Important criteria in purchasing food storage container, (GO FOR Lock&Lock!=)

Raw material and Hygiene You must check to see if there is any trace of environmental hormone harmful to human body and if material’s heating and cooling temperature is appropriate for refrigerator or microwave use. Durability Stands sudden impact or temperature changes(fast cooling & heating) and sturdy surface to long last any scratches from the dishwasher. Multi-purpose with various sizes It is essential to have various sizes to suit customer’s needs and also to be multi-functional for all purposes. Airtight Lockage First thing you should consider in purchasing a container is whether it locks tightly. It is essential in keeping the contents fresh. The container should be airtight in keeping the liquid, moisture, and smell inside Space Saving Design Containers should be stacked efficiently in the refrigerator or on the shelf. The height, length, and width should be designed in a module style from the first development stage.

Reliability The manufacturer has to be a professional manufacturer that you can trust. You should consider before purchase whether the manufacturer can guarantee customer’s rights as A/S or exchange if there is any problem with the product.

Tips on Food Safety (Part 3)

Storing Leftovers Safely

Your dinner was a success and you're lucky to have some left over. Here are some tips on handling leftovers:

• Put leftovers in the fridge as soon as possible. If you leave leftovers out for too long at room temperature, bacteria can quickly multiply, turning your delightful dish into a food poisoning disaster.
• Store leftovers in containers with lids that can be snapped tightly shut. Bowls or tins are OK for storing leftovers, but be sure to cover them tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep the food from drying out.
• Eat any leftovers within 3 to 5 days or freeze them. Don't freeze any dishes that contain uncooked fruit or veggies, hard-cooked eggs, or mayonnaise.
• If you're freezing leftovers, freeze them in one- or two-portion servings, so they'll be easy to take out of the freezer, pop in the microwave, and eat.
• Store leftovers in plastic containers, plastic bags, or aluminum foil. Don't fill bowls all the way to the top; when food is frozen, it expands. Leave a little extra space.
• Eat frozen leftovers within 2 months.

Tips on Food Safety (Part 2)

Clean Up

Even though the kitchen might look clean, your hands, the countertops, and the utensils you use could still contain lots of bacteria that you can't even see. To prevent the spread of bacteria while you're preparing food, check out the following:

• Always wash your hands with hot water and soap before preparing any food.
• Wash your hands after handling raw meat, poultry, fish, or egg products.
• Keep raw meats and their juices away from other foods in the refrigerator and on countertops.
• Never put cooked food on a dish that was holding raw meat, poultry, or fish.
• If you use knives and other utensils on raw meat, poultry, or fish, you need to wash them before using them to cut or handle something else.
• If you touch raw meat, poultry, or fish, wash your hands. Don't wipe them on a dish towel - this can contaminate the towel with bacteria, which may be spread to someone else's hands.
• Use one cutting board for raw meat, poultry, and fish, and another board for everything else.
• When you're done preparing food, it's a good idea to wipe down the countertops with a commercial cleaning product. Don't forget to wash the cutting board in hot, soapy water and then disinfect it with a commercial cleaning product.

"Did you know?"

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/food_safety.html

Tips on Food Safety (Part 1)

In the Kitchen

Food safety's about more than keeping your hands away from a whirring food processor blade - it means knowing how to avoid spreading bacteria, and more. Check out these facts on safe food preparation.

After a trip to the market, the first things you should put away are those that belong in the refrigerator and freezer. Keep eggs in the original carton on a shelf in the fridge (most refrigerator doors don't keep eggs cold enough).

Ready to cook but not sure how quickly things should be used, how long they should cook, or what should be washed? Here are some important guidelines:

• Raw meat, poultry, or fish should be cooked or frozen within 2 days.
• Thaw frozen meat, poultry, and fish in the refrigerator or microwave, never at room temperature.
• Cook thawed meat, poultry, and fish immediately - don't let it hang around for hours.
• Cook meat until the center is no longer pink and the juices run clear or until it has an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
• Cook crumbled ground beef or poultry until it's no longer pink or until it has an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius).
• Cook chicken and other turkey until it's no longer pink or until it has an internal temperature of at least 180 degrees Fahrenheit (82 degrees Celsius).
• Scrub all fruits and veggies with plain water to remove any pesticides or dirt.
• Remove the outer leaves of leafy greens, such as spinach or lettuce.
• Don't let eggs hang out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
• Make sure that you cook eggs thoroughly - no runny stuff.

"Did You Know?"

Did you know that microwaving in containers that are round or oval in shape can help foods heat more evenly? With rectangular containers, the corners tend to receive more energy, which can cause food to dry out or overcook in these areas.

How important is proper food storage?

It can help you:

1. Preserve food quality, including nutrients, flavor and texture;
   
2. Make the most of your food dollar by preventing spoilage; and
   
3. Prevent food-borne illness caused by harmful bacteria.
   

To store food properly, you need to know not only how to store foods, but also how long
they will be safe and of high quality.

Remember that:

"stored foods are never fresher than when first put into storage".

When grocery shopping, choose perishable items last, go straight home and store them properly in the refrigerator or freezer.

A good policy to follow is:

"first in, first out"

meaning that you rotate items so that you use the older items first. Also, buy foods in reasonable amounts so that you can use them while they are still of good quality. Excess food may become waste.

"Lock&Lock" WHO???

LOCK&LOCK, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, has become recognized in the world market by introducing a new concept in the food storage container category, Lock&Lock, with a 4-sided locking mechanism.

Founded in 1985, Lock&Lock manufactured over 600 kitchen, home organization, picnic, lunch box, and children’s products. In 1997, the company revitalized itself by redirecting its focus toward research & development, production, and marketing of one product: Lock & Lock.

As a result, Lock&Lock now stands tall as the manufacturer of the world’s most functional airtight storage containers achieving USD 160 million of sales revenue in 2006.

Lock&Lock has already been recognized globally and of course domestically. Many buyers at the world’s four primary consumer exhibitions in Chicago, Frankfurt, Tokyo, and Hong Kong praised Lock & Lock as the ‘new food storage container that will lead the market in the next 10 years’.

In 2001, on QVC, the world’s number one home shopping network, Lock & Lock sold over 5,000 sets at its first brief airing. Sales on QVC continued to explode. Lock&Lock does not rest on being No. 1 in Korea alone. It constantly focuses on developing superior design and ultimately a product that will become the world’s most widely acclaimed container. Lock&Lock has become an international brand, enjoyed by families in 83 nations.

Lock&Lock visualizes itself as the world’s leading brand of airtight food storage containers by 2010.

http://us.locknlock.com/pr_tour_3.asp?gbMenu=tour

Unlocking the Secrets behind "Lock&Lock"

There are countless food storage containers on the market and there are more than 100,000 manufacturers of these products in the world.

If we were to divide the containers into types, however, they would narrow down to only two. Currently 95% of the market is dominated by seal-ware and the remaining 5% utilizes the innovative locking mechanism introduced by Lock&Lock.

Even though more than 50 years have passed since seal-ware’s invention in the 1940s by an American scientist, there has not been a major development in seal-ware’s technology since then. Telephones, Computers, semi-conductors, airplanes, and cars have changed dramatically in the past fifty years. Now, it’s the food storage container’s turn.

Seal-ware has many disadvantages: it is difficult to open and shut. It often leaks, or worse, opens completely, spilling the contents or allowing them to spoil.

"The SEALING Mechanism"

Lock&Lock has discovered the solution.

"The LOCKING Mechanism"

http://us.locknlock.com/pr_food_2.asp?gbMenu=food