Did you know that one in six Americans will get sick from food poisoning
this year alone?
This problem is more serious than many people realize. Food poisoning
not only sends more than 100,000 Americans to the hospital each year – it can
also have long-term
health consequences.
But, following four simple steps
can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home.
Clean
Wash hands and surfaces often
Why it matters
Illness-causing bacteria can
survive in many places around your kitchen, including your hands, utensils, and
cutting boards.
Unless you wash your hands,
utensils, and surfaces the right way, you could spread bacteria to your food,
and your family.
Follow these top tips to keep
your family safe
Wash hands the right way—for 20 seconds with soap and running water.
Washing your hands the right way
can stop the spread of illness-causing bacteria.
Here’s how to do it:
-
Wet your hands
with warm or cold running water and apply soap.
-
Rub your hands
together to make a lather and scrub them well. Be sure to scrub the backs of
your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails. Bacteria can hide out
here too!
-
Continue
rubbing hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum “Happy Birthday” from
beginning to end twice.
-
Rinse your
hands well under running water.
-
Dry your hands
using a clean towel or air dry.
And when to do it:
-
Before eating
food.
-
Before,
during, and after preparing food.
-
Before and
after treating a cut or wound.
-
Before and
after caring for someone who is sick.
-
After handling
uncooked eggs, or raw meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices.
-
After blowing
your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
-
After touching
an animal or animal waste.
-
After touching
garbage.
-
After using
the toilet.
Wash surfaces and utensils after each use.
Bacteria can be spread throughout
the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, and counter tops. To prevent
this:
-
Use paper
towels or clean clothes to wipe up kitchen surfaces or spills. Wash cloths
often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.
-
Wash cutting
boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot, soapy water after
preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item.
-
As an extra
precaution, you can use a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid
chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water to sanitize washed surfaces and utensils.
Wash fruits and veggies—but not meat, poultry, or eggs!
Did you know that—even if you
plan to peel fruits and veggies—it’s important to wash them first because
bacteria can spread from the outside to the inside as you cut or peel them?
Here’s how to wash all your
produce effectively…
1. Cut away any damaged or bruised areas.
2. Rinse produce under running water. Don’t use soap,
detergent, bleach, or commercial produce washes.
3. Scrub firm produce—like melons or cucumbers—with a
clean produce brush.
4. Dry produce with a paper towel or clean cloth towel…
and you’re done.
5. The good news? Bagged produce marked “pre-washed” is
safe to use without further washing.
Why not wash meat, poultry, and
eggs?
Washing raw meat and poultry can
actually help bacteria spread, because their juices may splash onto (and
contaminate!) your sink and countertops.
All commercial eggs are washed
before sale. Any extra handling of the eggs, such as washing, may actually
increase the risk of cross-contamination, especially if the shell becomes
cracked.
Separate
Don’t cross-contaminate
Why it matters
Even after you’ve cleaned your
hands and surfaces thoroughly, raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can still
spread illness-causing bacteria to ready-to-eat foods—unless you keep them
separate.
But which foods need to be kept
separate, and how?
Follow these top tips to keep
your family safe
Placing ready-to-eat food on a
surface that held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs can spread bacteria and
make you sick. But stopping cross-contamination is simple.
-
Use one
cutting board for fresh produce, and one for raw meat, poultry, or seafood.
-
Use separate
plates and utensils for cooked and raw foods.
-
Before using
them again, thoroughly wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that held raw
meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
-
Once a cutting
board gets excessively worn or develops hard-to-clean grooves, consider
replacing it.
Make sure you aren’t
contaminating foods in your grocery bag by:
-
Separating raw
meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other foods in your shopping cart.
-
At the
checkout, place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags to keep their
juices from dripping on other foods.
Bacteria can spread inside your
fridge if the juices of raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs drip onto
ready-to-eat foods. But stopping this contamination is simple…
-
Place raw
meat, poultry, and seafood in containers or sealed plastic bags to prevent
their juices from dripping or leaking onto other foods. If you’re not planning
to use these foods within a few days, freeze them instead.
-
Keep eggs in
their original carton and store them in the main compartment of the refrigerator—not
in the door.
Cook
Cook to the right temperature
Why it matters
Did you know that the bacteria
that cause food poisoning multiply quickest in the “Danger Zone” between 40˚
and 140˚ Fahrenheit?
And while many people think they
can tell when food is “done” simply by checking its color and texture, there’s
no way to be sure it’s safe without following a few important but simple steps
Follow these top tips to keep
your family safe
Cooked food is safe only after
it’s been heated to a high enough temperature to kill harmful bacteria.
Color and texture alone won’t
tell you whether your food is done. Instead, use a food thermometer to be sure.
-
If you don’t
already have one, consider buying a food thermometer. Learn
more about the different types of food thermometers available.
-
When you think
your food is done, place the food thermometer in the thickest part of the food,
making sure not to touch bone, fat, or gristle. (Get
tips on correct thermometer placement.)
-
Wait the
amount of time recommended for your type of thermometer.
-
Compare your
thermometer reading to our Minimum Cooking
Temperatures Chart to be sure it’s reached a safe temperature.
-
Some foods
need 3 minutes of rest time after cooking to make sure that harmful germs are
killed. Check our Minimum Cooking
Temperatures Chart for details.
-
Clean your
food thermometer with hot, soapy water after each use.
The possibility of bacterial
growth actually increases as food cools after cooking because the drop in
temperature allows bacteria to thrive. But you can keep your food above the
safe temperature of 140˚F by using a heat source like a chafing dish, warming
tray, or slow cooker.
To make sure harmful bacteria
have been killed in your foods, it’s important to microwave them to 165˚ or
higher. Here’s how:
-
When you
microwave, stir your food in the middle of heating.
-
If the food
label says, “Let stand for x minutes after cooking,” don’t skimp on the
standing time. Letting your microwaved food sit for a few minutes actually
helps your food cook more completely by allowing colder areas of food time to
absorb heat from hotter areas of food. That extra minute or two could mean the
difference between a delicious meal and food poisoning.
-
After waiting
a few minutes, check the food with a food thermometer to make sure it is 165˚F
or above.
Chill
Refrigerate promptly
Why it matters
Did you know that illness-causing
bacteria can grow in perishable foods within two hours unless you refrigerate
them? (And if the temperature is 90 ˚F or higher during the summer, cut that
time down to one hour!)
But by refrigerating foods
promptly and properly, you can help keep your family safe from food poisoning
at home.
Follow these top tips to keep
your family safe
Cold temperatures slow the growth
of illness causing bacteria. So it’s important to chill food promptly and
properly. Here’s how:
-
Make sure your
fridge and freezer are cooled to the right temperature. Your fridge should be
between 40 ˚F and 32 ˚F, and your freezer should be 0 ˚F or below.
-
Pack your
refrigerator with care. To properly chill food (and slow bacteria growth), cold
air must be allowed to circulate in your fridge. For this reason, it’s
important not to over-stuff your fridge.
-
Get perishable
foods into the fridge or freezer within two hours. In the summer months, cut
this time down to one hour.
-
Remember to
store leftovers within two hours as well. By dividing leftovers into several
clean, shallow containers, you’ll allow them to chill faster.
Many people are surprised at this
tip. But since bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, thawing or
marinating foods on the counter is one of the riskiest things you can do when
preparing food for your family.
To thaw food safely, choose one
of these options:
-
Thaw in the
refrigerator. This is the safest way to thaw meat, poultry, and seafood. Simply
take the food out of the freezer and place it on a plate or pan that can catch
any juices that may leak. Normally, it should be ready to use the next day.
-
Thaw in cold
water. For faster thawing, you can put the frozen package in a watertight
plastic bag and submerge it in cold water. Be sure to change the water every 30
minutes. Note: If you thaw this way, be sure to cook the food immediately.
-
Thaw in the
microwave. Faster thawing can also be accomplished in the microwave. Simply follow
instructions in your owner’s manual for thawing. As with thawing in cold water,
food thawed in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
-
Cook without
thawing. If you don’t have enough time to thaw food, just remember, it is safe
to cook foods from a frozen state—but your cooking time will be approximately
50% longer than fully thawed meat or poultry.
To marinate food safely, always
marinate it in the refrigerator.
You can’t tell just by looking or
smelling whether harmful bacteria has started growing in your leftovers or
refrigerated foods.
Be sure you throw food out before
harmful bacteria grow by checking our Safe Storage
Times chart.
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