Learn About Food Safety

The secret recipe to success - Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill.

Clean

Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food. Wash your cutting boards, dishes, etc., with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item. Rinse all fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water. There is no need to wash or rinse meat or poultry.  

Hands

The bacteria that lead to foodborne illness can survive in many places around your kitchen, including your hands, utensils, countertops and cutting boards. That's why it's so important that you wash your hands, utensils and all kitchen surfaces the right way.

To make sure you get the most out of your hand-washing, follow these steps:

• Wet your hands with warm or cold running water and apply soap.
• Rub your hands together to form a lather and scrub them well. Don't forget to 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 let air dry.

Not sure when to wash? For the best chance at avoiding the bacteria that can make you sick, wash your hands the right way at these times:

• Before eating food.
• Before, during, and after preparing food.
• Before applying gloves.
• 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.

Surfaces and Utensils

It's not sufficient to just rinse utensils, countertops and cutting boards with water. If you want to make sure you stop bacteria from spreading, use the following steps to clean surfaces and utensils:

• Clean utensils and small cutting boards with hot, soapy water after every use.
• Wash surfaces and cutting boards after each use by...
  1. Mixing one teaspoon of unscented liquid bleach per quart of water;
  2. Flooding the surface with the bleach solution, and letting it stand for 10 minutes;
  3. Rinsing with clean water;
  4. Letting surfaces air dry or pat them dry with fresh paper towels.
  5. Remember, bleach solutions get less effective with time, so discard unused portions after one week!

Wash fruits and veggies - NOT meat, poultry, or 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.

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.

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Separate

Don't cross-contaminate! Raw meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, and eggs can spread germs to ready-to-eat food unless you keep them separate. When grocery shopping, keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and their juices away from other foods. When storing or cooking, separate raw, cooked, and ready-to-eat foods. Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, or seafood.

• Keep raw or marinating meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs separate from all other foods in the refrigerator. Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood in sealed containers or wrap them securely so the juices don’t leak onto other foods.
• Use one cutting board or plate for raw meat, poultry, and seafood and a separate cutting board or plate for produce, bread, and other foods that won’t be cooked.
• Raw chicken is ready to cook and doesn’t need to be washed first. Washing these foods can spread germs to other foods, the sink, and the counter and make you sick. If you choose to wash chicken, do so as safely as possible.

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Cook

Cook food to safe internal temperatures. Many people think they can determine whether food is "done" by checking its color and texture, but using those methods alone puts the people who consume the food at a greater risk of a foodborne illness. When food is between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, it is considered to be in the "Danger Zone" because the bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply the quickest while in this range. To be sure food is safe, follow these important, but simple steps.

Use a food thermometer.

Cooked food is safe only after it's reached a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria. Color and texture alone cannot guarantee that food is ready to be safely eaten. Instead, use a food thermometer to be sure.

• If you don't have a food thermometer, consider buying one. Food thermometers come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and are one of the best investments you can make to ensure your family stays free of the bacteria associated with foodborne illness. The USDA has plenty of valuable information about food thermometers. Learn more about the different types here. 
• 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 the 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 the Minimum Cooking Temperatures Chart for details.
• Clean your food thermometer with hot, soapy water after each use.

Keep food hot after cooking (at 140F or above). 

Just because your good is done doesn't mean that you're out of the clear when it comes to foodborne illness. The possibility of bacterial growth actually increases as food cools after cooking because the bacteria thrive as the temperature drops. To keep your food above the safe temperature of 140?F, use a heat source like a chafing dish, warming tray or slow cooker.

Microwave food thoroughly (to 165F).

To make sure harmful bacteria have been killed when warming food in the microwave, it is important food is heated to 165F or higher. Here's how:

• Stir your food halfway through 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 165F or above.

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Chill

Refrigerate food promptly. It only takes two hours, sometimes less, for illness-causing bacteria to grow in perishable foods when not refrigerated. And, if the temperature is 90F or higher, which in Louisiana can happen just about any time of the year, that time is cut in half. By refrigerating foods promptly and properly, you avoid this dangerous bacteria growth and help your family stay safe from food poisoning at home.

Refrigerate perishable foods within two hours.

Cold temperatures slow the growth of the bacteria that cause illness. That's why it's important to chill food promptly and properly. Not sure how? Follow these tips:

• Make sure your fridge and freezer are set to the right temperature. Your fridge should be between 40F and 32F, and your freezer should be 0F or below.
• It's not enough for the temperature to be correct. You also must pack your refrigerator with care. To chill food in a way that slows bacteria growth, cold air must be able to circulate. To make sure that's possible don't over-stuff your fridge.
• Move perishable foods into the fridge or freezer within two hours. When the outside temperature is warm, cut this time down to one hour. If you live in an area that makes it impossible to do so, plan your grocery trips strategically. Wait until the end of your shopping trip to get perishable items, and bring an ice chest to store these items on the ride home.
• Remember to put away leftovers within two hours as well. By dividing leftovers into several clean, shallow containers, you'll allow them to chill faster.

Never thaw or marinate foods on the counter.

Many people are surprised to learn that bacteria can multiply rapidly at room temperature, which makes thawing or marinating foods on the counter one of the riskiest things you can do when preparing food for your family.

To safely thaw food safely, choose one of these options instead:

• 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. If you choose this route, be sure to change the water every 30 minutes. It's also important to note that food thawed this way should be cooked immediately.
• Thaw in the microwave. Food can be thawed quickly in the microwave. To do this, follow the instructions in your microwave's 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, it is safe to cook foods from a frozen state. Just remember that the cooking time will be approximately 50 percent longer than fully thawed meat or poultry.

To marinate food safely, always marinate it in the refrigerator.

Know when to throw food out.

The kinds of bacteria that cause food poisoning do not affect the look, smell or taste of food. So, it's impossible to determine if harmful bacteria has started growing in your leftovers or refrigerated foods by only considering the color, taste or smell.

Be sure you throw food out before harmful bacteria grow by checking the Safe Storage Times chart. Remember, when in doubt, throw it out!