4 Steps to Food Safety

Safe steps in food handling, cooking, and storage are essential to avoiding food borne illness. You can’t see, smell, or taste bacteria which may be on any food.

Here are 4 steps to food safety :

1.    Clean:

• Wash your hands, utensils, and all surfaces with hot soapy water, before and after preparing food.
• Wash cutting boards with hot, soapy water after each use.
• Use paper towels or cloth towels to clean kitchen surfaces.  Be sure to wash cloth towels often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
• Wash all fruits and vegetables well under running water.

2.    Separate:

• Wash hands, cutting boards, dishes, and utensils with hot, soapy water after they touch any raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
• Use one cutting board for fresh produce and another for raw meats.
• Never place cooked food back on the same plate that previously held raw food.
• Separate and keep sealed all raw meats from other foods in your grocery cart and refrigerator.
• Do not reuse marinades that were used for raw meat, poultry or seafood, unless it is boiled before reusing.

3.    Cook:

• Use a food thermometer to measure the food’s internal cooking temperature to ensure safe cooking.
• Use the Safe Cooking Food Chart to determine safe internal temperatures.
• When using a microwave, cover, stir, and rotate food during cooking.
• Throw away leftovers that have been reheated once already.

4.    Chill:

• Refrigerate or freeze perishables within 2 hours.
• Thaw foods in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave, if you are cooking it immediately.
• Separate large amounts of leftovers into small, shallow containers.
• Don’t overstuff the refrigerator.
• Keep foods out of the Temperature Danger Zone, between 40ºF and 140ºF, where bacteria  grow rapidly.
• Throw out foods that spoil easily, such as meat and dairy, that are left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.