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Last Updated:
09/28/11 01:41:01 PM
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Safe Food Backgrounder |
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Safe Food Handling Practices
grocery |
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At The Grocery Store |
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- Pay attention to "sell by" and "use by" dates on
perishable products. If the "sell by" date has expired, do
not buy the product. The "use by" date applies to use at
home after purchase. It's important to note that these dates
refer to quality of food (taste, texture, smell, appearance)
and are not a guarantee of an uncontaminated product,
particularly after the original package seal is opened.
- Be sure that packaging/storage is as it should be:
refrigerated foods should be kept cold; frozen foods should
be frozen solid; there should be no holes or tears in the
packaging.
- When possible, put raw poultry, meat or fish in separate
plastic bags before setting in your cart with other
unprotected foods. Occasionally, packaging on these products
may allow leakage.
- Select perishable food products, including meat, last
before checking out, and place them in the coolest spot in
your car for the trip home. If food will be held in the car
for longer than 30 minutes, store it in a cooler immediately
after purchase to keep it cold.
homeStorage
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Home Storage |
- Place perishable foods immediately into the refrigerator
or freezer upon returning home from the grocery store.
- Place meat, fish and poultry in the coldest part of the
refrigerator (on a low shelf at the back). Use beef steaks,
roasts and deli meats and poultry within three to four days.
Ground meat, ground poultry and fish should be used within
one to two days.
- Place uncooked meat, fish and poultry products in
separate plastic bags and set on a plate on the lowest shelf
of the refrigerator so raw juices do not drip onto other
foods.
- Using a refrigerator thermometer, check the
refrigerator's temperature to ensure that it is cooling at
35'F to 4O'F, and the freezer is at or below O'F.
- Space items in the refrigerator and freezer so that air
can circulate freely around them.
- Keep the interior of the refrigerator/ freezer clean.
Pack perishables in coolers when cleaning or defrosting your
refrigerator/freezer.
FreezeDefrost
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Freezing and Defrosting |
- Place perishable foods immediately into the refrigerator
or freezer upon returning home from the grocery store.
- Place meat, fish and poultry in the coldest part of the
refrigerator (on a low shelf at the back). Use beef steaks,
roasts and deli meats and poultry within three to four days.
Ground meat, ground poultry and fish should be used within
one to two days.
- Place uncooked meat, fish and poultry products in
separate plastic bags and set on a plate on the lowest shelf
of the refrigerator so raw juices do not drip onto other
foods.
- Using a refrigerator thermometer, check the
refrigerator's temperature to ensure that it is cooling at
35'F to 4O'F, and the freezer is at or below O'F.
- Space items in the refrigerator and freezer so that air
can circulate freely around them.
- Keep the interior of the refrigerator/ freezer clean.
Pack perishables in coolers when cleaning or defrosting your
refrigerator/freezer.
FoodPrep
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Food Preparation |
- Keep everything that touches food clean - hands,
utensils, bowls, countertops. Wash hands with warm, soapy
water prior to preparing any food, and after handling raw
meat, poultry and fish. Use separate platters, cutting
boards, trays and utensils for cooked and uncooked meat,
poultry and fish.
- Keep juices from raw meat, poultry and fish from coming
into contact with other foods, cooked or raw. Always wash
contact surfaces and utensils with warm, soapy water
immediately after preparing these products.
- When using a cutting board, it is best to use separate
boards for each food type. Never use the same cutting board
for raw meat or poultry that is used for cooked and
ready-to-eat foods. Wash food preparation surfaces
thoroughly with warm, soapy water and then sanitize the
surface after each use. To sanitize cutting surfaces, wash
with a solution of two to three teaspoons of household
bleach in one quart of warm water. Rinse with plain, hot
water.
- Never eat raw seafood, meat, poultry, eggs (or foods
containing raw eggs such as homemade salad dressing,
mayonnaise, ice cream or cookie dough). Never drink
unpasteurized milk or other unpasteurized dairy products.
- Direct sneezes and coughs away from food; cover mouth
and nose with tissue when sneezing or coughing; wash hands
after sneezing or coughing.
- Thoroughly wash all produce with clean, drinkable water;
use a brush if necessary.
- When marinating meat, seafood or poultry, use a covered,
non-metallic container and place it in the refrigerator.
Ingredients in marinades such as wine, vinegar and lemon
juice are acidic and will cause a chemical reaction with
some metals. When this happens, the metal will leach into
the food being marinated.
- Avoid mixing dark colored sauces (such as teriyaki,
Worcestershire or soy sauces) in with ground meat or poultry
as they make it more difficult to judge doneness. Instead,
brush sauces on the cooked surface of the patty about midway
through the cooking cycle. Be careful not to recontaminate
fully cooked meat or poultry by adding sauce with a brush
which was used on raw or undercooked foods.
Do not use a marinade which has been in contact with raw
meat, fish or poultry as a sauce for the cooked food without
first bringing the marinade to a boil for at least one
minute.
cook
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Cooking |
- Cook ground meats thoroughly, to a uniform internal
temperature of 160'F, or until the center is no longer pink.
Ground poultry should be cooked to at least 165'F. Juices in
done ground meat and poultry will run clear.
- Use a meat thermometer for roasts, thick steaks (over
two inches thick) and poultry, placing it at the thickest
portion of the meat, not touching bone or fat.
- Cook roasts to 5'F below the following recommended
internal temperatures for doneness of meats: medium rare
(150'F), medium (16O'F) and well done (170'F). Roast
temperatures rise approximately 5'F during standing time
(allow 10 to 15 minutes). Poultry should be cooked to 170'F
and pork to 160'F.
- Avoid very low oven temperature roasting methods (below
300'F) and long or overnight cooking of meats, which may
encourage bacterial growth before cooking is complete. Do
not use brown paper bags for roasting - they may not be
sanitary and are not recommended for use as cooking
material.
- Cook stuffing for turkey or chicken separately from the
poultry instead of in the cavity of the bird.
Don't interrupt cooking by partially cooking food and then
finishing later. Partially cooked food may not reach a
temperature sufficient to destroy bacteria and may even
encourage bacterial growth.
- When basting or applying a sauce during grilling or
broiling, brush the sauce on cooked surfaces only. Be
careful not to recontaminate fully cooked meat or poultry by
adding sauce with a brush previously used on raw or
undercooked foods.
leftovers
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Leftovers |
- Freeze or refrigerate leftovers immediately. For more
rapid cooling, use small, shallow containers (less than two
inches deep) to freeze and refrigerate leftovers Cut large
portions into smaller portions to speed cooling time.
Leftover meat, fish and poultry should be wrapped securely
before refrigeration, eaten within three to four days and
reheated to 160'F or until steaming hot at time of
consumption.
- Sauces and gravies should be reheated to a rolling boil
for at least one minute before serving.
away
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Away-From-Home-Situations |
- Day Care - Make sure that day care center
employees practice appropriate sanitation and food handling.
Parents and other care providers should teach children to
wash hands with warm, soapy water after going to the
bathroom and before touching or eating food. It is critical
for child care providers and parents to remember to wash
hands with warm, soapy water after every diaper change or
check.
- Leisure/Picnic - Do not use your cooler to
chill room temperature foods. Pack chilled foods (at or
below 40'F) in a cooler with ice or ice packs. This is
particularly important if you do not plan to eat for several
hours. When finished serving cold foods, promptly return
them to the cooler. If you are taking meat, poultry or fish
to grill while picnicking, pack these items carefully to
avoid leakage onto other foods. Take along moistened
towelettes to wash up with after handling the uncooked meat,
poultry or fish, or use a bottle filled with clean water and
soap to wash hands and surfaces.
- Restaurants/Fast-food Restaurants
- Make sure meat, fish and poultry are cooked
thoroughly. (See "Cooking" section).
- Check to see that burgers are cooked until the
center is no longer pink and the juices run clear.
- At buffets and salad bars, make sure cold foods are
cold (at or below 40'F) and hot foods are hot (at or
above 140'F).
- Additional Information - For additional
information, refer to the "Consumer
Guide to Safe Handling and Preparation of Ground Meat and
Poultry" available from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC).
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