Tony talks safety in the kitchen

Try cutting up food, measuring out ingredients for a recipe, and cooking it all to the right temperature while blindfolded.

Or, rather, don’t, warns top Edinburgh chef Tony Singh. “Cooking and even simple food preparation can be a hazard if you can’t see,” he said.

But the danger for some people is not just in eating underdone meals. It’s easy to burn, scald or cut yourself if you are blind or partially sighted.

That’s why Tony, who owns top Edinburgh restaurant Oloroso, helped to launch a new scheme in April, making the kitchen a safer place for older people who have sight loss.

Tony joined forces with the Council’s Food Safety team and the Royal National Institute of Blind People (Lothians and Edinburgh) to distribute 100 new food safety kits to blind and partially sighted people aged 60.

Funded by the Food Standards Agency Scotland, the kits include a talking food probe thermometer, a fridge-freezer temperature gauge and anti-bacterial wipes.

Need to know

For general information on food safety, visit www.food.gov.uk/scotland/