How to prepare baby food safely

Once your baby starts solid food, you will need to think carefully about hygiene. Babies' immune systems are less developed than adults' and their tummies are particularly susceptible to bugs and infections. These tips will help.

• Wash your hands well before you start to prepare any meals for your baby. Make sure that your nails are well trimmed and clean. Also make sure other members of the family and the maid wash their hands after using the toilet, gardening or cleaning the house.

• Use filtered or boiled water for cooking and cleaning the baby’s utensils. Remember that in our country, unclean drinking water is the cause for most illnesses.

• Always keep your baby’s utensils separate and rinse it thoroughly with filtered/boiled water before serving any meals.

• Wash the chopping board thoroughly with hot water and soap, prior to using it for cooking your baby's meals.

• If you have been handling raw meat/fish or leafy vegetables, thoroughly wash the knives, spoons, and the chopping board to avoid cross contamination.

• The Ministry of Health recommends starting solid foods at around six months. If you do choose to wean before then, sterilise feeding spoons and utensils until your baby is six months old and after that wash your baby's bowls and feeding equipment in very hot water. Use a clean tea towel to dry them.

• While buying feeding utensils for your baby, ensure that you do not buy the cheap, though attractive feeding bowls. The plastic may not be food grade or worse, the dyes/colours used may be potentially toxic. Always ensure that the baby's feeding utensils made of food grade materials.

• Baby food prepared in advance should be cooled quickly then stored in the fridge. Freeze anything that won't be used within 24 hours. However always remember that frequent power cuts increase the chances of contamination of the food stored in the freezer or fridge. It is safer to avoid feeding refrigerated foods -- especially in the hot summer months.

• Try not to feed your baby any leftovers. If your baby leaves any food in his bowl after a meal, always throw it away. Food that has been in contact with saliva (from your baby's mouth or a feeding spoon) will contain bacteria that will multiply if kept.

• It is better to serve small quantities in a separate bowl in case you plan to use the food over two meals. Store the unused food immediately and use it at the earliest. Never leave unused baby food out at room temperature and then later reheat it to feed your baby.

• When reheating baby food, make sure it is piping hot throughout (you should be able to see steam coming out) and then let it cool down before you give it to your baby. Test a tiny bit of food on the inside of your wrist to see if it is a comfortable temperature.

• Don't reheat baby food more than once. Repeated reheating kills the nutrients in the food, in some cases constant heating and cooling results in quicker contamination and spoiling of food.

• You can use a microwave to reheat baby food, but be careful. Stir the food well to avoid hotspots and let it cool down to a safe temperature before giving it to your baby. If you are heating liquids, be very careful before serving your baby, often the container may be cold but the liquid in it may be very hot and can scald your baby’s mouth.

• Check the manufacturing, best before, use by, and expiry dates on packaged/ convenience foods that you give to your baby. If you are using prepared baby foods and you have any uneaten baby food in a jar (that hasn't been heated up or been in contact with your baby's mouth) you can keep it in the fridge for 24 hours after it's been opened. Throw away any food left in jars that have been heated up or that you have fed your baby directly from.

• Never buy juices, milk or readymade foods that are in bulging or leaking packaging. Bulging and leaking packaging is a sign of bacterial contamination.

• Wash high chairs, bibs and eating areas in hot soapy water, or give them a good wipe with antibacterial cleaner. Keep the kitchen as clean as you can, especially the floor, where babies love to crawl!

• If your baby is eating finger foods or eating with his hands, remember to wash his hands too before he eats his meals.

• Check the temperature of your fridge; it should be between 0 degrees C and 5 degrees C (32 - 41 degrees F). Buy a fridge thermometer if you haven't got one.

• Change kitchen cloths and tea towels frequently. Sponges, dishcloths and scrubbers are breeding grounds of germs, avoid using these. If really must, soak them in hot soapy water and boil for a minute or two before using. Avoid putting these in the microwave as the there are no set guidelines and the dishcloth or sponge may catch fire due to excess heat.

• Cook eggs until the yolk and white are solid and cook meats until they are no longer pink in the middle. If you are serving fish, make sure it is properly de-boned. Always strain fish, chicken or meat stock through a sieve and then blend it well so that there are no small bone fragments.

• If food is frozen, defrost it thoroughly before you cook it, unless the food label says otherwise. Make sure you defrost it in the refrigerator and not outside as bacteria multiply at an alarming rate at room temperature.

• Do not leave any food uncovered. Flies, insects, cockroaches, lizards, dust, or even the family pet may contaminate it. Keep your baby's food in a safe place and keep it well covered.

• Avoid feeding your baby outside food (especially in restaurants) if you are eating out. Also ensure that your baby does not put the spoons/forks kept on the table in her mouth -- in case they are not properly clean.

• Always carry food and water for your baby with you whenever you are travelling with your baby. Invest in quality food grade plastic ware to store your baby’s food. Taste your baby's food before you feed her to ensure that the food is not spoilt. This is particularly true in the hot summer months when stored cooked food spoils very quickly.