Pregnant women can easily get food poisoning because their immune system is less effective in fighting off germs found in contaminated foodstuff. Some of the symptoms associated with food poisoning include fever, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting among others. It is for this reason that expectant women in Kenya are advised to observe the highest standards of hygiene when preparing food. If unable to do it on your own, train your house help to ensure food is prepared in a germ-free environment.
Fortunately, hygienic food preparation is possible when pregnant but requires certain changes to be made early enough. Some of the simple ways to ensure food for an expectant mother is prepared hygienically are:
Observe personal hygiene
The first step in hygienic food preparation starts with you or the person helping to prepare food for an expectant mum. Personal hygiene plays an important role in the prevention of food poisoning and is as simple as washing hands. It is advisable to use soap to clean your hands thoroughly before and after food preparation and dry them off well.
Cook food thoroughly
When cooking food ensure that it is well done with no signs of being uncooked such as blood dripping from meat or poultry, especially when you do “choma” or oven-roast. Ensure that you pierce the meat to see if the inside is well cooked, both for fresh and frozen foods. If the food is being boiled let it release steam before serving it to be eaten by an expectant woman.
Ensure food is stored well
Proper food storage is also part of the preparation as raw foods have to be stored in containers that are clean. Ensure that the containers are well covered and appropriately stored in the refrigerator.
