At the store
* Never leave meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and other perishable foods in a hot car!
Take a cooler along.
* Head straight for the refrigerator or freezer.
In your refrigerator
* Don’t let juices from raw meat, poultry and seafood drip on other foods. Store on bottom shelf in refrigerator.
* Keep the refrigerator at 40 F or lower and freezer at 0 F.
At your kitchen counter
* Always wash hands with soap and hot water for 20 seconds before preparing food and also after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood and eggs.
* Wash counter tops, cutting boards, knives, sink and faucet handle with hot soapy water right after preparing food, especially after handling raw meat, poultry and seafood.
* Don’t let raw meat, poultry and seafood and their juices touch ready-to-eat food.
* Never put cooked food on a plate that first held raw meat, poultry or seafood.
* Always thaw food in the refrigerator, never on the kitchen counter. If you thaw in the microwave, cook it immediately.
Ready to cook?
* Cook food thoroughly – ground meats to at least 155 F or until juices are clear, poultry (whole and ground) to 165 F, seafood to 145 F.
Ready to serve?
* Hold hot food above 140 F and cold food below 40 F.
* Never leave prepared and perishable foods at room temperature longer than two hours.
Any Leftovers?
* Use small, shallow containers for quick cooling in the refrigerator.
* Reheat leftovers thoroughly to 165 F.
Disinfection of Dishcloths and Sponges with the Microwave
* Studies have shown that cloths, sponges, and other kitchen food contact surfaces are important factors in cross-contamination of foods. Transfer of bacteria from these other contaminated surfaces, such as sinks and cutting boards, has been shown. These cleaning materials can serve as bacterial reservoirs and also as cross-contaminating agents. It is believed that this problem is responsible for a significant number of food-borne illnesses each year.
* When exposed on the highest setting of an 800 watt microwave oven, a dry cellulose sponge was disinfected after 30 seconds. A wet sponge, was disinfected after 60 seconds. With dishcloths, disinfection of a dry cloth again took 30 seconds, but a wet cloth required 3 minutes. Overall, a microwave oven can be very effective in killing bacteria in cellulose sponges and cotton dishcloths. (from CDE Colorado Communique)
Keep this as a home food safety reference – posted on the inside panel of your kitchen cupboard, on your refrigerator door or any other place nearby.
