Don’t forget safety when eating hot pot at the beginning of winter
Folk proverb says: The beginning of winter makes up for the empty mouth. After the beginning of winter, the weather gets colder, and a steaming hot pot meal makes people warm and comfortable. However, Professor Cheng Jingmin, a national health science expert, registered dietitian of the Chinese Nutrition Society, and doctoral tutor of Shanxi Medical University, reminds you that while enjoying delicious food, you must not forget food safety.
Keep safety in mind when dining out
Catering unit selection
When going out to eat hot pot, you should check whether the restaurant has a qualified “Food Business License” and try to choose a catering unit with complete licenses and standardized publicity, a clean and tidy store environment, good sanitary conditions, and good implementation of bright kitchens and stoves.
When ordering food online, pay special attention to check the relevant licenses and licenses published by the seller on the online platform. Try to choose a nearby and reputable catering unit. After receiving the food, check whether the food packaging and food safety seals are complete, and eat it as soon as possible.
Check ventilation facilities
Catering units with good ventilation facilities should be selected to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning and fire safety issues during dining.
If you choose traditional hot pot with charcoal fire or gas as fuel, you should also pay attention to check whether the ventilation facilities of the place are complete. You should not eat hot pot for too long, and try not to smoke during the meal, otherwise it will increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Once you feel symptoms of suspected poisoning such as headache, dizziness, nausea, chest tightness, shortness of breath, etc., you should quickly open the window for ventilation and go to the hospital immediately.
When choosing a liquefied petroleum gas hot pot, you should not only keep the indoor air flowing smoothly, but also check whether the hose is loose, falling off, cracked or aging before use. After ignition, adjust the flame according to the burning situation at any time to prevent the soup from boiling over, extinguishing the fire and running out of gas. gas poisoning or fire and explosion accidents. Be careful to cut off the air source when not in use.
When choosing an induction cooker hot pot, you should pay attention to whether it is placed horizontally and whether there is a grounded wall socket. If food or soup spills during use, turn off the power first and then clean up.
When choosing alcohol hot pot, turn off the flame first when adding solid alcohol, and wait for the stove core to cool before adding fuel; when adding liquid alcohol, the amount should not be too much, otherwise it may cause the alcohol in the container to burn violently, leading to an explosion.
Be careful about eating “risky” ingredients
Eat wild mushrooms, green beans and other foods with caution to prevent food poisoning.
Careful selection of ingredients
Give priority to supermarkets and farmers’ markets with complete qualifications and clear distribution channels, and choose fresh and hygienic ingredients.
When purchasing prepackaged foods such as hot pot bases, check to see if there are any sensory abnormalities such as incomplete packaging, vacuum packaging leaks, or bulging bags; check the product labels to see if there are no factory names, factory addresses, production dates, shelf life, or expired dates, etc. . Try to choose products with a newer production date. At the same time, you should also pay attention to the nutritional information table and product quality grade information marked on the label. Try to choose products with lower fat and sodium content and higher quality.
When purchasing common hot pot bulk foods such as bulk fish balls, dried vegetable products, vermicelli, vermicelli, etc., you should check whether the color of the food is fresh and natural, whether there is any peculiar smell, etc.
When purchasing hairy tripe, beef louver, yellow throat and other water-based products, you need to be wary of toxic ingredients sold by some unscrupulous vendors that have been treated with hydrogen peroxide, formaldehyde and other chemicals, such as beef louver that looks white in color, has a pungent smell and You can use the method of “look, smell, and feel” to try to avoid encountering such ingredients as hairy tripe that breaks when pulled.
When buying beef and mutton rolls, try to avoid so-called “promotional products” that are significantly lower than the market price. Pay attention to the texture, tightness and color, and choose products with fine and obvious textures, closely connected fat and lean meat, and natural color transitions. Better-quality beef and mutton will become firmer after being rolled in the pot. One piece is a piece without falling apart, with less foam, and the delicious flavor of beef and mutton will be in your mouth. However, poor-quality beef and mutton show three major characteristics after being put into the pot: they fall apart when put into the pot, have a lot of foam when put into the pot, and have rough meat texture.
The ratio of meat and vegetables in hot pot is best controlled at 1:2 or 1:3, so it is recommended to buy more vegetables and fungi, such as lettuce, celery, cabbage, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. When purchasing vegetarian ingredients such as kelp, you should pay attention to the color of ordinary kelp, which is brown-green or dark brown-green. Try not to buy kelp that looks bright green in color. When purchasing mushrooms, some mushrooms may feel a little slimy, but This is actually a normal phenomenon, but those white, translucent and smooth mushrooms may hide hidden dangers.
Cook and rinse thoroughly to ensure safety
There are many hot pot ingredients to choose from, but if hot pot ingredients are not properly handled or cooked thoroughly and eaten hastily, it may cause physical discomfort. Therefore, whether in a hot pot restaurant or at home, you should pay attention to food hygiene and safety.
Food is thoroughly scalded and cooked through
Animal ingredients such as tripe, goose intestines, and kidney flowers (slices) must not be cooked tenderly and deliciously by simply rinsing them a few times and then taking them out. Food that looks cooked on the surface may be Infectious diseases may occur because the pathogenic microorganisms or parasites contained are not fully killed by high temperature. Scientific experiments have found that parasites in bullfrogs, loaches, etc. need to be killed by heating at 100°C for 10 minutes; spargan parasites in cattle, sheep, and pork can be killed by boiling them in boiling water for 2 minutes.
Ingredients must be separated from raw and cooked
When making hot pot at home, you should pay attention to washing the food ingredients thoroughly before boiling them and making sure they are completely thawed. Raw and cooked food should be handled and placed separately, and public chopsticks and spoons should be used to avoid cross-contamination.
Protect gastrointestinal health
Pay attention to a scientific and reasonable mix of meat and vegetables and avoid overeating; it is not advisable to eat hot pot food that is too hot. After taking the food out of the pot, it is best to let it warm before eating to avoid scalding the oral and esophageal mucosa; avoid irritating cold drinks and keep them iced Although drinking beer with hot hot pot is refreshing for a while, it can easily cause gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. It is best to pair it with warm water or room temperature drinks, such as yogurt, freshly ground soy milk, etc., which can relieve the spiciness of hot pot without causing gastrointestinal “protests”.
It is not advisable to eat hot pot for too long
Cooking hot pot for more than an hour will increase the nitrite content in the soup, which will repeatedly stimulate the secretion of digestive juices such as gastrointestinal juice, gastric juice, bile, and pancreatic juice, easily leading to gastrointestinal dysfunction and chronic gastroenteritis and other diseases; hot pot Although the soup is delicious, it is not nutritious after repeated boiling. The oil, purine, sodium salt, nitrite, etc. in the ingredients will also be integrated into the soup. Therefore, it is not recommended for normal people, people who are losing weight, or patients with gout to drink it.
