By Kathryn Szklany, MA
Food Safety and Sanitation

It’s not just what you eat that’s important, but it’s also the safety and sanitation of the food you are consuming.  Did you know that any fresh raw food can become unsafe with harmful bacteria if it’s not handled and stored properly? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that E.Coli causes 2,138 hospitalizations in the United States each year.  Here are four simple tips to follow to keep your food safe.

Image from: foodsafety.gov

1. Clean: Wash your hands and surfaces often-  Make sure to wash your hands after using the restroom, blowing your nose, touching your face, handling uncooked eggs, meat, poultry or seafood, after touching the garbage, and after touching an animal. This will help prevent the spread of illness and bacteria. Make sure to dry your hands using a clean towel or air dryer.  Remember, that bacteria can spread on surfaces, therefore you should wash your counters, cutting boards, and utensils after each use. Use hot water and soap or wipe down counters with disinfectant wipes.  Don’t forget to wash your fruits and vegetables. Even if there is an outer peel on the fruit or vegetable you should wash it first as the bacteria can spread from the outside to the inside while you are peeling it.
   
   
2. Separate- Bacteria is spread by cross contamination. Therefore, make sure to separate your meat from your fresh produce to avoid contamination. When grocery shopping make sure to put your raw meat in a separate area than the rest of your food in the cart. In your refrigerator you should keep your produce, raw meat, seafood, poultry, and eggs separate from one another. When cooking in the kitchen make sure to prepare your raw meat, eggs, poultry, or fish in a different space than your fresh produce. Make sure to use a different cutting board for these different items and never place a cooked piece of food on the same plate that previously contained raw piece of meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
   
   
3. Cook to proper temperatures- Food is safe to eat when cooked to the proper internal temperature that will kill bacteria that would otherwise cause foodborne illness. Use a food thermometer to check the temperature.  If you are microwaving food it should be heated to 165^◦. After the food has been cooked it should be kept at a minimum temperature of 140^◦ to avoid bacteria growth.  Make sure to follow this chart below for food temperatures:
   
   
   
   
4. Refrigerate promptly- The refrigerator should be kept at 40^◦F or below. To make sure your fridge is at this temperature keep a thermometer on the top shelf.  The freezer should be 0^◦F or below. The quicker you refrigerate your food the faster you slow the growth of harmful bacteria. Perishable foods should be placed in the refrigerator within 2 hours to avoid bacteria. Make sure not to over pack your refrigerator otherwise air will not circulate and food will not be kept safe. Never defrost food at room temperature. The safest ways to defrost food are; in the refrigerator, in cold water, and in the microwave. Make sure you always marinate food in the refrigerator to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

References

1. Partnership for Food Safety Education. http://www.fightbac.org/
2. Foodsafety.gov http://foodsafety.gov/keep/basics/index.html