Safe Food-Handling Tips

From shopping to storing to cooking, food is a big part of our lives. Foodborne illness doesn't have to be, though. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are sickened each year by improper handling of food. You can protect yourself and your family by following these suggestions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Grocery shopping

• Put cold and frozen food last on your grocery list and get it home as soon as possible. Minimize the time that perishable foods are away from refrigeration.

• Don't buy food past its expiration or sell-by date, or food that will not be used by its use-by date.

• Buy food that is in good condition. Refrigerated foods should be cold, frozen foods solid, and canned goods free of dents, cracks or bulges.

Food storage

• Your refrigerator temperature should be set at 40 degrees F or less and the freezer no more than 0 degrees F. (Inexpensive refrigerator/freezer thermometers are available at hardware stores.) Disease-causing bacteria grow in temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees F.

• Don't fill the refrigerator or freezer so full that air can't circulate. Cool air must be able to circulate to keep food cold.

• Store raw meat, poultry, pork and fish on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator in proper packaging so that their juices do not drip onto other foods. Fresh poultry, fish, ground meats and variety meats should be cooked or frozen within two days; other beef, veal, lamb or pork, within three to five days.

• Put leftovers in the refrigerator immediately after preparing or serving meals. Never leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator for more than two hours at room temperature or for more than an hour in warm weather.

• Think small and shallow for leftovers, so that foods can cool quickly in the refrigerator. In general, do not keep leftovers for more than a few days.

• When in doubt, throw it out! If you are not sure how long food has been in the refrigerator, or if it looks or smells bad, toss it. Do not take a chance with foodborne illness.

Preparing food

• Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap under warm running water for at least 20 seconds before starting to prepare a meal and after handling raw meats.

• Wash fresh fruits and vegetables thoroughly under running water. Use a small scrub brush to remove surface dirt, if needed.

• Always thoroughly wash cutting boards, utensils and dishes after using them for meat, poultry, fish, pork or eggs. Another option is to use separate cutting boards, utensils and dishes for raw meats and another for fruits and vegetables. Wash countertops with a solution of 1 teaspoon of chlorine bleach to 1 quart of water or with a commercial kitchen cleaning agent diluted according to product directions.

• Discard any cutting boards with deep grooves, cuts or cracks. These crevices make good hiding places for bacteria.

• Thaw frozen foods in the microwave or refrigerator, NOT on the kitchen counter. Room temperature puts food at risk for bacterial growth.

• Marinate raw meat in the refrigerator, NOT at room temperature. Don't reapply marinade to foods after they are cooked.

• Eggnog should be pasteurized or boiled (if homemade). Drinking raw eggnog may cause foodborne illness.

• Heat unpasteurized apple cider to 160 degrees F or boil it before drinking to avoid contamination by E. coli 0157:H7. Cider that is labeled pasteurized is safe.

Cooking food

Use a food thermometer to ensure that meats are completely cooked:

• Cook ground beef and ground pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F or until its juices run clear. Hamburgers should have no pink on the inside.

• Cook poultry to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F in the thigh or 170 degrees in the breasts, and ground chicken or turkey to 165 degrees F or until its juices run clear. Poultry dressing or stuffing should be cooked to 165 degrees F. Stuffing a turkey prior to cooking is not recommended but advice is given iat the USDA web site  if person chooses to do so.

• Seafood should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F. Fish that's ground or flaked, such as a fish cake, should be cooked to at least 155 degrees F, and stuffed fish to at least 165 degrees F.

• Always cook eggs until they are firm, not runny. Egg dishes should be cooked to 160 degrees F before eating. Keep eggs refrigerated until ready to cook.