Nutrition

prevent foodborne illness

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Safe Food Practice


Most food poisonings can be traced back to one main cause the FOOD HANDLER! In every food preparation role of food handler is very important in prevention and control of illness, both as potential mishandlers of foods and as direct sources. There are simple and safe food practice you can use to ensure that all food prepared is safe to eat.

Food Preparation

Always wash hands thoroughly with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.

Don't cross-contaminate. Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices away from other food.

Have separate cutting board for raw meats or wash used cutting board with hot, soapy water and sanitize. Also, after cutting raw meats, wash all utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water.

Cutting boards, utensils, and countertops can be sanitized by using a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of water.

Marinate meat and poultry in a covered dish in the refrigerator.

Cooking Food

Cook all raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops, and roasts to a minimum internal temperature of 145 °F (62.8 ºC) as measured with a food thermometer before removing meat from the heat source. For safety and quality, allow meat to rest for at least three minutes before carving or consuming. For reasons of personal preference, consumers may choose to cook meat to higher temperatures.

Ground meats: Cook all raw ground beef, pork, lamb, and veal to an internal temperature of 160 °F (71.1 ºC) as measured with a food thermometer.

Poultry: Cook all poultry to an internal temperature of 165 °F (73.9 °C) as measured with a food thermometer.

NOTE: Always store cooked or ready to eat food above raw food or in a separate refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination.

Leftovers

Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours—1 hour if the temperature was above 90 °F (32.2 ºC).

Place food into shallow containers and immediately put in the refrigerator or freezer for rapid cooling.

Use cooked leftovers within 4 days.

Reheat leftovers to 165 °F (73.9 °C).


Microwave Tip: If you are not sure your utensils are microwave safe, do a little utensil safety test. Place the empty utensil into microwave oven alongside with 1 cup of water in a glass measure. Microwave on high for about 1 minute. If your dish remains cool, it's safe to microwave.



cold storage image
Thawing Methods:

Refrigerator: The refrigerator allows slow, safe thawing. Make sure thawing meat and poultry juices do not drip onto other food.

Cold Water: For faster thawing, place food in a leak-proof plastic bag. Submerge in cold tap water. Change the water every 30 minutes. Cook immediately after thawing.

Microwave: Cook meat and poultry immediately after microwave thawing.

Note: Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing.


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The most food poisonings are caused by temperature abuse during the storage of hazardous foods.

What You Should Know

When serving food at a buffet, keep food hot with chafing dishes, slow cookers, and warming trays. Keep food cold by nesting dishes in bowls of ice or use small serving trays and replace them often.

Bacteria grow best in the temperature range between 39 °F and 140 °F (4 ºC and 60 ºC). Temperature below 39 °F (4 ºC), and temperature between 140 °F and 165 °F (60 ºC and 74 ºC), will not kill bacteria, but it will not allow them to multiply enough times to cause an illness. In order to kill pathogenic bacteria you need temperatures above 165 °F (74 ºC).

Bacterial intoxication will typically have shorter incubation period than infection (with sudden onset), which usually only lasts one day and fever is rarely present.

Never choose meat or poultry in packaging that is torn or leaking. Do not buy food past "Sell-By," "Use-By," or other expiration dates.

Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing.

Discard any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours -- 1 hour if the temperature was above 90 °F (32.2 ºC).

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Never use same cutting board or utensils for raw and cooked foods.
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