Food hygiene and safety: the 4Cs

The Food Standards Agency's 4Cs of food hygiene are:
Cleaning: wash hands with soap and warm water before cooking and after touching raw meat; keep surfaces and equipment clean.
Cooking: cook food until it is steaming hot all the way through.
Chilling: keep your fridge at 5°C or below; cool leftovers and put them in the fridge within two hours.
Cross-contamination: stop bacteria spreading from raw food (especially raw meat) to ready-to-eat food.

Store raw meat in a sealed container on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so it cannot drip onto other food.
Use separate chopping boards and knives for raw meat and ready-to-eat food, or wash them thoroughly in between. Many kitchens use colour-coded boards, such as red for raw meat and green for salad and fruit.
Do not wash raw chicken: splashing water spreads bacteria around the kitchen. Cooking it properly kills the bacteria.

A use-by date is about safety: do not eat food after this date, even if it looks and smells fine.
A best before date is about quality: food is safe after it, but may not be at its best.
There are 14 major allergens that must be declared on food in the UK, including milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and sesame. Always check before cooking for someone with an allergy.