​SFDA launched meat safety awareness campaign for handling meat safely and maintaining its nutritional value.  Mr. Abdulrahman Al Sultan, the Executive Manager for communication and awareness in the Authority, referred that the purpose of the Campaign is raising the consumers’ awareness level and identifying the best way for meat preservation and storage during the process of cooling or freezing it.

Al Sultan confirmed the importance of not leaving the meat out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours to avoid the growth of meat microbes as they multiply in high temperatures. He drew the attention that storing the meat should be in tightly closed containers at the bottom of the freezer in order not to allow the liquids to fall on the other foods whether they are cooked or fresh, which may cause pollution.

Al Sultan advised to refrigerate the meats for not less than six hours before freezing them in case the user wants to store them like Al Udhiyah meat as an example to maintain their quality and freshness, referring to the necessity of packaging them in clean bags tightly and vacuum-seal them, then store it in the freezer.

He pointed out that the healthy procedures should be taken to avoid the microbial risks by washing the meat before cooking, washing the hands before and after handling all kinds of meat because this is an affective steps to reduce microbes spread and use clean sheets to prepare the meat, as these sheets might be a resource for bacterial pollution.

For more information, please visit the Consumer Corner on SFDA website and follow SFDA accounts on the social media networks.