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[Guest guest]

Why foods and drinks must be safe and clean

It is important that the food we eat and the water we drink is clean

and safe. So it is essential to prepare meals in a safe, hygienic way.

If germs (such as harmful micro-organisms and parasites) get into our

foods and drinks, they may give us food poisoning (resulting, for

example, in diarrhoea or vomiting). The people most likely to become

sick are young children and people who are already ill, particularly

people living with HIV/AIDS.

We can prevent most food poisoning by following a few basic and simple

rules of hygiene that aim to:

• prevent germs from reaching foods and drinks. Many germs come

from human or animal faeces. Germs can reach:

- food via dirty hands, flies and other insects, mice and other

animals and dirty utensils;

- water supplies if they are not protected from faeces.

• prevent germs from multiplying in foods and reaching dangerous

levels. Germs breed fastest in food that is warm and wet (e.g.

porridge), especially if it contains sugar or animal protein, such as

milk.