What are the common misunderstandings about batch cooking?
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Batch cooking — tsukurioki (作り置き), cooking several dishes ahead to keep in the fridge — is practised everywhere, but ideas about storage differ widely between countries and households. The Japanese government sets out food-poisoning prevention at home as six situations with specific temperatures. If you shop and cook in Japan, these are the numbers to know.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) pamphlet "Six points for preventing food poisoning at home" gives 10°C or below for the fridge and −15°C or below for the freezer as a guide. Even so, it warns not to rely on the cold, because "bacteria do not die."
Three principles, six situations
The three principles of food-poisoning prevention are "don't contaminate, don't let it multiply, kill it off" (つけない・増やさない・やっつける). The "six points" apply these to six situations at home.
| Situation | Key point |
|---|---|
| 1. Shopping | Buy fresh food last and go straight home |
| 2. Storing at home | Fridge 10°C or below, freezer −15°C or below. Do not overfill |
| 3. Preparation | Wash your hands. Wash utensils used for raw meat or fish each time |
| 4. Cooking | Heat until the centre reaches 75°C for at least 1 minute |
| 5. Eating | Keep hot food hot and cold food cold |
| 6. Leftovers | Cool quickly, use clean utensils. If too much time has passed, throw it away |
Batch cooking is an activity that concentrates on points 2, 4 and 6.
Misunderstanding 1｜In the fridge it keeps for a week
How long a dish keeps varies completely from dish to dish. The more moisture it holds, the more it was handled after cooking, and the more raw ingredients it contains, the shorter it lasts. Do not think in terms of a single fixed number of days. The government material itself says of leftovers: "if too much time has passed, be decisive and throw it away."
Misunderstanding 2｜You can put food in the fridge while it is still hot
Hot food raises the temperature inside the fridge and breaks the storage temperature (10°C or below) for everything else. Divide it into shallow containers, cool it quickly and then put it in — the method given under "leftovers" in the six points.
Misunderstanding 3｜Once it has cooled, you can touch it freely
Bacteria get in from the chopsticks or spoons you serve with. Use clean utensils and take out only what you will eat.
Misunderstanding 4｜Reheating lightly is enough
When reheating leftovers, too, the guidance is to heat thoroughly, aiming for 75°C or above.
Misunderstanding 5｜Smell and appearance always tell you
Food can be unsafe even when it looks and smells unchanged. Put day-counting first, and if anything at all seems wrong, do not eat it.
[Verify] Check the temperature and time figures (10°C or below, 75°C for 1 minute, etc.) against the MHLW pamphlet "Six points for preventing food poisoning at home."
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Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, "Six points for preventing food poisoning at home" [家庭でできる食中毒予防の6つのポイント] (pamphlet)
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/bukyoku/iyaku/syoku-anzen/dl/pamph01_05.pdf
- Government of Japan Public Relations Online [政府広報オンライン], "Principles of food-poisoning prevention and the six points" [食中毒予防の原則と6つのポイント]
https://www.gov-online.go.jp/article/20110602/entry-8196.html
- Japan Food Hygiene Association [公益社団法人 日本食品衛生協会], "Six points for preventing food poisoning" [食中毒予防の6つのポイント]
https://www.n-shokuei.jp/eisei/sfs_6point.html
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
About this article
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Some ingredients need thorough cooking. Eat raw only foods that are sold for raw consumption. If you have allergies, check the ingredients.
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