Keep Your Food and Your Family Safe
In these unprecedented and challenging times, people are preparing and eating food in their homes more than ever before. Knowing the basics for food handling and food safety can prevent unwanted trips to the doctor's office. Each year millions of people get sick from food illnesses which can cause you to feel like you have the flu. Food illnesses can also cause serious health problems, even death. Follow these four steps to help keep you and your family safe.
Clean
Always wash your food, hands, counters and cooking tools.
- Wash hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds. Do this before and after touching food.
- Wash your cutting boards, dishes, forks, spoons, knives and counter tops with hot soapy water. Do this after working with each food item.
- Rinse fruits and veggies.
- Clean the lids on canned goods before opening.
Separate (Keep Apart)
Keep raw foods to themselves. Germs can spread from one food to another.
- Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from other foods.
- Do this in your shopping cart, bags, and fridge.
- Do not reuse marinades used on raw foods unless you bring them to a boil first.
- Use a special cutting board or plate for raw foods only.
Cook
Foods need to get hot and stay hot. Heat kills germs.
- Cook to safe temperatures:
- Beef, Pork, Lamb 145 °F
- Fish 145 °F
- Ground Beef, Pork, Lamb 160 °F
- Turkey, Chicken, Duck 165 °F
- Use a food thermometer to make sure that food is done. You can’t always tell by looking.
Chill
Put food in the fridge right away.
- 2-Hour Rule: Put foods in the fridge or freezer within 2 hours after cooking or buying from the store. Do this within 1 hour if it is 90 degrees or hotter outside.
- Never thaw food by simply taking it out of the fridge.
- Thaw food:
- In the fridge
- Under cold water
- In the microwave
- Marinate foods in the fridge.
- Refrigerate leftovers in containers.
For this and more food safety tips, visit the United States Food & Drug Administration's website.
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