Safe and nutritious food is one of the main elements to support healthy children and families. Mother has an important role you know to decide what food will be consumed by the family.
According to WHO data, 1 in 10 people worldwide get sick every year because they eat unhealthy foods. No less than 420 thousand people died because of eating unsafe foods, which carry bacteria, viruses, dangerous parasites, and chemicals that can cause 200 diseases, one of which is diarrhea.
McKindsey & Company research explained, Mother is the main decision maker what will be consumed by family members. Mother is also responsible for 85% of all types of purchases and 93% of purchases of food consumed every day.
According to clinical nutrition specialist, Juwalita Surapsari, MPG, SpG (K), or who is familiarly called Dr. Lita, Mother needs to pay attention to food safety to avoid bacterial contamination that can cause disease. In addition, carefulness is also needed in preparing food ingredients especially in maintaining nutritional content because it can affect the health and future of the family.
"Efforts to give safe food can be done in three ways. Starting from the selection of fresh food and packaging, storage, and processing and presentation," said Lita in a discussion entitled 'Safe Choice of Mothers' Menu, Inspiring Healthy Family Life' at Resto , Menteng, Central Jakarta, Wednesday (12/19/2018).
Furthermore, Lita explained, to choose healthy and fresh food ingredients, pay attention to the conditions and packaging labels. For fruits and vegetables, check the entire surface, choose those that are still fresh, not wrinkled, and not rotten. When buying cut fruit, make sure the fruit is taken from the refrigerator or given ice around it, do not choose the leaky packaging. Because family food quality starts from the right shopping.
"If there is a 50 percent discount in supermarkets, for fruits that are already not good enough, it is better not to do that. Mending is affordable but fresh," said Lita.
Lita also advised to pay attention to the rules for storing food. Vegetables and fruit are stored in the refrigerator in separate containers. Wash vegetables only when they are cooked, because if they are washed and then put in the refrigerator, they will become moist and rotten quickly. Immediately store meat, fish, chicken, dairy products or perishable foods into the refrigerator, 1 to 2 hours after purchase. Hand hygiene and cooking utensils also need to be remembered.
In addition, balanced nutrition for children must also be maintained. These nutrients consist of micronutrients and micronutrients such as carbohydrates, animal and vegetable proteins, vegetables, fruits, and seeds.
"In addition to food security, we must also be smart in combining food, so that our children and families can get complete nutritional needs," Lita concluded.
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