Enviro-Food Consulting
388 Aldous Road V9K 1S8 Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada

TRAVEL MEMORIES: Osborne House, Isle of Wight, UK Osborne House is the former royal residence of Queen Victoria. It is located on the Isle of Wight in East Cowes. Osborne House was built as a summer home and retreat for Victoria and Albert between 1845 and 1851. The house was designed by Prince Albert in a similar style of an Italian Renaissance palazzo. It's a very beautiful place. I can see why Queen Victoria loved visiting there.

St. Patrick's Day on March 17 is almost here. My Irish heritage will prevail so I plan on having a green drink on the day!

TRAVEL MEMORIES: Santorini, Greece On cruise a few years ago, Santorini was one of the ports we docked at. Santorini is one of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. The houses are fascinating as they are whitewashed and look like cubes. The two main cities are Fira and Oia which cliing to the cliffs above an underwater crater or caldera. To get to the top from the sea, you either take a mule ride or the cable car. Once at the top, you can walk amongst the houses and various businesses or take a bus to each town. When we were visiting, Santorini was a very popular destination for Japanese brides!

TRAVEL MEMORIES: Taylor's Three Rock Pub, Dublin, Ireland With St. Patrick's Day coming up after Valentines, here are some travel memories from Ireland of photos from Taylors Three Rock in Dublin. It is a rambling farmhouse pub with the largest thatched roof in Ireland soaring to over 50 feet. It is home to Dublin's Irish Cabaret which is Irelands longest running cabaret. Award winning Irish dancers, superb musicians and delicious Irish traditional food made for a fabulous evening!

VALENTINE'S CHOCOLATES Chocolates and roses are big sellers for Valentine’s Day. Even though chocolate is made with cocoa butter, sugar and various flavorings, it does not have a food safety risk. Chocolate is not considered a hazardous food except for weight gain! Hazardous foods include dairy products which are found in chocolate. However, the high sugar content helps to suppress growth of bacteria. When chocolates are being prepared in the factory, the concern is more with... the utensils used and the cleanliness of the equipment and worker hygiene. One problem is pests such as rats and mice. Rodents leave droppings and hairs behind. The hairs can sometimes find themselves in chocolate bars unfortunately due to the storage and preparation. Usually, this is not the case so you can still eat chocolates at Valentines without the risk of a foodborne illness! See more

From FOOD SAFETY MAKES SENSE: Eight Food Safety Tips from Inside My Fridge As a Public Health Inspector, students sometimes wonder if I practice what I preach! I hope so as it is not that difficult to keep your home refrigerator up to food safety standards. Here are 5 food safety tips to help you keep your food safe:... 1. It’s important to watch the code dates. Expired milk should not be used. Follow the code dates on salad dressings and pasta sauces as well. 2. Make sure that shelving is regularly wiped down and the shelves kept clean. Any spills should be wiped up immediately or as soon as you can. 3. Purchase a thermometer and install it in your fridge to check the temperature. It should read 4 C which is the optimum temperature for refrigerators and coolers. 4. Rotating your stock is important too. Try and keep the oldest foods at the front of the refrigerator and the other foods placed further back. This is called the First In First Out method. 5. Placing labels on soups and leftover meals helps you know what you’ve got as well as using see-through containers. 6. When stacking foods, use closed lids otherwise bowls can be stacked one on top of the other and contaminate the open food underneath. 7. Most importantly, keep raw meats and fish on the bottom shelf. The reason for this is that blood can drip and ruin the foods stored underneath. 8. Use leftover meals within 3 days of preparation. Do not use the same previously cooked food such as chicken for a few weeks. A restaurant manager I knew had a staff member who zealously stocked all the boxes of raw meat on the top shelf of the walk-in cooler because it looked good. Unfortunately, the blood dripped onto the produce and other foods on the shelving below and ruined $2000.00 worth of food! Also, this was in a kitchen at a mining camp in a remote location, so finding alternative meat quickly was not an option! By following these tips, you will be practicing safe food handling techniques and create a safe environment for your refrigerator and produce safe meals for your family and friends.

Sally describes how to store food safely inside your refrigerator.