National Food Safety Month

Four Steps to Food Safety

The food supply in the United States is among the safest in the world. However, when certain disease-causing bacteria or pathogens contaminate food, they can cause foodborne illness, often called “food poisoning.” The Federal government estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually—the equivalent of sickening 1 in 6 Americans each year. These illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths each year.

Know the Symptoms

Consuming dangerous foodborne bacteria will usually cause illness within 1 to 3 days of eating the contaminated food. However, sickness can also occur within 20 minutes or up to 6 weeks later. Symptoms of foodborne illness can include vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, as well as flu-like symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches.

Handle Foods Safely

Although most healthy people will recover from a foodborne illness within a short period of time, some can develop chronic, severe, or even life-threatening health problems. In addition, some people are at a higher risk for developing foodborne illness, including pregnant women, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems (such as transplant patients and individuals with HIV/AIDS, cancer, or diabetes). To keep your family safer from food poisoning, follow these four simple steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill.

CLEAN

Handwashing for Food Safety

Wash hands and surfaces often.

  • Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food, using the bathroom, changing diapers, and handling pets.
  • After preparing each food item, wash your cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counters with hot, soapy water.
  • Consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces. If you use cloth towels, launder them often in the hot cycle.
  • Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water, including those with skins and rinds that are not eaten. Scrub firm produce with a clean produce brush.
  • For canned goods, remember to clean the lids before opening them.

SEPARATE
Separate raw meats from other foods

  • Separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other foods in your grocery shopping cart, grocery bags, and refrigerator.
  • Use one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for raw meat, poultry, and seafood.
  • Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs unless the plate has been washed in hot, soapy water.
  • Don’t reuse marinades used on raw foods unless you bring them to a boil first.

COOK
Cook to the right temperature

  • Color and texture are unreliable indicators of safety. A food thermometer is the only way to ensure the safety of meat, poultry, seafood, and egg products for all cooking methods. These foods must be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria.
  • Cook eggs until the yolk and white are firm. Use only recipes that include eggs cooked or heated thoroughly.
  • When cooking in a microwave oven, cover the food, stir, and rotate to ensure even cooking. If there is no turntable, rotate the dish by hand once or twice during cooking. Always allow standing time, which completes the cooking, before checking the internal temperature with a food thermometer.
  • Bring sauces, soups, and gravy to a boil when reheating.

CHILL
Refrigerate foods promptly

  • Use an appliance thermometer to be sure the temperature is consistently 40° F or below and the freezer temperature is 0° F or below.
  • Refrigerate or freeze meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and other perishables within 2 hours of cooking or purchasing. If the temperature outside is above 90° F, refrigerate within 1 hour.
  • Never thaw food at room temperature, such as on the countertop. There are three safe ways to defrost food: in the refrigerator, in cold water, and the microwave. Food thawed in cold water or in the microwave should be cooked immediately.
  • Always marinate food in the refrigerator.
  • Divide large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quicker cooling in the refrigerator.
To see the article on the safe minimum internal temperature chart for foods, please click here!

FDA. (2019). Safe Food Handling. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/safe-food-handling

Tomah Health