We have a certified Food Safety Management System to guarantee the safety of the Nestlé products you buy, from material selection through to processing and packaging.

The basic food hygiene rules that help manufacturers like us to ensure quality and safety can also be applied at home. Here are seven tips to for preparing safe food in your kitchen.

1. Select your recipes carefully

When you’re deciding what to cook for people, make sure you know if anyone has a food allergy, special diet or other restrictions. Select recipes that provide the right nutrients in the right quantities for your family and friends. At Nestlé, our recipes are scientifically formulated to deliver the safest product.

2. Source ingredients carefully

Safe food starts at the source. Make sure the foods you buy are fresh and have not passed their expiry date. Remember to wash fruit and vegetables properly, using clean water.

We work closely with farmers and suppliers to make sure they produce safe, high quality raw materials for us to use in our products.

3. Wash your hands

Washing your hands is as effective as it is simple. Before you handle food, make sure your hands are clean and that you have disinfected any surfaces or equipment that you will use to prepare it.

Clean and disinfect work surfaces, chopping boards and equipment thoroughly before you start preparing food and after you have used them to prepare raw food. This is important to avoid spreading harmful microorganisms.

4. Don’t get mixed up

When handling food, remember to keep raw meats, poultry and seafood separate from other ingredients and do not use the same knife or utensils to prepare them.

In our manufacturing facilities we use dedicated equipment and utensils for different ingredients to manage microbiological and allergen issues.

5. Cook thoroughly

Cooking doesn’t just help to make food taste good; it can also kill any dangerous microorganisms.

Make sure you cook food at the right temperature. It is also important not to over-cook food, to avoid destroying the nutrients but also to prevent the formation of harmful substances.

6. Store safely

At home, if you cook more than you need, cool down leftovers as quickly as possible before storing them in a sealed container in the fridge. Use leftovers within two days and make sure you reheat them until they’re piping hot.

Chilling food properly helps to stop harmful bacteria from growing. Keep chilled food out of the fridge for the shortest time possible during preparation. Keep raw and ready-to-eat food apart at all times, including packaging material for ready-to-eat food

It’s also important not to leave ready-to-eat food, for example prepared salads or desserts, standing around at room temperature

7. Share your tips

We can all do something to ensure safe food for everyone by sharing and apply these principles every day. You can help to teach your family members about basic food hygiene.

We share our food safety knowledge with the rest of the industry, external authorities and our consumers.

Our packaging provides consumers with clear storage and usage instructions for a products, as well as information about any allergen risks.

For more detailed information on food safety, visit: WHO food safety

Related information
7 steps to food safety infographic (pdf, 600 Kb)