Preparing and Using Food Safely
Here are eight key tips to help you prepare food safely in your home:
- Always wash hands with soap and warm running water before handling food.
- Always wash cutting boards and utensils (knives or scissors) used to cut meat with soapy, hot water before cutting other foods such as raw vegetables or fruits on the boards.
- Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator, not on the kitchen counter, or thaw them in the microwave oven, following the oven manufacturer's directions.
- Marinate foods in the refrigerator.
- Keep cooked foods away from raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
- Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold.
- Refrigerate or freeze leftover foods promptly. Perishable foods should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Cook raw meats, poultry, fish, and eggs thoroughly.
- Use a clean food thermometer, which measures the internal temperature of cooked foods, to make sure meats, poultry, fish, casseroles, and other foods are cooked all the way through.
See also:
Food Safety Facts
Consumer Awareness Food Facts
Food Borne Illness
Egg Safety
Source: USDA
