information Council has a lot of great information about these and other ways of reducing food poisoning at www.foodsafety.asn.au