As a doting mum and wife of a top chef with his own food safety and hygiene training company, I was horrified by what my son could possibly find (or be contaminated by) in his halls of residence as a fresher 150 miles away from home.
A quick peep inside a student kitchen fridge is like opening the door of a potentially lethal time-bomb.
Like thousands of other parents around the country I have spent the last two years preparing to wave my precious child off to university. We travelled the length and breadth of England attending open days and departmental visits, spent hours wading our way through prospectus and faculty information not to mention the stress and worry of trying to achieve those elusive top grades just to secure a place at the university of choice; it's a cruel system that builds both hope and hopelessness in choosing a home and educational pathway for the next four years based on predicted grades, only to be confirmed or denied on results day.
Like most mothers, I made sure my son learnt all the basics of living away from home. He is competent in all things domestic; he can wash, dry and iron his clothes, change his bedding, write a cheque, shop, cook and clean up after himself, top up his mobile and remember his manners. We shopped together for his 'going away' kit, his bedding, kitchen utensils, books, pens, toiletries and a starter pack of food.
So what? Isn't that what every parent does? Hands up all those parents who did the "are you sure uni is what you really want?" talk, the taking care of finances chat, who checked to make sure their student had packed all the essential paperwork for registration, remembered their phone charger and ironed their last donation to the washing basket with just a little bit more care and tenderness than usual? You don't need a degree in statistics to work out that includes probably most of us.
But who remembered to give one of the most important, under rated lessons of all - food hygiene? A quick peep inside a student kitchen fridge is like opening the door of a potentially lethal time-bomb. The fridge may be shared by up to 10 students, all jostling for a piece of shelf space to keep their precious food chilled and fresh. The reality is, that one essential piece of kitchen equipment, namely the fridge, could be the cause of thousands of upset stomachs, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration, hospitalisation and very rarely, but quite possibly, even death.
All electrical equipment is tested by universities to make sure it won't electrocute anyone but this test doesn't measure the effectiveness of the fridge. To keep food as fresh as possible and stop the build up of harmful bacteria it should run at a constant temperature of between 1°C and 4°C, impossible to tell if the door is being continually opened and shut by 10 people and without a fridge thermometer. All food stock in the fridge should be covered with the cooked food on the top shelves and any raw meat, fish or eggs at the bottom so that if it drips it won't contaminate anything. If the fridge is shared by several people, then label the food with a name and the date is was put in there so it can easily be removed if it's past its use-by date as rotten or mouldy food can quickly contaminate fresh food.
You've devoted the last 18 years nurturing and protecting your child, they've learnt stranger danger, cycling proficiency and the perils of drinking, sex, smoking and drugs. You willingly spent time and money making sure they have all the essential goodies to make them comfortable in their new home from home but if you neglect to teach them basic food hygiene skills, who's going to hold the bucket or mop their brow when the food poisoning monster kicks in? As parents, we can't be there 24/7, we know we have to let go, but if we're reassured our little treasures have good food hygiene knowledge and a bottle of kitchen sanitizer spray then maybe we can find something else to think about - like ourselves for a change?
For a great leaving home present for any student, buy a copy of Nigel's Studentchef Secrets DVD and booklet, it's got great budget recipes, hints and tips for cooking safely and plenty of advice about food safety and kitchen hygiene. Visit www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk/StudentChef_DVD.html
Further information about food hygiene training can be found at www.sterlingservicetraining.co.uk and www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk
