Food Safety
Keep yourself and your family healthy, by following these simple handwashing and kitchen hygiene tips. The following are basic food safety tips. For further information, visit the Partnership for Food Safety Education).
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Clean
1. Wash Your Hands: Always wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food, as well as after using the bathroom, changing diapers, or petting animals.
2. Clean Your Surfaces: After preparing each type of food, clean your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water. This helps prevent cross-contamination. 3. Choose the Right Cleaning Method: For cleaning kitchen surfaces, consider using disposable paper towels. If you prefer cloth towels, be sure to wash them frequently in hot water to keep them sanitary. 4. Rinse Fresh Produce: Always rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water, even if you plan to peel them. This helps remove any dirt or residues. 5. Scrub When Necessary: For fruits and vegetables with firm skins, scrub them gently with a clean vegetable brush while rinsing them under running water to ensure they’re thoroughly cleaned. By following these guidelines, you can help ensure a safer kitchen environment and promote better health for you and your loved ones! |
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Separate
Cross-contamination is a significant risk factor in food safety, as it refers to the way harmful bacteria can spread between different food items. Improper handling of raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can create conditions that allow these bacteria to contaminate other foods and surfaces in your kitchen, potentially leading to food borne illnesses. To prevent cross-contamination, follow these important practices:
1. Keep Foods Separate: When grocery shopping and storing items in your refrigerator, make sure to keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from other foods. Use separate bags for transport and store them on different shelves. 2. Use Different Cutting Boards: Always use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood. This helps prevent bacteria from raw foods transferring to ready-to-eat items. 3. Avoid Reusing Plates: Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs. Doing so can introduce harmful bacteria to your cooked food, increasing the risk of illness. By understanding and implementing these simple practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of cross-contamination and help keep yourself and your family safe from food borne illnesses. |
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Cook
To keep yourself and your loved ones safe from food borne illnesses, it's crucial to cook food to the appropriate internal temperature. This temperature is high enough to kill harmful bacteria that can cause illness. Here are some essential tips to help you "Fight BAC! ®" when cooking:
1. Use a Food Thermometer: Always measure the internal temperature of cooked meats, poultry, and egg dishes with a food thermometer to ensure safety. 2. Safe Temperatures for Meat: - Roasts and Steaks: Cook to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F. - Poultry: Ensure all poultry, including chicken and turkey, reaches a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F. Check the innermost part of the thigh, wing, and the thickest part of the breast with your thermometer. 3. Ground Meat Safety: Cook ground meat, which can harbor bacteria from the grinding process, to at least 160°F. The CDC warns that eating under cooked ground beef increases your risk of illness, so always use a thermometer to check burger is at least 160°F—color alone is not a reliable indicator. 4. Cooking Eggs: Cook eggs and egg dishes until they reach an internal temperature of 160°F. Ensure that both the yolk and white are firm, not runny. Avoid recipes that call for raw or partially cooked eggs. 5. Fish: Cook fish to 145°F or until the flesh is opaque and easily flakes with a fork. 6. Microwave Safety: To ensure even cooking in a microwave, watch out for cold spots where bacteria can survive. Cover food, stir, and rotate items for even heating. If your microwave doesn’t have a turntable, manually rotate dishes once or twice during cooking. 7. Reheating Leftovers: Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when reheating. Heat all other leftovers thoroughly to at least 165°F. By following these cooking guidelines and using a food thermometer, you significantly reduce the risk of food borne illnesses and ensure that your meals are safe and enjoyable! |
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Chill
Refrigerating foods promptly is essential because cold temperatures help slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Here are some important tips to ensure food safety in your refrigerator:
1. Refrigerate Quickly: Store perishable items like meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as you arrive home from the store. 2. Avoid Over-Stuffing: Do not overcrowd your refrigerator. Proper air circulation is crucial for maintaining safe temperatures. Keep your refrigerator at a consistent temperature of 40°F or below to effectively reduce the risk of food borne illnesses. Use an appliance thermometer to monitor the temperature regularly. 3. Freezer Temperature: Ensure your freezer is set at 0°F or below to keep food safe and preserved. 4. Limit Room Temperature Exposure: Never allow raw meat, poultry, eggs, cooked food, or cut fruits and vegetables to sit at room temperature for more than two hours. If the temperature is above 90°F, limit this time to just one hour. 5. Safe Thawing Methods: Never thaw food at room temperature, as this can facilitate bacterial growth. Instead, use one of these three safe thawing methods: - In the refrigerator - In cold water (cook it immediately afterward) - In the microwave (cook it immediately afterward) 6. Marinate in the Refrigerator: Always marinate food in the refrigerator to prevent bacterial growth. 7. Store Leftovers Safely: When storing large amounts of leftovers, divide them into shallow containers to allow for quicker cooling in the refrigerator. 8. Regularly Check and Discard: Regularly check the contents of your refrigerator. Use or discard refrigerated food items to avoid keeping them too long and risking spoilage. By following these refrigeration guidelines, you can help keep your food safe, reduce the risk of food borne illnesses, and ensure your meals remain fresh and healthy! |
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More on food safety (reducing cross contamination, transporting food, etc.) visit USDA FSIS and Fight Bac!
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Questions, call 323-491-6197
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