Storing foods safely
Plan how to store foods in your home to prevent cross contamination of allergens from one food to another.
For very young children with food allergy:
If you have very young children you may choose not to have the food allergen in the house because young children cannot read food labels or know which foods are safe to eat.
This may be hard if it is a food that your family eats regularly, for example wheat, eggs and milk (dairy).
If you do have the allergen in the house, here are some tips to store food safely:
1. Write on the pantry shelf or fridge shelf where you keep special foods for the person with food allergy so that everyone puts it back in the right place.
Example: If a person in the house is allergic to wheat, keep the wheat free flour in a spot that everyone knows about in the pantry by marking the shelf.
2. Put special foods for the person with food allergy on high shelves.
Example: If a person in the house is allergic to wheat, keep the normal wheat flour on a shelf lower down, and put the wheat free flour higher up. This will stop anything spilling onto the food on the higher shelf.
3. Keep foods in their original packaging where possible so ingredient labels can be checked before eating.
If the food cannot be kept in its original packet, empty it into a clean container with a lid and stick the label on it. Take care when emptying foods into containers and wipe up any spills.
4. Label foods with a coloured sticker, so that young children know what foods are safe to eat.
